The latest WebAIM screenreader survey listed the following as the top six web browsers among screenreader users:
•    Internet Explorer 10+ (34.9%)
•    Firefox (30.1%)
•    Internet Explorer 6, 7 or 8 (12.8%)
•    Safari (7.9%)
•    Chrome (6.3%)
•    Internet Explorer 9 (5.8%)
That top six is a little dismaying, especially number three. IE 6 was released in 2001. In 2001, Firefox didn’t even exist – the first release was in 2002. Safari, number four in that list, came out in early 2003, while number five, Chrome, didn’t see its first version until 2008. I say that for context – technology moves quickly, and browsers and the content they serve up are some of the most rapidly evolving species in the ecosystem. The point is that if you’re still using IE 6, 7 or 8, you’re going to be missing out on a thing or two, especially where it comes to security features. ARIA support didn’t get added until IE 8.  Later versions of IE have fewer gaps, but if you want native MathML, you will have to jump ship (though not to Chrome, which doesn’t support it either; try Firefox instead.) HTML5 support in IE  lags behind other browsers. Most importantly, with the release of Windows 10 and the Edge browser, IE is now set to be phased out, which leaves that 53.5% of users in the lurch a bit.

Here’s the thing – for a long time, IE offered the best accessibility of any browser, and some accessibility was keyed to IE. That state of affairs has not carried over to Microsoft’s new offering, Edge. Work on Edge continues, but as it stands it is not a recommended option (by us, or for that matter Microsoft). This status quo leaves a gap – development on IE 11 has ended except where it affects security; and Edge is not a viable alternative. IE is on its way out, and you can change browsers now, or change later. The reality is that there is no benefit to delaying – there is no accessibility feature in IE that you can’t get elsewhere, and there are gains to be had, especially if you’re switching from older IE versions. In house, we use Firefox a lot, and in terms of screenreader-friendliness it is perhaps your best bet. For now, the Mac and iOS users who aren’t using Chrome are using Safari, and that is a perfectly reasonable option.  Chrome, while it’s missing some of Firefox’s more pleasant features, is functional on Windows and in many cases better than Firefox on Mac. Most importantly, it is in very active development. The final question, then, is this: is there any reason to settle for an aging browser when there are up-to-date alternatives? Next time you visit Google Docs, for example, you might try Firefox – and find out for yourself whether or not switching has any benefits.