[Bug]: Tooltip persists on mobile touch devices after returning from a link that opens in a new tab (A11y vs Touch behavior)

[DDreamLee]

Component

Accordion

Package version

^9.70.0

React version

^8.125.0

Environment

Fluent UI v9 (@fluentui/react-components)

OS: iOS

Browser: Mobile Safari / Mobile Edge

Current Behavior

We are using the @fluentui/react-components Tooltip in Microsoft SharePoint Online Client. Our customers have reported a behavior on mobile devices that they perceive as a bug, though we suspect it is intentional by design for Accessibility (WCAG) and touch event handling.

When a user taps a link (wrapped with a Tooltip) that opens in a new tab, and then navigates back to the original tab, the Tooltip remains visible on the screen until the user taps outside to dismiss it. On desktop, doing the same action hides the tooltip upon returning.

Expected Behavior

We would like official clarification on what the expected behavior should be in this specific cross-tab mobile scenario.
Because the behavior differs between Desktop (tooltip disappears) and Mobile (tooltip persists), enterprise clients frequently report the mobile behavior as a UI defect.
Could the Fluent UI feature crew confirm if this persistent state on mobile is indeed the intended, A11y-compliant behavior? Having an official stance will greatly help us explain the interaction paradigm to our end-users.

Reproduction

https://stackblitz.com/edit/wk75m1e3?file=src%2Fexample.tsx

Steps to reproduce

Render a
<Tooltip content="Example tooltip" relationship="label" {...props}>

Open this link in a new tab

.

On a mobile touch device (iOS Safari or Edge), tap the link.

The browser opens a new tab.

Use the mobile task switcher to return to the original tab.

Observe: The Tooltip is still visible and persists until a "clickaway / tap outside" occurs.

Are you reporting an Accessibility issue?

yes

Suggested severity

Urgent - No workaround and Products/sites are affected

Products/sites affected

Microsoft SharePoint Online Client

Are you willing to submit a PR to fix?

no

Validations

• Check that there isn't already an issue that reports the same bug to avoid creating a duplicate.
• The provided reproduction is a minimal reproducible example of the bug.

[tudorpopams]

@ValentinaKozlova can you provide some context here about what's the right approach from a WCAG perspective?

[ValentinaKozlova]

Hey @DDreamLee,
WCAG Criterion: 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus (Level AA)
This criterion has three requirements for content that appears on hover/focus:

• Dismissible - user can dismiss without moving pointer/focus (typically via Escape)
• Hoverable - pointer can move over the tooltip without it vanishing
• Persistent - remains visible until hover/focus is removed, user dismisses it, or info becomes invalid

On mobile:

• a tap fires focus + activation simultaneously
• When the user taps a link (opening a new tab) and returns, the focus/hover trigger is gone, but the tooltip remains due to stale state
• The tooltip is dismissible (tap outside), so the dismissibility requirement is met

No WCAG rule requires tooltips to persist across tab switches. It might be good to fix this behavior for consistency.
The original trigger (tap/hover) is no longer active, so dismissing is correct. This can be done by visibilitychange event.

cc: @smhigley