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 Chrome and how Web Highlights takes it further with highlighting, notes, and offline access.
Chrome's Built-in Reader Mode
Chrome has a built-in Reading mode that opens in a side panel. Here's how to activate it:
- Open Google Chrome and navigate to any article or webpage.
- Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
- Go to More tools → Reading mode. A side panel opens with a clean version of the page content.
- To customize, use the toolbar at the top of the side panel to adjust font, font size, background color, line height, and letter spacing.
Limitations
- Reading mode opens in a side panel, not as a full-page replacement.
- You cannot highlight or annotate text within Chrome's reader mode.
- Content is not saved for offline access or synced across devices.
Go Further with Web Highlights Reader Mode
While Chrome'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.
Chrome Reader Mode vs. Web Highlights
| Feature | Chrome | 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.