# Activate Reader View

> 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.

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/activate-reader-view](https://chrome-stats.com/d/activate-reader-view)

## Overview

- **ID:** `activate-reader-view`
- **Platform:** Firefox
- **Type:** Firefox add-on
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** fkohrt
- **Category:** appearance
- **Daily users:** 7,226
- **Weekly downloads:** 52
- **Rating:** 4.24 / 5 (76 ratings)
- **Version:** 0.1.2
- **Last updated:** 2020-04-27
- **First published:** 2016-05-14
- **Size:** 23 KB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-05
- **Store listing:** [Firefox Add-ons Store](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/activate-reader-view/)

## Description

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.

## Rankings

- #944 — Overall
- #145 — Appearance
- #1 — deactivate
- #10 — activity
- #11 — reader
- #28 — present

## Permissions and access

### Permissions

- `tabs`

## Safety

- **Risk impact:** Moderate risk impact
- **Risk likelihood:** Low risk likelihood

### Analysis details

- Grants access to browser tabs, which can be used to track user browsing habits and history, presenting a privacy concern.
- This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.

> Some risk analysis details are omitted from this free response. [Upgrade to view the full analysis](https://chrome-stats.com/pricing).

## Review summary

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.

## Similar extensions and apps

- [Activate Reader View – Bookmark Version](https://chrome-stats.com/d/activate-reader-view-bookmark) — 117 users, 4.17 / 5
- [Force Reader View](https://chrome-stats.com/d/force-reader-view) — 483 users, 5.00 / 5
- [FF Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/ff-reader) — 1 users
- [Auto Reader Manager](https://chrome-stats.com/d/auto-reader-manager) — 4 users
- [Auto Reader View](https://chrome-stats.com/d/auto-reader-view) — 437 users, 4.07 / 5
- [Readability based Reader View](https://chrome-stats.com/d/readability-based-reader-view) — 2,589 users, 4.57 / 5
- [Automatic Reader View](https://chrome-stats.com/d/automatic-reader-view) — 568 users, 3.82 / 5
- [Reader Mode Toggle](https://chrome-stats.com/d/reader-mode-toggle-aikomi) — 1 users
- [Reader Mode Activation](https://chrome-stats.com/d/reader-mode-activation)
- [Permareader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/permareader)
- [Reader View](https://chrome-stats.com/d/reader-viewer) — 2,364 users, 4.15 / 5
- [Better FF Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/better-ff-reader) — 17 users, 2.33 / 5

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/activate-reader-view)