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The Routine Machine Accessibility Policy

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shriansh edited this page Apr 26, 2026 · 1 revision

♿ Accessibility Policy: The Routine Machine

Effective Date: April 26, 2026
TL;DR: Adulthood is hard enough. Using our app to manage it shouldn't be. We are actively committed to making The Routine Machine usable by everyone.

Welcome to The Routine Machine. Our entire philosophy is built around reducing friction and eliminating decision fatigue. That friction reduction applies to all of our users, regardless of how they interact with their screens.

We don't view accessibility as a checklist item to avoid getting yelled at by compliance officers. We view it as a fundamental requirement for a well-engineered machine.

Here is what we are doing to ensure our iOS and Web apps are accessible, and how you can help us fix the things we inevitably missed.

🛠️ 1. How We Built The Machine for Everyone

We have specifically designed our apps to support native accessibility features out of the box.

📱 On iOS

  • Dynamic Type: We don't hardcode tiny, unreadable text. If you crank up the font size in your iPhone settings, our app’s typography scales with it. We even engineered our cards to intelligently wrap text to multiple lines so your "Wash the Bathmats" chore never gets awkwardly truncated.
  • Haptic Feedback: The Machine doesn't just rely on visual cues. We use distinct, tactical haptic vibrations (rigid snaps, soft taps, and success pulses) so you can feel when a meal is locked, a chore is swapped, or a week is generated.
  • High Contrast Design: We use stark system backgrounds, heavy editorial typography, and high-contrast color blocks to ensure everything is legible, even in direct sunlight or with visual impairments.
  • Native Components: Because we use Apple's native UI elements (like the standard Tab Bar and Sheets), VoiceOver and Switch Control work intuitively with our navigation.

💻 On the Web App

  • Keyboard Navigation: You don't need a mouse to build your schedule. We built custom keyboard listeners so you can open your library, search, use the Up/Down arrow keys to navigate your lists, and hit Enter to instantly assign a chore or meal.
  • Focus States: When you are tabbing through the app, active elements highlight clearly so you never lose your place.
  • Semantic HTML: We use proper structural tags (Modals, Buttons, Lists) rather than just clicking on random div blocks, making it vastly easier for screen readers to parse the page.

🚧 2. The "We Are Only Human" Clause

We are a small development team, and while we try to test everything, we know we aren't perfect. You might find a button that VoiceOver reads as "Button 42" instead of "Lock Meal", or a color contrast that looks muddy in Dark Mode.

Accessibility is an ongoing process, not a one-time launch feature. When iOS or web standards update, we update the Machine to match.

🆘 3. Found a Bug? Yell At Us (Politely)

If you encounter an accessibility barrier—whether it's a missing ARIA label on the web, a VoiceOver glitch on iOS, or an animation that triggers motion sensitivity—we want to know about it immediately so we can patch the engine.

Please reach out to us directly. Tell us what device you are using, what assistive technology you have running, and what broke.

Email: theroutinemachine-support@shriansh.com

(We prioritize accessibility bug reports, so expect a response within 24-48 hours. We'll put our chores on hold to fix it).

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