General
In what countries is Google Play Books making product changes to support compliance with the EAA?Google Play Books is implementing the EAA requirements globally, not only in European Union (EU) countries. Pursuant to the EAA regulation, the changes will be visible to consumers by 28 June 2025.
What digital book formats are impacted by the accessibility guidelines?
EBooks are impacted by the accessibility guidelines and additional accessibility details will be displayed for titles in eBook format. Audiobooks are not impacted by the guidelines and Play Books won't display additional details for audiobook format.
What are publisher risks of non-compliance with EAA?
EU member states are responsible for enforcing the regulations. Publishers may consult the regulations and speak to compliance experts to determine the right course of action for their unique situations.
Publisher
If publishers don’t provide accessibility details for an eBook title, will the eBook still be available for sale?Yes, Play Books will continue to make titles available for sale regardless of their accessibility details. Play Books will display the accessibility details that publishers provide at the title-level. If no accessibility details are provided by publishers, the accessibility values will be displayed as unspecified.
How should publishers provide accessibility details?
Publishers can provide accessibility details in two ways:
- ONIX feeds, which include List 196 accessibility tags in the ONIX 3.0 and 3.1 specifications.
- Tip: the subset of List 196 tags that are supported in ONIX 2.1 are also supported.
- Partner Centre editing and display, available in June 2025.
CSV support for accessibility fields will become available later.
When Google Play Books processes an eBook, the layout type is determined automatically and this detail will be shown to consumers. Publishers do not specify this value to Google Play Books.
What is 'adjustable text' support?
- Reflowable layout titles can be adapted to fit screen sizes. Most eBooks fall into the reflowable layout category.
- Fixed-format titles are not adapted to fit screen sizes, though users can zoom in to view the text. Graphic novels, manga and children’s titles are examples of eBooks that are usually fixed-format. PDFs and fixed-layout EPUB files are automatically displayed as not reflowable.
Reflowable layout eBooks typically support adjustable text so that readers can adjust font sizes, change fonts and select colour backgrounds such as dark mode. Since exceptions may exist, Google Play Books relies on the publisher to specify this value.
What audio support is available for eBooks on Play Books?
Google Play Books supports a variety of audio options with eBooks including:
- Screen reader: Reads the text on the page for eBooks with reflowable layout. Screen reader support is provided by the device’s operating system or the user may also elect to use their own preferred screen reader.
- Read and Listen: Synchronised with text highlights, and the audio is read aloud as the text is highlighted. This audio support is most often found in children’s titles. Publishers that offer this format deliver files with media overlay. However, if the book contains illustrations or photographs that don't have alternative text provided, then publishers should not attest that this book has audio accessibility.
For most eBook types, consumers will usually find:
- Layout
- Adjustable text
- Non-visual reading (screen reader or dynamic braille support)
Consumers will be able to find accessibility details on an eBook title’s detail page in the Play Books app on Android and iOS and on the web. The details shown and how the details are organised may vary based on the device and the type of eBook.