Use Reading mode

With Reading mode, you can personalise your screen-reading experience on Android. You can customise the contrast, colour and font size of text without changes to the content. You can also use the read aloud feature to have the content read out for you.

Download and turn on Reading mode

To use Reading mode, your device must run Android 9 or later. Reading mode is currently only available on Android phones.

On your Android device, open the Google Play Store app .
At the top, search for 'Reading mode'.
Select the Reading mode app.
Tap Install.
Open the Reading mode app .
Follow the instructions in the tutorial. You'll get redirected to the Accessibility settings menu.
Tap Reading mode.
Turn on Reading mode shortcut. A prompt will be displayed.
To allow Reading mode permissions, tap Allow.

Tip: You can also set up other shortcuts to turn on Reading mode:

On your Android device, tap Settings.
Tap Accessibility Reading mode Reading mode shortcut.
- To turn on Reading mode shortcuts with:
  - Volume keys: Tap Hold volume keys.
  - Gesture: Tap More options Tap Use button or gesture Tap Gesture.

Use Reading mode on your Android device

You can use Reading mode on websites or apps with long articles. Tap the floating button (or any other ways that you set to activate Reading mode) to open Reading mode. While reading you can:

Dynamically change the layout.
Tap the play button to have the content read aloud for you.

Reading mode currently doesn't support PDF files, emails, chat messages or social media feeds.

Change Reading mode settings

In Reading mode settings, you can change the:

Colour theme
Font size
Font type
Bold
Line space
Reading voice
Reading speed

On any website with long-form text, open Reading mode.
At the bottom left, tap Settings .
To change:
- Visual settings: Tap Display.
- Reading speed and reading voice: Tap Audio.

Troubleshoot Reading mode

Before you begin troubleshooting, try the following steps to resolve your issue:

Install the latest version of Reading mode.
Based on your Android Play Store settings, Reading mode is updated automatically, but you can always manually check for updates on Google Play.

Reading mode doesn't read content aloud

If Reading mode doesn't read content aloud:

Make sure that the latest Speech Services by Google app is installed on your device.
You can update or install the latest Speech Services by Google app via Google Play.

Use Voice Access and Switch Access with Reading mode

If you turned on Voice Access and Switch Access before Reading mode, you must turn them off and on again to make sure that Voice Access and Switch Access can always stay on top and work properly with Reading mode.

Related resources

To learn more about Android Accessibility, contact the Google Disability Support team.