Features & design decisions

Core goals

• Privacy-first — processing happens locally in the browser by default; nothing is sent to remote servers unless you explicitly opt in.
• Readability — provide dyslexia-friendly fonts, reflow, and adjustable typography so users can read comfortably across devices.
• Simplicity — features are focused and discoverable; the UI avoids overwhelming options.

Dyslexia font

What: an OpenDyslexic-like font and spacing adjustments that make letterforms easier to distinguish.

Why: research and accessibility guidance suggest specialized typefaces and increased letter spacing can help some readers with dyslexia reduce letter confusion. The font is applied locally and users can toggle it off.

Text reflow & reader overlay

What: reformat long pages into a narrow readable column, with adjustable font size and line height.

Why: many websites use multi-column layouts, sidebars, or tiny type that make sustained reading difficult. Reflow makes reading comfortable on small screens and reduces visual clutter.

High contrast & invert modes

What: toggles to increase contrast and optionally invert colors for better visibility.

Why: users with low vision or light sensitivity can benefit from greater contrast or inverted palettes. These modes are simple CSS transforms applied locally.

Read-aloud (text-to-speech)

What: uses the browser's Web Speech API to speak selected text or the main article.

Why: audio complements visual reading — helpful for dyslexia, multitasking, or proofreading.

Privacy: by default the browser provides voices locally. If a cloud TTS option is offered in the future it will be opt-in and you’ll be shown what is sent.

Local summarizer and saved reads

What: short-form summarization and saved reads are performed locally when possible.

Why: this keeps content private and reduces dependence on external services. Any server-side summarization will be an explicit opt-in feature.

Security & data handling

• Preferences, saved reads, and stats are stored in chrome.storage.local on the user’s device.
• No default telemetry or page-content collection is performed.
• Optional cloud features will be opt-in with clear explanations and consent screens.

Developer notes — trade-offs & rationale

• No remote logging by default: minimizes user data exposure. However this makes debugging harder — see support for alternatives.
• Chunked TTS: long text is chunked to avoid browser speech timeouts and provide better playback control.
• Overlay highlight: using an overlay reader avoids modifying site DOM (safer on diverse pages).

How to give feedback or request features

Open an issue on the GitHub repo or email ttonnaagburu@gmail.com. Please include:

• Browser and version (Chrome/Edge/Chromium)
• Extension version (from chrome://extensions)
• Short reproduction steps
• Screenshot or screen recording where helpful

GitHub: Tonna16 / ClarityRead