Reader mode lets you view web articles in a clean, distraction-free layout — removing ads, popups, and sidebars so you can focus on the content. This guide covers how to use reader mode in Brave and how Web Highlights takes it further with highlighting, notes, and offline access.
Brave's Built-in Reader Mode
Brave has a built-in feature called Speedreader that works as a reader mode. It strips away clutter before the page fully loads. Here's how to use it:
- Open Brave and navigate to an article or blog post.
- Look for the reader mode icon (horizontal lines) in the address bar. It appears on compatible article pages.
- Click the icon to activate Speedreader for that page.
- To enable Speedreader globally, go to Settings → Appearance and toggle Speedreader on.
- Customize the appearance using the Speedreader controls at the top of the page to change font, zoom level, and background color.
Limitations
- Speedreader only works on compatible article pages.
- You cannot highlight or annotate text within Brave Speedreader.
- Articles are not saved for offline access or synced across devices.
Go Further with Web Highlights Reader Mode
While Brave's reader mode removes distractions, it stops there. Web Highlights adds a complete research workflow on top of any reader mode:
- Highlight & annotate — Mark up important text with multiple colors and add personal notes.
- Save for offline access — Keep a permanent, reader-friendly copy of any article.
- Sync across devices — Access your saved articles, highlights, and notes from any device through the web app.
- Export your research — Send highlights to Notion, Capacities, Markdown, PDF, or HTML.
- AI-powered summaries — Generate summaries of your saved articles using Chrome's built-in AI.
- Organize with tags — Tag and group your research for easy retrieval.
Learn more about how our reader mode works in the Web Highlights Reader Mode documentation.
Brave Reader Mode vs. Web Highlights
| Feature | Brave | Web Highlights |
|---|
| Distraction-free reading | ✅ | ✅ |
| Custom themes & fonts | ✅ Basic | ✅ Full (Light, Dark, Sepia, Contrast) |
| Highlight & annotate | ❌ | ✅ |
| Save for offline access | ❌ | ✅ |
| Sync across devices | ❌ | ✅ |
| Export to Notion, Markdown, etc. | ❌ | ✅ |
| Works in multiple browsers | ❌ | ✅ Chrome, Edge, Brave, Firefox, Opera |
Try Web Highlights Reader Mode
Install Web Highlights to get a full-featured reader mode with highlighting, notes, and offline access — free, no sign-up required.
Install Web Highlights Need help with another browser? Check out our other browser tutorials.