Why it's a strong pick

Its store listing describes a reader mode with extras that most plain readers lack: offline saving, highlights, notes and a reading ruler. The trade-off is how little we could verify. The listing was renamed to "Quiet Reader — Reader Mode", and we could not read who makes it, what it costs or what permissions it asks for. Treat this page as a short guide, not a full review.

What it does

The listing says it lets you simplify articles, save them offline, highlight passages and add notes. It describes ad-free, clutter-free reading, and says it removes ads, sidebars and pop-ups. It also has a built-in reading ruler. It is a reader view for articles. It is not a dark mode for other sites.

Key features

Simplified articles. Removes ads, sidebars and pop-ups, per the listing.
Offline saving. Save pages to read without a connection.
Highlights and notes. Mark passages and add notes.
Reading ruler. A built-in ruler to help you keep your place.

Who it's for

This listing fits readers who want to keep and mark up articles, not only clean them up. If you want a dark look across the web, use Dark Reader. If you want a reader with a longer, better-documented feature list, see Reader Mode, Reader View or Just Read.

Has this extension changed?

The store link on this page, ending in chrome-reader-mode, now shows the title "Quiet Reader — Reader Mode". An older search result still showed the name "Chrome Reader Mode". We earlier described it with light, dark and sepia themes. We found no source for that on this listing, so we removed it.

What can we not tell you?

We could not verify the developer, the price, whether you need an account, the permissions, whether its source code is public, or which manifest version it uses. We could not read a privacy policy. Read the developer's privacy policy before installing.

The listing says you do not need to worry about intrusive ads or tracking, which is a marketing line, not a policy.

What permissions does it ask for?

We could not read the permissions for this listing, so we cannot list them. Check the install prompt before you install, and look at the developer details on the store page. A reader tool has to read the page you open to find the article, so expect it to ask for access to your pages.

FAQ

Is it free? We could not verify the price. Check the listing.

Does it have dark mode? We found no source for themes on this listing. For a dark mode, see Dark Reader.

Is it the same as the Chrome Reader Mode we listed before? The store link is the same, but the title has changed to Quiet Reader.

Good to know

Reader tools reformat article pages. They are not a dark mode for the rest of the web, and on apps or dashboards they may show little. Compare it with the other picks in our Dark Mode & Reader Tools guide before you choose.

Other dark mode & reader tools to compare

Chrome Reader Mode is one of 10 picks in our Dark Mode & Reader Tools guide, which compares them side by side and explains how to choose. The other picks:

Dark Reader: An open-source dark mode for websites. Free extension, with brightness, contrast and sepia controls.
Night Eye: A dark mode extension that adjusts each page's elements instead of flipping every color. Free Lite plan with limits, paid plans above it.
Midnight Lizard: An open-source colour-scheme tool for websites. Dark, light and grayscale modes plus a blue-light filter.
Reader View: A reader extension built on Mozilla Readability. Opens an article in a clean page, with fullscreen reading and text-to-speech.
Reader Mode: A distraction-free reader with accessibility tools, highlighting and text-to-speech. Free plan with limits, paid Premium.
Turn Off the Lights: Dims the page around a video player and adds a Night Mode for dark pages. Open source (GPLv2), free, supported by donations.
Just Read: A reader mode for article pages, made by one developer. Free core, paid subscription for extras.
Clearly Reader: A reader mode with an AI assistant. A free plan, plus paid Pro and Subscription plans.
Stylus: Restyle websites with CSS themes, such as dark themes, that you install or write yourself. Not a one-click dark mode. Open source.