Last updated on 22 June 2026
You project an article to the board to read it with the class. And then the screen fills up. A cookie banner, a video ad that starts on its own, three columns of recommended articles, a window that asks for your email address. The text you wanted to show barely occupies a third of the screen.
It's probably already happened to you. Two minutes are wasted closing windows, and the students’ attention has already gone elsewhere.
In short, there are simple ways ofdisplay a cleaned web article. Just text and images, nothing else. Here are three approaches, from the simplest to the most complete. I have updated this article in depth: Two of the tools I recommended in 2019 have disappeared or are no longer maintained, and I explain what to replace them with.
Table of Contents
The simplest solution: the playback mode of your browser
Before you install anything, look at what you already have on hand.
Firefox, Edge and Safari have a playback mode. In Firefox, a small page icon appears in the address bar when the tool detects an article. One click, and the page turns into clean text. You set the font size, type of characters, background color (light, sepia, dark). Firefox even offers reading aloud, with choice of voice and speed. The keyboard shortcut is the F9 key.
On Edge, the same function is called ‘Immersive Reader’. On Safari, it is the playback mode button in the address bar.
No installation, no account, no data sent elsewhere since everything happens in the browser. For a class, that is exactly what we are looking for.
The only real downside is Chrome. Reading mode exists, but it is not displayed on the full page: the text appears in a side panel on the right, which you have to look for in the menu (the three dots at the top right, then ‘More tools’, then ‘Read Mode’). You can pin the icon in the toolbar to access it faster. It is usable, but less comfortable than elsewhere. And that, frankly, for the most common navigator in class, is a lack.
What I like: zero friction, nothing to install, works offline once the page is loaded, and Firefox voice playback is a real plus for struggling students.
What I like less: uneven across browsers, and Chrome’s side panel remains impractical.
For students who struggle to read on screen, this reading mode is also consistent with the logic of Reading aids for children with dys : the visual noise is removed to keep only the essentials.
A dedicated extension: Just Read
For years, Mercury Reader, now Postlight Reader, was the reference on Chrome. Bad news: the official extension was removed from the Chrome Web Store in early 2025 and then from Firefox in September 2025. It is still quoted almost everywhere on the web, but it is no longer maintained by its publisher. There's no need to look for her.
If you want an extension that does the same job, look at theJust Read extension. It is free, open source, available on Chrome, Edge and Firefox, and always actively updated (last version in May 2026).
One click transforms the article into a readable page. And the tool goes further than the reading mode of the browser: you customize fonts, colors, column width, and most importantly you can manually remove a recalcitrant element that the tool would have let through. Convenient on bad pages.
On the practical side: no account required for basic use, and the developer indicates that they do not collect any data by default (only an email address is stored if you create an account, which a teacher does not need). However, the extension requires access to the tabs to work, which is normal for this type of tool but good to know.
Two honest limits. The interface is in English. And the function of article summary by AI is not included as such: it requires plugging in your own OpenAI API key, so it is not a consumer option.
What I like: free, open source, manual removal of items, and the fact that it works on the three major browsers.
What I like less: interface in English, and the AI summary reserved for those who know how to handle an API key.
Without installing anything: the online service clearthis.page
Last approach, useful when you are on a post where you do not have the right to install an extension. In institutions, it happens often.
The clearthis.page service cleans an article directly online. The principle: you paste clearthis.page/?u= right in front of the page address, and you get a clean version. You can make it a bookmark to save time.
A reserve, and it is clear. The corresponding browser extension has not been updated since 2019 and has been removed from the Chrome Web Store, where it is even flagged as unreliable. I therefore recommend the online service via the URL, not the extension. And as with any service that loads the page for you, avoid using it on content behind identification (personal space, ENT, copies of students).
What I like: nothing to install, perfect on a locked station.
What I like less: Visibly little followed project, to be reserved for public content.
So, what solution to read a page without distractions choose?
Three levels, then.
Your browser's read mode already covers the vast majority of needs and requires nothing. Just Read if you want to get your hands on the most recalcitrant pages, or if you're on Chrome and its side panel annoys you. clearthis.page when you're on a post where you can't install anything.
None of these tools request to create an account for basic use. This is exactly what we are looking for in class: open, read, move on.
And if your real need is not just to clean up the page but to get your students to listen to the text, take a look at text-to-speech tools like TTSMaker or Natural Readers, which turn an article into audio.
To be tested according to your browser and the constraints of your institution.
English
I tried ClearThis on the websites of certain newspapers which reserve some of their articles for their paying subscribers, I access the entire article without being subscribed!
In the same vein, Print Friendly & PDF makes it possible to manually simplify the display in several steps. And EverNote, too, when using the "simplified article" capture function.