Reviews of Pericles: Text to Speech Screen Reader

By: Alexandru Calin

List of user reviews and ratings for Pericles: Text to Speech Screen Reader

Total ratings

3.19 (Rating count: 57)

Review summary

Pericles offers convenient on-page highlighting with TTS and adjustable speed, plus a simple UI and usable voice options, which helps readers, including those with ADHD. However, multiple reviews cite serious security concerns (spam/hacked behavior), reliability problems (unreliable reading, loading loops), limited customization, and Linux/Arch compatibility issues. Voice quality is also a common complaint. Overall, strong core features are offset by security, reliability, and compatibility shortcomings.

Pros

On-page text highlighting with built-in TTS and automatic scrolling (no separate windows or manual text selection).
Uses built-in OS voices or configurable voices, which suffices for many users.
Helpful for reading difficulties (e.g., ADHD) and supports adjustable speech speed.
Simple, intuitive UI with a straightforward feature set.

Cons

Security issue: reports indicate the extension can open spam/scam websites, suggesting it may have been hacked.
Reliability issues: frequent start failures, auto-starts, and looping/loading behavior; inconsistent across pages.
Limited customization options: users want more control, including the ability to disable the highlighted text feature.
Compatibility problems on Linux/Arch Linux: some users report it doesn’t work or installs poorly on Arch.
Voice quality can be mediocre or robotic, with several reviews noting unsatisfactory speech.

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User Reviews

Recent rating average: 3.70

All time rating average: 3.19

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26% (16)

Date	Author	Comment
2026-02-07	12*****	I was happy to have found this extension, it worked well. Unfortunately, like another user noted, it now opens a spam website. Hacked? Major bummer!
I was happy to have found this extension, it worked well. Unfortunately, like another user noted, it now opens a spam website. Hacked? Major bummer!
2026-01-28	*****	Did not work and clicking basically any button took me to some sort of scam website with a half naked woman. Could have been helpful at some point, but it's clearly been hacked or something.
Did not work and clicking basically any button took me to some sort of scam website with a half naked woman. Could have been helpful at some point, but it's clearly been hacked or something.
2026-01-16	hA*****	A wonderful extension. It does exactly what I want – it highlights text right on the page and reads it out loud, while automatically scrolling the page. No separate windows, no manual text selection, etc. Yes, of course, it only uses the built-in voices or the ones you configure in your OS, but that's enough for me.
A wonderful extension. It does exactly what I want – it highlights text right on the page and reads it out loud, while automatically scrolling the page. No separate windows, no manual text selection, etc. Yes, of course, it only uses the built-in voices or the ones you configure in your OS, but that's enough for me.