Focused Reader

Focused Reader is a Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) speed-reader. Share text from any app and read one word at a time, with the optimal recognition point highlighted so your eyes stay still and your brain does the work.

No accounts. No ads. No tracking. No data leaves your device.

KEY FEATURES

• RSVP engine — one word per tick from 100 to 400 WPM. Pause at 0. Reverse from -1 to -100 WPM to re-read.

• ORP highlighting — the optimal recognition point of each word is rendered in a contrast color and pinned to screen center, so your eyes never move.

• Dynamic font sizing — words scale to fill the screen. Long words automatically shrink so nothing clips.

• Four accessibility-focused fonts — OpenDyslexic, Lexend, Atkinson Hyperlegible, Inclusive Sans.

• Three ways to import text:
- Share intent — system Share sheet from any app
- Clipboard — paste from any source
- File picker — .txt, .html, .md
URLs are auto-detected. The page is fetched and the readable text is extracted on-device.

• Sensor pause/resume — flip the phone face-down to pause, face-up to resume. Debounced to filter noise.

• Text-to-speech — speak each word in sync with the visual tick. Includes a calibration wizard that finds your device's reliable TTS speed.

• Haptic feedback — subtle vibration per word or per punctuation mark, with adjustable intensity.

• Per-session persistence — resume where you left off.

• Document preview — pause overlay shows a scrollable view of the source text; tap any line to jump.

• Volume keys control speed live, with an on-screen WPM HUD.

• Themes — light, dark, auto, with selectable highlight colors.

• Keep-screen-awake toggle for long sessions.

WHY 400 WPM IS THE CAP

The 400 WPM upper bound reflects peer-reviewed RSVP comprehension research (Rayner et al. 2016; Schotter et al. 2014). Above ~400 WPM, comprehension drops sharply because the eye cannot re-fixate to recover missed words. Faster is not better — Focused Reader is tuned for what you can actually retain.

PRIVACY

Focused Reader collects no data. There are no analytics, no crash reporting, no third-party SDKs, no network calls except the on-demand URL fetch you trigger by sharing a link. Everything you read stays on your device.

OPEN SOURCE

Focused Reader is free software, licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3. Source code, build instructions, and full privacy policy are public.

REQUIREMENTS

Android 11 or later.