Swisswise GmbH builds MATE, "a truly private AI", on the principle that privacy and dignity are for everyone, including people who rely on assistive technology. This statement explains our commitment to accessibility, the standards we work to, the support available today, our assurance roadmap and how you can reach us.
Our commitment
We treat accessibility as a product requirement, not an optional extra. We commit to:
- Designing and building for accessibility from the outset. MATE was built with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) in mind and follows Apple's Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) accessibility practices on Apple platforms.
- Honouring your own settings. MATE respects your device's system accessibility settings directly, rather than forcing you to reconfigure your preferences inside the app.
- Working towards recognised conformance targets through continuous testing and a published assurance roadmap.
- Listening to you. Anyone can report an accessibility barrier through our support and grievance channels, and we treat such reports as priority defects.
- Reviewing and republishing this statement on a fixed cadence.
Swisswise GmbH (UID/commercial-register number CHE-157.478.799, registered office Weltpoststrasse 8b, 3015 Bern, Switzerland) is a founders-only micro-company with no employees beyond its founders. Accessibility is therefore owned directly by the founders. When we hire our first worker, accessibility responsibilities, review duties, and reporting triage will be written into that role from day one.
Conformance targets
We adopt a two-track target appropriate to the two kinds of surface we operate.
Websites: WCAG 2.2 AA
For our public websites, swisswise.com and swissmate.ai (including the web application at app.swissmate.ai), our target is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, Level AA, consistent with the EAA's reference to the harmonised European standard EN 301 549.
- Current review status: core accessibility features have been assessed internally. Independent WCAG 2.2 AA assurance is scheduled as the next review stage.
- What's next: we will complete independent review of both websites, record the findings and update this statement with the result and any resulting action dates.
Application: platform accessibility
For the MATE app on Apple platforms (and its Android, desktop, and web clients), our target is platform-native accessibility conformance: Apple's Human Interface Guidelines accessibility practices on iOS and iPadOS, with the EAA as the overarching design reference across all platforms.
- Current status: conformant for the core, verified features listed below: VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, the three accessibility-grade theming axes, and system-settings inheritance. These are implemented and shipping today.
Where an optional MATE function connects to a third-party service, the accessibility of that provider's own pages remains the provider's responsibility. This statement covers the surfaces operated by Swisswise GmbH.
What MATE supports
The table below reflects the product as built. "Supported today" identifies functions assessed internally; "Independent review planned" identifies functions included in the next assurance stage.
| Accessibility feature | What it does for you | App | Websites |
|---|---|---|---|
| VoiceOver / screen-reader support | Spoken navigation and interaction for blind and low-vision users | Supported today | Independent review planned |
| Dynamic Type / text scaling | Larger text without truncation; respects your preferred text size | Supported today | Independent review planned |
| Bright Mode | High-legibility light presentation; light-mode text engineered for legibility | Supported today | Independent review planned |
| True Dark | Pure-black dark presentation for light sensitivity and OLED comfort | Supported today | Independent review planned |
| High Contrast | Increased contrast for low-vision users | Supported today | Independent review planned |
| Honours device system accessibility settings | The app inherits your OS-level accessibility preferences directly, with no separate in-app toggles to maintain | Supported today | n/a (OS-level) |
| Localised interface: 37 languages | Native-language access reduces barriers for non-English speakers | Supported today | Independent review planned |
| Keyboard operability | Navigation and interaction without a pointing device | Independent review planned | Independent review planned |
| Reduced-motion respect | Honours your "reduce motion" preference | Independent review planned | Independent review planned |
| Non-text contrast / target size | UI controls and hit targets are assessed against recognised criteria | Independent review planned | Independent review planned |
The four shipping pillars are the verified strengths of MATE today: VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, the three theming axes (Bright Mode, True Dark, and High Contrast), and system-settings inheritance.
Assurance and review roadmap
The activities below move MATE from internal assessment towards independent assurance against our stated targets.
| Review activity | Planned action |
|---|---|
| Independent WCAG 2.2 AA website assurance | Commission and complete the review; address and document findings |
| Keyboard and reduced-motion review | Verify and document behaviour across supported web journeys |
| Language and locale review | Confirm language and locale attributes during independent review |
| Accessibility ownership as the team grows | Keep founder ownership today and formalise the role and review cadence with our first hire |
We aim to re-test against the then-current WCAG version at each statement review, and to fold any barriers you report into the next remediation cycle.
Inclusiveness of the product
Beyond conformance checkboxes, MATE is designed to widen access to private AI:
- Privacy as inclusion. MATE combines on-device processing, Swiss-operated processing without retention of conversation content and separate handling of necessary account records. This matters especially for vulnerable users in legal, healthcare or public-sector contexts.
- Language reach. A 37-language localised interface lowers the barrier for non-English speakers.
- Choice of where computation happens. An on-device answer mode lets your conversation stay on hardware you already own, which can suit connectivity, cost, or confidentiality constraints.
- Respecting your environment. By inheriting your device's system accessibility settings, MATE meets you in the configuration you have already chosen, rather than asking you to re-learn a bespoke in-app settings panel.
How to report an accessibility issue
We want to hear about barriers, and we treat them as priority defects.
- Report a barrier: contact us through swissmate.ai/contact.
- Formal grievance: anyone may raise an accessibility barrier through our public stakeholder grievance procedure.
- What to include (helpful, not required): the page or screen, the device and assistive technology you use, and what you expected to happen.
- What we do: we acknowledge your report, investigate, and communicate the outcome and any fix or workaround back to you, consistent with our grievance procedure.
- Protection from retaliation: raising an accessibility concern in good faith will never count against any user, supplier, or worker.
Reviewing this statement
We review and republish this statement every 12 months, and additionally whenever the website WCAG audit completes, a material product change affects accessibility, or the referenced WCAG version is superseded.
Effective date: 22 June 2026 · Swisswise GmbH, Weltpoststrasse 8b, 3015 Bern · Contact: see swissmate.ai/contact.