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 Safari and how Web Highlights takes it further with highlighting, notes, and offline access.
Safari's Built-in Reader Mode
Safari has a built-in Reader View on both macOS and iOS. Here's how to use it:
- Open Safari and navigate to an article or blog post.
- Look for the Reader icon (horizontal lines) on the left side of the address bar. It appears on pages with enough text content.
- Click the icon, or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Shift + R to toggle Reader View.
- To customize, click the Reader icon again to adjust font, text size, and background theme.
- To auto-activate Reader View on a specific site, click and hold the Reader icon and select "Use Reader automatically on this website".
Limitations
- Reader View only works on compatible pages with sufficient text content.
- You cannot highlight or annotate text within Safari Reader View.
- Articles are not saved for offline access or synced across devices.
Go Further with Web Highlights Reader Mode
While Safari'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.
Safari Reader Mode vs. Web Highlights
| Feature | Safari | 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.