How to use Reading mode in Chrome, and when to use a separate reader
By Aura Reader Team · 2026-10-03 · 4 min read
If you only want to read the page in front of you with fewer distractions, try Chrome's built-in Reading mode first. You may not need another extension. Aura becomes relevant when you also want to keep articles, return to saved passages or read uploaded books beside them.
Open Chrome's built-in Reading mode
On a computer, open a text-heavy page in Chrome. Right-click the page and choose Open in reading mode. Google also documents More tools > Reading mode in the browser menu. Depending on your Chrome version and saved preference, the reading view may be full screen or in a side panel.
Use the reading controls to change the typeface, text size, theme and spacing. Read aloud is another built-in option. If the expected text is missing, try selecting it on the original page. Google notes that Reading mode does not work with every website or format.
Google's current Reading mode instructions
Decide whether you need to keep the page
Cleaning up a page and saving it for next week are separate jobs. Before choosing a tool, decide what you expect to find when you return: a link to the publisher, a saved reading copy, your place in the text, or a passage with a note. Test that exact sequence with one article.
Chrome bookmarks and its Reading List are worth considering if a list of links is enough. You do not need to move your whole reading routine just to make today's article easier to read. If you keep losing the quote you wanted, annotation and retrieval deserve more attention than another theme selector.
Compare bookmarks, Reading List and saving an article in Aura
What you would use Aura for
Aura gives you a reading library for saved articles and uploaded PDF or EPUB files. Open an article, adjust the text and save a passage when you want to return to it. The Chrome extension provides a way to save from the page you are already visiting or open it in Aura's clean reader.
The website also works without installing the extension. You can try an article from its URL. Sign-in is required for file uploads and cloud saving. This is a different choice from a reading view inside Chrome, so check whether you want another account before moving your material.
Keep the source available
Any extracted reading view can miss something that matters: a table, a caption, a footnote or the relationship between an image and its text. Open the publisher's page when you need to check those details. A tidy page is not evidence that the extraction is complete.
Aura does not promise access to every publisher, protected page or paywalled article. If the original requires a subscription, use your legitimate access there. Saving a URL does not guarantee that its full text has been preserved.
A small test before choosing
Use the same article in Chrome Reading mode and Aura. Read a few paragraphs, adjust the font and decide which view you prefer. If saving matters to you, save the article in Aura, add a note and reopen it from the library. Choose based on the part you will actually use tomorrow.