Without sugarcoating it, the majority of the contemporary web is a complete visual nightmare.
We don't really need to point fingers or identify people here. However, when you try to read anything on the great majority of webpages, your eyes get attacked and your brain gets reeled from that poisonous stew of visual anguish.
Google has now released Chrome reading mode for desktop users, which helps to tidy up the clutter and significantly reduce the headache factor of any web content. However, it's not always so simple to remove the excessive clutter from the web on Android.
Or, until recently, at least, it hasn't been. Have I ever had some good news for you, my sanity-seeking companion?
A refreshed on-demand reading option for the Chrome Android app is being developed by Google. It's not yet primetime ready or extensively distributed. However, you can bring it into the browser on any Android device you're using with a little tweaking—about 20 seconds.
Let me show you the secret.
Your Chrome Android reading rescue
First things first: this is how the brand-new Chrome Android reading mode appears when it is activated:
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| The new Android Chrome reading mode in action — before and after. |
Observe the little phone-shaped symbol situated in the address bar, right next to the primary text field, in the initial screenshot? That appears anytime you are reading an article when the option to read in mode is offered. And all it takes is a single, little swipe to switch the page in front of your eyes from the one on the left to the pleasantly optimized, readable one on the right.
Better still, you may alter the color scheme, font style, and font size of each page to your preference at any time using a few useful settings included in the mode's main menu. This new reading mode makes it possible for you to have complete control over how each page appears.
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| Chrome's new Android reading mode is ready to work for you. |
Not too terrible, huh? So let's proceed to launch it on your Android handset.
It's simple, I swear:
- Start by launching Chrome on your Android tablet or phone of choice.
- The address bar at the top of the screen should then be tapped.
- Enter chrome:flags in the resulting field.
- In the search box located at the top of the subsequent screen, type reader.
- Have you noticed the section titled "Contextual page actions - reader mode"? Press and hold the box underneath to switch it from "Default" to "Enabled."
- Identify and modify the "Reader Mode triggering" line by dragging its value from "Default" to "Always."
- Finally, press the blue Relaunch button located at the screen's bottom.
And that's it! Look for the helpful tiny phone symbol in the address bar area at the top of the screen. Try opening up any website where reading optimization could be helpful (...pausing briefly for an awkward silence as I avoid any and all metaphorical eye contact) and see if it appears for you.
It's a little inconsistent, I should warn you. (After all, this feature is still in the development stage!) However, if it isn't appearing on a website straight away, you can usually get it to display by navigating about a little in the browser — for example, by swiping left or right in the URL bar to switch between tabs.
Even if it's not flawless right now, when it does function, my goodness, it's a wonderful treat for tired, mistreated web eyes. And hopefully, as time goes on, it will only grow better and more dependable.
As an added bonus, this method actually allows the page you are now seeing to load before you see your decluttered view, so the publications you are reading won't suffer from having their advertisements (and main sources of income) completely suppressed.
A nice win-win, don't you think? Hey, that's okay with us.
