Reading mode is built into Chrome. You do not need a flag or an extension. On a computer, right-click the page and choose Open in reading mode. On Android, tap More (three dots) and then Show Reading mode. On iPhone or iPad, tap More and then Turn on Reading Mode. These steps come from Google’s reading mode help.
Reading mode shows the text of a page without the clutter, and lets you change the font, text size and background color. It does not work on every page. Google lists image galleries, interactive maps, forms, quizzes, payment pages and login screens among the pages where it may not work, and says it does not suit video or forum sites.
On a computer (Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOS)
Open the page you want to read, then use any one of these:
- Right-click menu: right-click the page and select Open in reading mode.
- Chrome menu: at the top right, select More (three dots) > More tools > Reading mode.
- Address bar: select the Reading mode icon in the address bar when Chrome shows it.
- Keyboard: Alt + Shift + R on Windows, Linux and ChromeOS, or ⌘ Cmd + Option + R on a Mac.
Google’s help says reading mode opens as a full-screen reading view. To use it in the side panel instead, open its Settings and choose View > Side panel. To keep a reading mode button on the toolbar, open its Settings and choose Pin reading mode.
If reading mode opens when you did not ask for it, another app (voice control, for example) may use the same keyboard shortcut. Google suggests changing the shortcut in that other app.
Ctrl + Shift + R (or ⌘ Cmd + Shift + R on a Mac) does not open reading mode. In Google’s list of Chrome shortcuts it reloads the page, ignoring cached content.
Change how the text looks
- Font size: select Font size at the top right, then Decrease, Increase or Reset.
- More options: select Settings at the top right to change the Color theme, Font, Line height and Letter spacing, and to turn Links and Images on or off.
Have the page read aloud
On a computer, reading mode can read the text out loud. Select Play at the top right. You can pause, skip to the previous or next sentence and change the playback speed. To pick a different voice, open Settings > Voice selection. To change how the words being read are highlighted, open Settings > Voice highlight.
On an Android phone or tablet
- Open Chrome and go to the page you want to read.
- To the right of the address bar, tap More (three dots) > Show Reading mode.
- To change the look, pull up the Reading mode sheet at the bottom of the screen. You can choose a Sans Serif, Serif or Mono font, set the font size, and pick a Light, Sepia or Dark background.
If the page cannot be shown this way, Chrome says “Reading mode is unavailable.”
On an iPhone or iPad
- Open Chrome and go to the page you want to read.
- Tap More (three dots) > Turn on Reading Mode.
- To change the look, tap Reading mode at the top left. You can choose a font, change the font size and pick a background color.
- To go back to the normal page, tap More > Turn off Reading Mode.
If the page cannot be shown this way, Chrome says “Reading mode failed.”
If reading mode is missing or empty
- Update Chrome. Google’s first troubleshooting step is to update Chrome to the latest version.
- Select the text first. If the article text does not appear in reading mode, highlight it on the original page. Google says this can make reading mode open with that content.
- Try another page. Some pages are not built in a way reading mode can use, such as forms, galleries and login pages.
Older guides tell you to switch reading mode on in chrome://flags or to install a reader extension. Neither is needed now that reading mode is part of Chrome. Reading mode is also a different feature from Chrome’s Reading list, which has its own guide.