Is it possible to make an Android app for Android TV that uses accessibility service?

Question

I made an Android app. Now I need the app to work on Android TV. My app uses the accessibility service but I can't find how to enable the accessibility service for my app on Android TV.

How can it be done?

Answer 1

There is no guarantee that any given Android TV device will support accessibility services, or at least offer accessibility via the Settings app.

You could try adding a button or something to your own app UI that launches an ACTION_ACCESSIBILITY_SETTINGS activity. Be sure to wrap that in try/catch and figure out what you will do if that screen simply is unavailable.

Answer 2

Android have the Accessibility Service API, which offers numerous possibilities for assisting users with disabilities or temporarily impaired abilities.

Typically, accessibility services read and interpret views on screen, allow interactions with the views (click, long click, scroll, etc.), capture keys, touch events, etc.

important points to remember when developing your app:

Declare the Accessibility Service in your manifest: Be sure to declare this in your AndroidManifest.xml file.

<service android:name=".MyAccessibilityService"
        android:permission="android.permission.BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE" >
    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="android.accessibilityservice.AccessibilityService" />
    </intent-filter>
     . . .
</service>

Extend the AccessibilityService Class: Your service must extend AccessibilityService and implement the onAccessibilityEvent() and onInterrupt() methods.

public class MyAccessibilityService extends AccessibilityService {
    @Override
    public void onAccessibilityEvent(AccessibilityEvent event) {
        // Respond to the accessibility event
    }
    @Override
    public void onInterrupt() {
        // Respond when the service is interrupted, for example, when the user turns off accessibility.
    }
}

Remember that not all accessibility features are compatible with every device, particularly when it comes to TVs. You should thoroughly test your app on the intended hardware.

Lastly, using the Accessibility Service also requires the android.permission.BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE permission. Users must manually enable the service under Accessibility settings.