Zen Browser 1.18.7b fixes accessibility and session‑restore bugs
The newest Zen Browser build patches the workspace switcher so screen‑readers can finally tell the difference between tabs, and it smooths out a handful of session‑restore hiccups that have been driving people nuts. This piece explains what actually changed, why you might notice it today, and whether jumping to 1.18.7b is worth your time.
What’s actually changed in 1.18.7b
Zen’s developers slipped a few lines into the UI code that expose proper ARIA labels on the workspace‑switcher buttons. In plain English, assistive software now announces “Switch to Workspace 2” instead of muttering an ambiguous “button”. The same treatment was applied to several other toolbar elements that previously lacked any descriptive metadata. On top of that, they tightened the logic that rebuilds a crashed session: the browser now writes the tab list to disk before tearing down the process, which eliminates the “blank page on restart” scenario many power users have reported after an unexpected shutdown.
Why the workspace switcher mattered
A longtime reader mentioned that after upgrading to Zen 1.16, their screen‑reader kept announcing “button” every time they cycled workspaces, making it impossible to navigate without guessing. The issue stemmed from a missing aria-label attribute, something that sounds trivial but essentially renders the feature invisible to anyone relying on accessibility tools. By adding those labels, Zen finally respects users who don’t use a mouse, and the switcher regains its intended purpose.
Session‑restore quirks solved
Earlier builds sometimes left an orphaned session file when Windows forced a reboot, so launching Zen would open a single blank tab instead of restoring the previous window layout. The fix forces the browser to flush the session cache more aggressively and adds a fallback check that discards corrupted entries before they can break the startup sequence. In practice this means fewer “Where did my tabs go?” moments after a power loss.
Should you update now?
If accessibility is a daily concern, 1.18.7b is practically mandatory—those missing labels have been a real pain point. Even for users who never touch a screen‑reader, the session‑restore improvements are noticeable; the browser feels more reliable after an abrupt shutdown. The update itself is small (under 30 MB) and installs without prompting for a reboot, so there’s little downside to applying it today.
Release Zen Browser 1.18.7b (2026-02-13)
Zen Stable Release Fixes Fixed accessibility issues with the workspace switcher and other buttons Other session restore fixes and improvements
Release Release build - 1.18.7b (2026-02-13) · zen-browser/desktop
