WCAG 3.0 is an active W3C Working Draft in development by the AGWG. Requirements, assertions, the conformance model and reporting tiers are still being developed and may change. The latest published draft is the 10 September 2026 Working Draft; this site follows the editors’ draft, which also includes exploratory provisions.
exploratoryCore requirement
Risk Comparable
Group: policy-and-protection • Guideline: risk
Summary in Plain English
An exploratory requirement: where content shows or asks for personal or sensitive information, using assistive technology, an accessible alternative version, an accessibility modification or an accessibility setting must not expose the user to extra risk.
Why It Matters
If turning on accessibility features marks a user out, weakens their security, or discloses their disability, the price of access is exposure.
Check that personal or sensitive information is visually hidden by default.
Check that the personal or sensitive information is programmatically hidden by default.
Check that the use of AT, accessibility settings and accessibility-related modifications does not expose any personal or sensitive information.
Check whether any accessible alternative versions or modifications of the digital content exist.
Check that the accessible alternative or modification of the digital content does not include additional risk beyond what’s in the inaccessible alternative.
Expected results
#1, #2, and #3 are true.
If #4 is true, then #5 is true.
W3C Working Group Status
W3C Maturity Status:exploratory
Track / Group:policy-and-protection
The draft records no open editors' notes on this provision.
W3C Threads on This Provision
4 GitHub threads carrying 0 comments,
fetched from w3c/wcag3 by the
tracker. Titles, numbers and states are the threads' own.
Nobody has read these threads and written up the positions yet, so
only the threads themselves are listed.
Use of assistive technology, accessible alternative versions, accessibility-related modifications of content, and accessibility-related settings do not expose people with disabilities to additional risk.
:::applies-when
- The content displays or requires entry of personal or sensitive information.
:::
:::note
Additional risk includes risk to privacy, finances and personal safety — for example, unintentional exposure of a password or bank account number.
:::