Why it's a strong pick

Reader View uses Mozilla Readability to pull the article out of a page. That is the same library idea behind Firefox's built-in reader view. The listing we link also adds text-to-speech, save as HTML and keyboard shortcuts. The trade-off: several extensions share this name, and we could not read this one's privacy policy.

What it does

Reader View opens a page in reader view, so you see the article without ads and page clutter. The Chrome Web Store listing we link shows a page-action button to switch it on, fullscreen reading, ad removal, saving a page as HTML, text-to-speech and keyboard shortcuts. It says it supports 40 languages.

The listing's publisher is shown as "Free Online Apps".

Key features

Readability engine. Uses Mozilla Readability to find the main text.
Page-action button. Open reader view from the toolbar.
Fullscreen reading. Read with the rest of the page out of the way.
Ad removal. Strips ads from the reader view.
Save as HTML. Keep a clean copy of the page.
Text-to-speech. Have the article read aloud.
Keyboard shortcuts. Open and control the view from the keyboard.

Who it's for

Reader View suits people who want a plain article view with a few extras such as read-aloud and a saved HTML copy. If you want highlighting, dyslexia fonts and notes, look at Reader Mode. If you want a reader that only reformats article pages and says so, see Just Read. For read-aloud alone, see Read Aloud.

Are there several extensions called Reader View?

Yes. The Chrome Web Store has more than one listing with this name. One of them is an open-source project on GitHub by a developer called rNeomy. The listing we link shows a different publisher, "Free Online Apps", and we found nothing tying it to that repository.

So we do not call this listing open source. Check the "Offered by" line before you install.

What permissions does Reader View ask for?

We could not read the permission list for this listing. A reader tool has to read the page you open to find the article. Check the install prompt before you click "Add to Chrome", and look at the publisher name on the store page. Permissions can change between releases.

What does Reader View do with my data?

We could not read the developer's privacy policy when we checked; read it before installing. The listing shows a publisher name but we did not find a privacy statement we can quote. If you read private pages, such as banking or work tools, do not turn on any extension you have not checked.

Does Reader View work on every page?

No. Readability looks for article text. Pages that are apps, dashboards or shops can come out blank or broken in reader view. That is how this kind of tool works, not a fault in one extension. If a page looks wrong, close reader view and read the original page.

FAQ

Is Reader View free? We could not confirm the price from the listing, so check the store page.

Does it need an account? None is described on the listing we read.

Does it have a dark theme? We did not find a theme list for this listing. For dark pages across sites, try Dark Reader.

Good to know

Reader view tools are made for articles. Use them on news, blog posts and long reads. For everything else, switch them off. If you want the Mozilla engine without an extension, Firefox has a reader view built in.

Other dark mode & reader tools to compare

Reader View 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 Mode: A distraction-free reader with accessibility tools, highlighting and text-to-speech. Free plan with limits, paid Premium.
Chrome Reader Mode: A reader mode that can also save articles offline, highlight and take notes. The listing is now titled Quiet Reader.
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.