Read an article aloud
Available onFreeProResearch
The reader can read the article you have open. Pro and Research plans get a natural voice for feed entries. Without a plan that includes it, the reader uses the voice built into your browser.
Steps
- Open an article in the reader, from Feeds or from your library.
- Press Read aloud in the toolbar. On a narrow screen it is in the toolbar menu.
- Wait while the bar shows Preparing natural voice…. It then shows Read aloud and starts to play.
- To stop for a moment, press Pause. Press Play to go on.
- With the natural voice you can also jump back or forward 15 seconds (Back 15 seconds and Forward 15 seconds) and press the speed button to step through 1x, 1.2x, 1.5x, 2x and 0.8x.
- To stop, press Close player or leave the article.
Which voice you hear
The bar says which voice is playing:
- Natural voice is a recorded voice made for the article. Readsira uses it for a feed entry when you are on Pro or Research. It is made once per article and kept, so playing the same article again does not make it again.
- Browser voice is the voice of your browser or device. You hear it for saved links and uploaded files, on the Free plan, and when the natural voice could not be made. It has no skip buttons or speed button, and the browser decides how it sounds.
The natural voice is chosen to match the language of the article. For German, English, Arabic (Gulf), French and Spanish you get a voice that speaks that language natively. Hebrew and other languages use a general voice that may sound less natural.
If your browser cannot read aloud and no natural voice is available, the reader shows This browser cannot read aloud..
Tips
- To listen to many articles in a row, in your podcast app, use Listen episodes.
- The natural voice has a monthly allowance that differs by plan; see Plan limits.