Change on Request
Tier 1 · The normative floor
Baseline compliance
What the normative text of WCAG 2.2 requires, and nothing more. Only a failure of this tier is a WCAG failure.
The bare minimum
Changes of context happen only at the user's request, or there's a mechanism to turn such changes off.
Normative text
Verbatim from WCAG 2.2, W3C Recommendation 12 December 2024. Underlined terms are defined below.
Changes of context are initiated only by user request or a mechanism is available to turn off such changes.
Definitions used (2)
Glossary definitions are normative. Their notes are informative.
- changes of context
-
major changes that, if made without user awareness, can disorient users who are not able to view the entire page simultaneously
Changes in context include changes of:
- user agent;
- viewport;
- focus;
- content that changes the meaning of the web page
Informative notes (1)
A change of content is not always a change of context. Changes in content, such as an expanding outline, dynamic menu, or a tab control do not necessarily change the context, unless they also change one of the above (e.g., focus).
- mechanism
-
process or technique for achieving a result
Informative notes (2)
The mechanism may be explicitly provided in the content, or may be relied upon to be provided by either the platform or by user agents, including assistive technologies.
The mechanism needs to meet all success criteria for the conformance level claimed.
Tier 2 · The gap
Usability & user impact
Where content can meet this criterion and still make things harder for people with disabilities. These are not failures of SC 3.2.5, so raise them as usability defects. Known failures, including failures of related criteria, are listed in Tier 1.
Opening new windows or tabs without warning remains common and disorienting.
Tier 3 · The golden path
Recommended best practice
The pattern that meets the floor, closes the gap, and avoids audit disputes. A recommendation, not a requirement.
Open links in the same tab by default, and never move focus or redirect automatically.
W3C's Understanding document and techniques for SC 3.2.5 ↗ are informative: sufficient techniques show ways to pass, and documented failures show common ways to fail, but neither changes what the criterion requires.
How SC 3.2.5 maps to the WCAG 3 draft
From this site's reviewed map to the WCAG 3 editor's draft. It's an interpretation: W3C has not published a mapping.
No provision in the current draft restricts changes of context to user request.
Related, not a successor
From WCAG 2.2, section 5.1: “The main content of WCAG 2.2 is normative and defines requirements that impact conformance claims. Introductory material, appendices, sections marked as "non-normative", diagrams, examples, and notes are informative (non-normative). Non-normative material provides advisory information to help interpret the guidelines but does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim.”