Google quietly removed Reader Mode on Chrome

Most popular web browser platforms today have a built-in 'Reader Mode' that, when activated, will help convert web pages into a mode more suitable for reading content. . Chrome is no exception when Reader Mode has been integrated into the platform since late 2019.

Reader Mode adds a dedicated trigger button to Chrome's address bar on supported websites (mostly articles), and when clicked, the interface immediately switches to a single view. Simple with only text and images needed. Notably, Reader Mode also hides most of the ads, so it is highly appreciated by users.

However, Google is planning to withdraw Reader Mode and replace it with a similar extension called Reading Mode on Chrome. This mode is expected to roll out to users in the Chrome 114 update next week. Reading Mode also creates a simplified version of the web page interface, but with more color and font options than the original Reader Mode. The simplified view, though, is restricted to the sidebar instead of the page replacement.

As for the fate of Reader Mode, Google seems to have quietly withdrawn the feature without making any official statement. In fact, Google has let the Reader Mode flag expire a few times, including in last year's Chrome 101 release, but has always been renewed after that. Unfortunately this time the expiration date is set to Chrome 112 and has not been renewed. It's been over two months since Google released Chrome 112 and the Reader Mode flag hasn't been renewed yet, so it's possible it's really expired.

You can now 'get' Reader Mode back by going to the #temporary-unexpire-flags-m112 flag and then enabling #enable-reader-mode . However, Google warns that all v112 flags will 'soon' be permanently removed, and Reader Mode may stop working before that time.

Lesley Montoya

Update 07 July 2023