Accessibility Preferences API: Get and Set User Settings

AfterCare’s accessibility preferences control how the app renders for each user — text scale, line spacing, contrast, motion, and more. The API stores preferences server-side so they follow the user across devices. Both endpoints require a valid bearer token and operate on the full preferences object: a POST always replaces all fields rather than merging a partial update.

The AfterCare web app also stores preferences locally on the device so the correct display settings apply immediately on load — before the API response arrives. The server-side preferences synced by these endpoints are the authoritative copy and win when you sign in on a new device.

Get accessibility preferences

Return the current accessibility preferences for the authenticated user. If the user has never set preferences explicitly, the server returns the application defaults.

GET /accessibility/prefs

Example

cURL

curl -X GET https://api.aftercare.app/accessibility/prefs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your_access_token>"

Response — 200 OK

Example response

{
  "textScale": "normal",
  "lineSpacing": "normal",
  "contrast": false,
  "darkMode": false,
  "reduceMotion": false,
  "dyslexiaFont": false,
  "underlineLinks": false,
  "largeTargets": false,
  "readAloudRate": 0.95
}

Set accessibility preferences

Replace all accessibility preferences for the authenticated user. You must send every field — the endpoint does not support partial updates. The response echoes back the saved preferences.

POST /accessibility/prefs

Request body

string

required

Font size scaling applied across the entire app. Accepted values: "normal", "large", "largest". Maps to CSS scale factors of 1×, 1.15×, and 1.35× respectively.

string

required

Line height applied to body text. Accepted values: "normal", "relaxed", "loose". Maps to line-height values of 1.6, 1.85, and 2.1 respectively.

boolean

required

When true, enables the high-contrast colour theme. Mirrors the OS-level prefers-contrast: more signal unless the user has explicitly overridden it.

boolean

required

When true, enables the dark colour theme. Mirrors the OS-level prefers-color-scheme: dark signal unless the user has explicitly overridden it.

boolean

required

When true, disables or minimises animations throughout the app. Mirrors the OS-level prefers-reduced-motion signal unless explicitly overridden.

boolean

required

When true, switches body text to a font designed to reduce letter confusion for readers with dyslexia.

boolean

required

When true, underlines every link so that colour is never the only visual cue distinguishing a link from surrounding text (satisfies WCAG 1.4.1).

boolean

required

When true, enforces a 48 px minimum tap/click target on all interactive controls (satisfies WCAG 2.5.8).

number

required

Speech rate for the read-aloud feature, expressed as a multiplier. Must be between 0.6 (slowest) and 1.4 (fastest). The default is 0.95.

Response fields

string

The saved text scale value: "normal", "large", or "largest".

string

The saved line spacing value: "normal", "relaxed", or "loose".

boolean

Whether high-contrast mode is enabled.

boolean

Whether dark mode is enabled.

boolean

Whether reduced motion is enabled.

boolean

Whether the dyslexia-friendly font is enabled.

boolean

Whether link underlining is enabled.

boolean

Whether large tap targets are enforced.

number

The saved read-aloud speech rate multiplier, clamped to the range 0.6–1.4.

Example

cURL

curl -X POST https://api.aftercare.app/accessibility/prefs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your_access_token>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "textScale": "large",
    "lineSpacing": "relaxed",
    "contrast": false,
    "darkMode": true,
    "reduceMotion": true,
    "dyslexiaFont": false,
    "underlineLinks": true,
    "largeTargets": true,
    "readAloudRate": 0.85
  }'

Response — 200 OK

Returns the full saved preferences object using the same shape as the GET response.

Example response

{
  "textScale": "large",
  "lineSpacing": "relaxed",
  "contrast": false,
  "darkMode": true,
  "reduceMotion": true,
  "dyslexiaFont": false,
  "underlineLinks": true,
  "largeTargets": true,
  "readAloudRate": 0.85
}

Response — 400 Bad Request

Returned when any field is missing, of the wrong type, or outside the accepted range.

{ "error": "Invalid accessibility preferences" }

Application defaults

If you have never posted preferences, the GET endpoint returns these values:

Field	Default
`textScale`	`"normal"`
`lineSpacing`	`"normal"`
`contrast`	`false`
`darkMode`	`false`
`reduceMotion`	`false`
`dyslexiaFont`	`false`
`underlineLinks`	`false`
`largeTargets`	`false`
`readAloudRate`	`0.95`

The defaults for contrast, darkMode, and reduceMotion are false at the API layer. In the web app, these three settings are seeded from OS-level media queries before a user explicitly sets them, so the app may behave differently from the raw API defaults on first load.

Overview

Endpoints

Accessibility Preferences API: Get and Set User Settings

Get accessibility preferences

Example

Response — 200 OK

Set accessibility preferences

Request body

Response fields

Example

Response — 200 OK

Response — 400 Bad Request

Application defaults

​Get accessibility preferences

​Example

​Response — 200 OK

​Set accessibility preferences

​Request body

​Response fields

​Example

​Response — 200 OK

​Response — 400 Bad Request

​Application defaults

Get accessibility preferences

Example

Response — 200 OK

Set accessibility preferences

Request body

Response fields

Example

Response — 200 OK

Response — 400 Bad Request

Application defaults