WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.1, Use of Color, is a Level A requirement. In practice: colour is not the only visual means of conveying information; and links in running text are distinguishable without colour.
Read the criterion in the W3C Recommendation, WCAG 2.2 (opens in a new tab).
How BearScan checks it
Colour is not the only visual means of conveying information
Checked automatically: loads the page in a browser. Severity: medium. A low-vision or colour-blind user loses meaning that a sighted user takes for granted.
An approximation: A vision model is shown the top of the rendered page in colour and again in greyscale and says whether anything is conveyed by colour alone (status dots, required markers, error borders, chart series, a hue-only legend). It fails only at 85% or more and says what it saw; between that and clearly fine it asks for review. Separately, the page's sentences are read by a decisions model (TypeSafe's Jev) for instructions that identify something by colour alone, which fail at 80% or more. Only the first screen is photographed, so colour-only meaning further down the page is found only through its wording. Links in running text are checked by axe-core under their own rule.
How to fix it. Pair every colour-coded state with text, an icon, or a shape change so it survives without colour perception.
Links in running text are distinguishable without colour
Checked automatically: loads the page in a browser. Severity: medium. A link marked only by a slightly different colour is invisible to many colour-blind readers, who then miss the action entirely.
An approximation: Delegated to axe-core's link-in-text-block rule, which compares computed link styles with the surrounding text. It covers links only; other uses of colour remain with the manual 1.4.1 test.
How to fix it. Underline links that sit inside paragraphs, or give them a non-colour cue such as a weight change, and keep at least 3:1 contrast between link and body text.
All WCAG 2.2 criteria · Next: 1.4.2 Audio Control
Questions
Is WCAG 1.4.1 required by the ADA?
The ADA doesn't name a technical standard for businesses, but the Justice Department's 2022 guidance points businesses to WCAG, and its 2024 rule for state and local governments adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which includes 1.4.1.
Can an automated tool check WCAG 1.4.1?
Mostly. BearScan checks it automatically (loads the page in a browser). A clean result still isn't proof every page passes, only the pages scanned.
How do I fix a WCAG 1.4.1 failure?
Pair every colour-coded state with text, an icon, or a shape change so it survives without colour perception.