# Readwise Highlighter

> The Readwise Highlighter is the official browser extension made by and maintained by the Readwise team that saves articles to your Reader account and enables you to optionally highlight the open web.

Canonical page: [https://chrome-stats.com/d/readwise-highlighter](https://chrome-stats.com/d/readwise-highlighter)

## Overview

- **ID:** `readwise-highlighter`
- **Platform:** Firefox
- **Type:** Firefox add-on
- **Status:** Available
- **Publisher:** Readwise
- **Category:** feeds-news-blogging,bookmarks
- **Daily users:** 5,773
- **Weekly downloads:** 61
- **Rating:** 4.04 / 5 (25 ratings)
- **Version:** 0.18.2
- **Last updated:** 2026-09-04
- **First published:** 2021-05-18
- **Size:** 3.16 MB
- **Data as of:** 2026-09-13
- **Store listing:** [Firefox Add-ons Store](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/readwise-highlighter/)
- **Website:** [https://read.readwise.io](https://read.readwise.io/)
- **Privacy policy:** [https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/readwise-highlighter/privacy/](https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/readwise-highlighter/privacy/)

## Description

The Readwise Highlighter is an official browser extension by the Readwise team designed to enhance your reading workflow. It allows you to save articles directly to Reader, a modern read-it-later app that consolidates web articles, newsletters, RSS feeds, Twitter threads, PDFs, EPUBs, and more into one place. Beyond saving, the extension enables you to highlight and annotate content on the open web.

All highlights sync seamlessly with the Readwise ecosystem and can be optionally exported to popular note-taking apps like Obsidian, Notion, Roam Research, Evernote, and Logseq. Designed for power readers, this tool requires a Readwise account but offers a no-credit-card 30-day free trial. It's the perfect extension for anyone looking to organize, review, and engage deeply with digital content.

## Rankings

- #1,095 — Overall
- #33 — Bookmarks
- #49 — Feeds, News & Blogging
- #5 — highlighter
- #17 — delight
- #31 — flight

## Permissions and access

### Permissions

- `activeTab`
- `contextMenus`
- `notifications`
- `storage`
- `tabs`
- `unlimitedStorage`

### Host permissions

- `<all_urls>`

### Content script matches

- `<all_urls>`

## Safety

- **Risk impact:** High risk impact
- **Risk likelihood:** Moderate 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 was recently updated in the past month. New updates 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 the Readwise Highlighter add-on for its effective highlighting features and the innovative team behind it, which enhances creativity and productivity. However, many express concerns about privacy due to extensive data tracking and dislike the mandatory login requirement. Technical problems, such as errors when highlighting certain pages, are noted. Additionally, Firefox-specific permission limitations hinder privacy controls, suggesting a need for updates to newer manifest versions for better user privacy and experience.

### Pros

- The service provided by the add-on is generally good and works well when functioning.
- The developers and team behind Readwise are praised for their innovative and transformative approach.
- The add-on enhances creativity and productivity via improved workflows.

### Cons

- Significant privacy concerns due to extensive data tracking by the add-on.
- Requirement to log in to the Readwise site to use the extension, which some users dislike.
- Technical issues including failure to highlight in certain contexts like Wikipedia articles and errors like 'Failed to save page'.
- Lack of conditional permission controls in Firefox due to Manifest v2 limitations, causing privacy issues; update to Manifest v3 is needed.

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- [Paywall-Free Reader](https://chrome-stats.com/d/paywall-free-reader) — 104 users, 2.00 / 5

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Source: [Chrome-Stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/readwise-highlighter)