Make Any Text Easier to Read, Right on Your Device
Paste an article, notes or a contract and get a calmer page in one tap: the start of each word in bold, wider spacing and a soft background. Reading Aid (Easier Reading Tool) keeps your text on your device.
Read this guide in: English · Español · Português · Bahasa Indonesia · Tiếng Việt · Français · Deutsch · Italiano · 日本語 · 中文 · 한국어 · ไทย · Filipino · हिन्दी · العربية
The problem
Long text can be tiring: lines blur together, words are hard to pick out, and a plain white page does not help. Many reading tools need an account, an extension that can see every page you visit, or a monthly fee. Reading Aid works on the text you give it and nothing else. It is not a medical tool and does not diagnose or treat dyslexia or any other condition; layouts like this help some readers and not others.
How Reading Aid (Easier Reading Tool) works
- Paste your text, or open a .txt file. The easy-read version appears at once.
- Use the bar at the bottom to turn bold word starts (three strengths) and the easy-read layout on or off.
- Open the settings to adjust font, text size, letter, word and line spacing, background and line width.
- Your last text and the place you stopped are remembered on your device, so you can come back to it.
What you get
- Bold the start of wordsThree strengths, and it never bolds a whole word. It works for scripts without spaces too: Thai, Japanese and Chinese are split into words first, and if your browser cannot do that the bolding is simply skipped for those scripts. Arabic keeps its joined letters and reads from the right. Nobody has firmly proven that this helps, so try it and keep what works for you.
- An easy-read layoutWider letter, word and line spacing, a cream, white, soft green or dark background, a wide system font and a line width you choose. It uses the reading fonts already on your device, so none are downloaded.
- Ruler and one paragraph at a time (Pro)A reading ruler dims everything except the lines you are on. Drag it, tap a line or move it with the arrow keys. Focus mode shows a single paragraph with Next and Previous.
- Read aloud with your device's own voices (Pro)Reading Aid only uses voices that run on your device, so your text is never sent to a server, and it highlights the word being read. If your device has no such voice for the language, it tells you instead of staying silent.
- Files, library and PDF (Pro)Open .md and .epub files, keep many texts with the place you stopped in each, and save a clean copy as a PDF through your browser's print window. Free opens .txt files and keeps your last text. PDF files and copy-protected books cannot be opened; copy the text and paste it instead.
Private by design
Your text, settings and reading position are kept only in this browser on this device. There is no account and nothing is uploaded: files are read on your device and read aloud uses on-device voices only. Because there is no server, clearing site data or losing the device without a backup file loses your texts, so save a backup from the settings now and then.
Free vs Pro
FAQ
Is Reading Aid free?
Yes. Pasting text, opening .txt files, bold word starts, the easy-read layout, remembering your last text and backups are free, with no length limit. Pro is $1 once, not a subscription, with a 7-day refund.
Does my text leave my device?
No. Everything runs in your browser. There is no account and no upload. Read aloud only uses voices your browser reports as running on this device and skips voices that use the internet.
Does it help people with dyslexia?
Some readers find wider spacing and bold word starts easier. Research has not shown a clear benefit for bolding word starts, and Reading Aid is not a medical tool: it does not diagnose or treat dyslexia or any other condition. If reading is often hard for you or your child, a teacher, doctor or reading specialist can help find out why.
Why does read aloud say there is no voice?
Your device has no voice for the language of the text that runs on the device. You can add one in your system's speech settings. Nothing is read aloud and nothing is sent anywhere in the meantime.
Which files can I open?
.txt in Free, plus .md and .epub in Pro. PDF files and copy-protected (DRM) books cannot be opened; copy the text and paste it instead.
What does Pro add?
A reading ruler, one paragraph at a time, read aloud with on-device voices, .md and .epub files, a library that remembers where you stopped and Save as PDF. One payment of $1, no renewals.