About
About Clean Reader
A free, privacy-first reader mode and read-aloud extension for Chrome. Built for people who just want to read.
Our mission
The web is noisy. Ads, pop-ups, auto-playing videos, cookie banners, and endless sidebars have made reading online exhausting. We built Clean Reader to fix that.
Our mission is simple: give people back the ability to read in peace. No distractions, no tracking, no accounts. Just the words, formatted beautifully, and read aloud if you want.
Why we built it
Reading online has become an exercise in friction:
- News sites are 70% ads and sidebar widgets.
- Research papers are buried under journal navigation chrome.
- Blog posts are interrupted by "Subscribe to our newsletter" overlays every two paragraphs.
- People with low vision or dyslexia have no easy way to enlarge text or listen to articles.
Existing reader tools are either built for developers (like Safari's Reader) or come bundled with paywalls and premium features. We wanted to build something simple, free, and respectful of your privacy.
How it works
Clean Reader runs entirely in your browser. When you click the extension icon:
- It finds the actual article text on the page (using a lightweight readability heuristic).
- It strips out ads, sidebars, comments, and other distractions.
- It renders the text in a clean, centered reading view with themes and adjustable text.
- Optionally, it reads the article aloud using your browser's text-to-speech voices.
Nothing leaves your device. No data is sent to a server. No account is required.
Privacy first
We don't collect data because we don't need to:
- No analytics or tracking pixels.
- No account or sign-in.
- No sending article text anywhere.
- Only your theme and font preferences are stored locally on your device.
Read the full Privacy Policy.
Free forever
Clean Reader is and will always be free. We don't have a premium tier, and we won't add one. The extension is open for anyone to use.
We believe reading shouldn't require a subscription.
Get started
Ready to read without distractions?
Questions?
Check out the FAQ or read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. If you have other questions, you can reach us through the Chrome Web Store support form.