Activate Reader View

Name: Activate Reader View
Rating: 4.2267 (75 reviews)
Author: fkohrt

By: fkohrt

This add-on adds a button to the toolbar. Clicking on it activates the Reader View even if the icon in the address bar is not present.

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Features & Capabilities

Activate Reader View is a Firefox add-on that adds a convenient toolbar button to activate Reader View on web pages. Unlike the default behavior that only shows the Reader View icon for compatible sites, this extension lets users force Reader Mode even when the button in the address bar doesn't appear, helping to declutter pages by removing ads, buttons, and background images for better readability. Although it doesn't toggle Reader View off, exiting Reader View remains easy using the address bar icon. This tool is especially helpful for users seeking a cleaner reading experience on a wider range of websites. Note that compatibility depends on Firefox's Reader View functionality and some pages may still not support it. The extension continues evolving with Firefox's WebExtension API changes, offering ongoing usability improvements.

User Growth & Download Statistics

Add-on

By:

fkohrt

Daily users:

7,534 45

Rating:

4.23

(75)

Version:

0.1.2 Last updated: 2020-04-27

Version code:

5013594

Creation date:

2016-05-14

Risk:

Permissions:

tabs

Size:

23.46KB

Full description:

Source:

Firefox Add-ons Store

Data ingested on:

2026-06-14

Compare stats and ranking:

Ranking

# 923 ▲ 5

Other rankings

#138 in Appearance

#1 in deactivate keyword 9

#9 in reader keyword 72

#10 in activity keyword 25

#28 in present keyword 31

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Contact the developer

Chrome-Stats does not own this Firefox add-on. Please use these information below to contact the Firefox add-on developer.

Developed by:

fkohrt

Firefox Add-ons Store

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/activate-reader-view/

User Reviews

Users appreciate 'Activate Reader View' for reliably forcing Firefox's reader mode on pages where the native option fails, enhancing readability and facilitating saving or printing clean content. The add-on is praised for its simplicity and effectiveness across various websites. Common issues include lack of Android support, absence of shortcut keys, and occasional redundancy due to Firefox's evolving internal config options. Overall, it provides valuable functionality for users needing consistent access to reader mode and improved content capture.

Pros

Effectively enables reader mode on sites where Firefox's built-in feature does not work, like CNN.
Simplifies accessing a clean, printable, and savable view of web content, useful for saving articles as PDFs or ebooks.
Easy to use with one click to activate reader mode.
Works reliably despite changes in Firefox's internal settings for reader mode.
Open source and appreciated by users for its focused functionality.

Cons

Does not work on the Android version of Firefox.
Similar functionality can sometimes be enabled by changing about:config settings, though not reliably everywhere.
Lacks a shortcut/hotkey option to activate reader mode quickly.
Firefox's internal reader mode and config options sometimes fail or are inconsistent across sites, necessitating this add-on.

Recent reviews

by Tx*****, 2025-07-13

by 远离*****, 2025-04-06

by 退出*****, 2025-02-09

View all user reviews ›

Is Activate Reader View Safe?

Risk impact

Risk impact measures the level of extra permissions an extension has access to. A low risk impact extension cannot do much harms, whereas a high risk impact extension can do a lot of damage like stealing your password, bypassing your security settings, and accessing your personal data. High risk impact extensions are not necessarily malicious. However, if they do turn malicious, they can be very harmful.

Activate Reader View requires a few sensitive permissions. Exercise caution before installing.

Risk impact analysis details

Critical Grants access to browser tabs, which can be used to track user browsing habits and history, presenting a privacy concern.

Risk likelihood

Risk likelihood measures the probability that a Firefox add-on may turn malicious. This is determined by the publisher and the Firefox add-on reputation on Firefox Add-ons Store, the amount of time the Firefox add-on has been around, and other signals about the Firefox add-on. Our algorithms are not perfect, and are subject to change as we discover new ways to detect malicious extensions. We recommend that you always exercise caution when installing a Firefox add-on.

Activate Reader View has earned a fairly good reputation and likely can be trusted.

Risk likelihood analysis details

High This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.
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