This unknown Chrome feature has changed the way I use the web

The modern internet is a horribly distracting place. It’s a carnival littered with flashing ads, autoplay videos, and massive leaps between text. I’ll be first to admit that it’s becoming more challenging to read through engaging content on the web simply due to all the tinsel drawing me away from it. I’ve become susceptible to distractions of late, so it’s beneficial to strip these things from the articles I want to read. Thankfully, Google offers an easy solution to this problem hiding in plain sight within Google Chrome itself.

Google Chrome’s Reader Mode, often appearing as Simplify page within the browser, is a feature many users likely forgot even exists, but one that everyone should use more often. It strips non-essential content from web pages, leaving only the core article text and selected images. This completely changed the way I use the web.

So, what exactly does Chrome’s Reader Mode do? In brief, it strips ads from web pages almost as fluidly as a dedicated adblocking extension, ironic considering Google’s recent treatment of uBlock Origin on its desktop browser.

Users can access a few visual controls through the mode, including font size adjustments, typeface tweaks, and background color options. If you’re browsing articles in the evening, activating Reader Mode and selecting a darkened background does wonders for one’s eyes.

I often use it with investigative sites such as The Guardian and The Atlantic‘s longer reads. The option to adjust the typeface to mesh with my requirements is a boon. Reader Mode also condenses text, making reading longer articles and content much more manageable by removing large, jarring spaces between text. It’s particularly great for recipes, too.

Finally, visiting foreign websites often introduces a relatively easy and quick way to translate entire articles. Reader Mode also circumvents soft content blocks.

If you use Google Chrome on desktop, Reader Mode offers many other features that I can’t wait to land on Android. For starters, a Reading List feature allows me to bookmark articles to read for later. Notably, these articles can also be accessed within the bookmarks tab on Chrome Android, although the feature isn’t nearly as slick on mobile.

Reader Mode can be shy; Here’s how to activate it

Usually, Google Chrome automatically offers a Simplify page icon in the address bar when it detects content that supports reader mode. Tap on it, and you’ll leap into a much calmer place. However, this icon’s appearance is unreliable at best, given Android’s eccentricities. If this is your first time hearing about Reading Mode, navigate to the Settings > Toolbar and select Based on your usage. The Simplify Page option will appear when applicable.

However, given my gripes outlined above, I prefer to force this option to always appear on any tab I visit. To do this, navigate to chrome://flags in the URL bar, navigate to the Reader Mode triggering flag, and ensure this option is set to All articles. Once activated, the option to trigger Reader Mode should appear more often and reliably.

I’m not a fervent Google Chrome user, and many of our readers may look beyond it for their browsing needs. Thankfully, other Android browsers also offer a Reader Mode or an equivalent.

Mozilla Firefox perhaps offers a more reliable version. Like Chrome, a small icon will appear in the address bar when a website supports the mode. Tap it, and the article will re-render into its simplified version. There are options to customize reader view. A serif or sanserif font selection and font point and background color options are available.

I particularly like Microsoft Edge’s Reader Mode, though. Again, supported articles will offer an icon in the address bar. Tapping it triggers the mode. However, Edge has a built-in audio reader, unlike Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. This will, word by word, read out the article in its entirety to you. It’s pretty brilliant for those long-form pieces. Users can also translate the entire article, adjust text size, and switch between dark and light modes. Edge also does a far better job cleaning up irrelevant text, too.

Whatever browser you use, Reader Mode is an underappreciated feature that I’ve found so much love for. When paired with Google Discover and other content delivery services, Chrome’s implementation offers a distraction-free way to read articles without autoplay content rattling around in the background. Google could and should bring the Chrome desktop Reader Mode’s features to mobile, and I trust it will eventually.