Modern news websites and blogs are frequently overloaded with distracting elements. Autoplaying video advertisements, newsletter sign-up pop-ups, animated sidebars, and confusing navigation menus can make it incredibly difficult to simply sit down and read an article.
Google Chrome includes a built-in accessibility feature called Reading Mode that instantly solves this problem. When activated, Reading Mode strips away every single advertisement, sidebar, formatting script, and distracting image, leaving only the pure text of the article presented in a clean, highly readable format.
How to Activate Reading Mode
Reading Mode is located within Chrome’s Side Panel, meaning you can read the clean text while keeping the original, messy webpage open alongside it.
- Open Google Chrome and navigate to the article or blog post you wish to read.
- Look at the top-right corner of the Chrome toolbar, next to your profile picture.
- Click the Side panel icon (it looks like a square with the right third shaded in).
- The panel will slide open on the right side of your screen. Click the dropdown menu at the top of the panel (it might say “Bookmarks” or “Search” by default).
- Select Reading mode from the dropdown menu.
Chrome will instantly analyse the main webpage, extract the core text of the article, and display it inside the Side Panel in a perfectly clean, easy-to-read format.
How to Customise the Reading Experience
Reading Mode is not just about removing ads; it is designed to make reading physically easier, particularly for users with dyslexia or visual impairments. You have complete control over how the text is presented.
Look at the toolbar located directly above the clean text in the Side Panel. You can use these buttons to customise the display:
- Font: Change the typeface. You can switch from standard fonts to options specifically designed for legibility.
- Text Size: Click the – or + buttons to shrink or enlarge the text size without zooming in on the rest of the browser window.
- Theme (Background Colour): Change the background colour behind the text. You can choose a dark theme to reduce eye strain at night, or a yellow “sepia” tone to reduce harsh blue light.
- Line Spacing: Increase the vertical space between sentences to make dense paragraphs easier to follow.
- Letter Spacing: Increase the horizontal space between individual letters, a crucial tool for readers with dyslexia.
How to Resize the Reading Panel
By default, the Side Panel occupies the right third of your screen. If you find this column too narrow for comfortable reading, you can easily widen it.
- Hover your mouse cursor over the vertical dividing line between the main webpage and the Reading Mode panel.
- Your cursor will change into a double-sided arrow.
- Click and drag the line to the left to expand the Reading Mode panel until it is a comfortable width.
When you have finished reading the article, simply click the small X icon in the top-right corner of the Side Panel to close it and return to your normal browsing experience.