How to Enable Reader Mode in Google Chrome and Firefox 

Some websites are full of ads, graphics, videos, banners, and other superfluous clutter. We can only wish some website designers went to greater efforts to declutter the pages on their sites. Luckily, we don’t have to rely on web designers to strip off webpage clutter thanks to reader mode features in browsers.

Reader mode is a feature some browsers incorporate that simplifies open pages by removing their ads, navigation panels, videos, and buttons. That feature enhances the readability of pages’ essential content. This is how you can enable reader mode in Google Chrome and Firefox.

How to Enable Reader Mode in Google Chrome

Unlike Edge’s reader view, Google Chrome’s reader mode is still an experimental feature. Therefore, you’ll need to enable that experimental feature from Chrome’s Experiments tab to utilize it. You can enable reader mode in Google’s flagship browser like this:

1. Click in Google’s URL bar, input chrome://flags/, and press Enter.
2. Input Enable Reader Mode within the search box in the Experiments tab.

3. Select Enabled on the drop-down menu for Enable Reader Mode.

4. Press Relaunch to restart Google Chrome.
5. Open a webpage you want to view in reader mode.
6. Click the Enter reader mode button on the right of Chrome’s URL bar.

Now you’ll see the webpage in a new reading view. Gone are the ads, banners, navigation sidebars, videos, and whatever other clutter the page previously had. All that remains is the page’s primary content.

You might notice an A button at the top of the page. Click that A button to bring up the Customize appearance box shown directly below. That box includes a few settings page display settings.

For example, you can increase or decrease the text size on the page. To do so, drag the bar’s slider in the box right or left, depending on preference. Dragging the bar’s slider right will expand the page’s text.

Users who like their dark modes will appreciate the color options in the Customize appearance box. Clicking the black circle will apply a dark background to the page. Or you can select a light cream color for the page’s background.

How to Activate Reader Mode in Firefox

Firefox’s reader mode is a standard feature in the browser, enabled by default. So, you don’t need to flap about in the Advanced Features or Settings tabs to enable it. All you need to do is open a webpage and click the Toggle reader view button on the right side of Firefox’s address bar. Or you can press F9 to activate it.

Activating the reader view in Firefox will strip the clutter from an open page, like in Chrome. You’ll be left with the page’s actual content along with its images. Almost all the navigation sections for its website will disappear.

Firefox’s reader view has a few more options than Google Chrome’s equivalent mode. Click Type controls in the box on the left side of the page to bring up the settings shown directly below. There you can select an alternative Serif font, change text size, adjust content width, and modify line height. You can also select Dark and Sepia background color options for pages.

The reader view in Firefox also has an audio narration feature for pages, which is like the Read Aloud option in Word. Click Listen below the Type controls button to bring up playback controls. Pressing the Start (play) button will initiate an audio narration that reads out the page’s aloud. You can change the narration’s speed by dragging the slider on the bar.

Simplify Webpages With Google Chrome’s and Firefox’s Reader Modes

The reader modes in Google Chrome and Firefox are very welcome additions to those browsers. Not only does that feature rid ads and videos from pages, but it also provides extra settings for configuring their type and background colors. Removing unneeded clutter from pages with those browsers’ reader modes before printing will also save you ink.