Safari Reader Mode turns a supported article into a clean reading view with the headline, main text, and article images. It removes much of the surrounding navigation, ads, popups, and sidebars without changing the actual web page.
Does this affect you?
Use this for Safari on Mac. Reader appears only when Safari recognizes the page as an article or similar long-form text page.
Turn on Reader for a page
Safari shows the Reader control only on pages that qualify.
- Open an article page in Safari.
- Look on the left side of the address bar for the Reader icon, usually shown as lines of text near the reload area.
- Click the Reader icon. The page changes into a clean single-column reading layout.
- To return to the original page, click the icon again or press Shift+Cmd+R.
If the Reader icon is not visible, Safari does not recognize that page as a Reader-compatible article. Homepages, search results, shopping pages, and app-like sites often do not qualify.
Customize how Reader looks
You can change the reading view while Reader is active.
- Turn on Reader for a page.
- Click the AA button in the address bar.
- Use the small and large A buttons to adjust text size.
- Choose a font.
- Pick a background theme such as white, sepia, gray, or dark.
Safari remembers these Reader display preferences for the next time you use Reader.
More control
Turn Reader on automatically for a site
Open Safari > Settings > Websites, then choose Reader in the sidebar. Use the dropdown beside a site to set Reader to On or Off. This is helpful for a news site or blog you read often.
Try Reader automatically everywhere it is available
On the same Reader settings page, use the When visiting other websites dropdown. Set it to On if you want Safari to attempt Reader automatically on supported pages, or leave it Off if you prefer to choose manually.
Use Mac speech tools with Reader
Reader makes page text easier for macOS speech tools to process. While Reader is active, select text or open Edit > Speech > Start Speaking from the menu bar to have the Mac read the simplified article text aloud.
Sources
- Apple Support – Use Reader in Safari on Mac (2025)
- Apple Support – Change Safari settings for websites (2025)
- Apple Support – Hide distractions when reading articles in Safari on Mac (2025)