Read long articles at your own speed

Open an article on your computer

1. Open the article in desktop Chrome or Edge with the SwiftRead extension installed. Get it from the Chrome Web Store or Edge Add-ons.
2. Open the extension menu and choose SwiftRead current page.
3. When the article opens in the reader, check the imported text and choose how you want to read.

The extension is the recommended way to import a webpage on a computer. See the webpage import guide for the alternatives.

Share an article from your phone

1. Open the article in your phone's browser, with the SwiftRead app installed from the App Store or Google Play.
2. Tap Share, then select SwiftRead.
3. Open the imported article in SwiftRead and choose how to read it.

If SwiftRead is missing from the share sheet, open the app once and try again. On iOS, you may need to tap More and enable SwiftRead. On Android, scroll through the available apps.

You can also copy the article's link, open SwiftRead, choose Open, then Web URL, paste the link, and select Submit. The phone workflow uses the native app. The Chrome and Edge extensions are for computers.

More about sharing on iOS and Android.

Choose a reading mode: Focus (RSVP), Flow or Spotlight

SwiftRead has three reading modes, and you can switch at any time. Pause, select the speedometer icon to the left of Play, and choose Focus, Flow or Spotlight under Speed Reading. Reading Speed is in the same panel. Close it and press Play. If you're not sure which mode suits you, try each for a minute or two.

Focus: a few words at a time (RSVP)

Focus shows a few words at a time in the center of the screen. It's the display speed reading apps call RSVP, rapid serial visual presentation: the text comes to you one chunk at a time, at the speed you set. Open Advanced to adjust the Focus Stage and, when available, Context Lines.

Flow: the full text with a moving highlight

Flow keeps the whole article on screen and moves a highlight through it at the speed you set, so the context stays in view. Open Advanced to choose Continuous or Paginated scrolling.

Spotlight: only the words you're reading stand out

Spotlight hides or dims the surrounding text so the words you're reading stand out, with the article still in place. Open Advanced to set how quickly the words you've just read fade, and to choose Continuous or Paginated scrolling.

Listen with text-to-speech, in any mode

Text-to-speech works in Focus, Flow and Spotlight. Pause, select the audio icon, switch on Enable Narration, and choose a voice. Press Play to hear the article read aloud while the text stays on screen. Pause whenever you need. Change the voice in the text-to-speech settings, and the speed with the speedometer control next to Play.

Follow along as it reads

With text-to-speech on in Flow, each word is highlighted as it's spoken, so your eyes follow the voice. The speed stays under your control. The same works for PDFs: see listen to a PDF while following the text.

All features included free. A few have daily allowances. Text-to-speech is one of them. See the allowance details by plan.

Before you settle in

• Check the imported article. Webpage imports can miss content. If a site won't import, copy the text you can access and use Paste Text or Markdown instead.
• No desktop extension? The web app can import from a link, at lower quality. Choose Open, then Web URL, select Continue with a lower-quality webpage import, paste the link, and select Submit.
• Continue on another device. Sign in to the same SwiftRead account to sync your Library and reading progress. See account and sync help.
• Still comparing apps? See the best speed reading apps.