A simple guide to reading the web with fewer distractions

Reading a long article online often means fighting for it: banners, autoplaying video, notifications sliding in, and a dozen open tabs. You don’t need special software to make it easier. A few settings you already have, and a couple of habits, go a long way.

1. Use reader view for long articles

Reader view is the single biggest change. It turns a busy page into one clean column of text, with the font and size you prefer. Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge all have it built in.

If you haven’t used it, how to read any article in clean reader view has step-by-step instructions for each browser, and explains how to turn it on automatically for sites you read often.

2. Silence notifications while you read

Notifications are the main reason people lose their place.

On iPhone and iPad: use a Focus, such as Do Not Disturb or a custom “Reading” Focus, from Control Centre. You can allow a few people or apps through and silence the rest.
On Android: turn on Do Not Disturb from Quick Settings. Many phones also have a Focus mode in Digital Wellbeing that pauses chosen apps.
On a computer: macOS has Focus in Control Centre, and Windows has Do not disturb in the notification centre.

Browsers ask for notification permission too. If sites keep asking, you can turn off those requests in your browser’s site settings.

3. Close the tabs you’re not reading

A row of open tabs is a row of reminders. Before you start a long piece, close what you don’t need, or move it somewhere you’ll find it later (see the next step). Some people find it helps to open the article in a new window, so nothing else is in view.

4. Save articles for later instead of reading them now

When you come across something worth reading but don’t have time, save it rather than leaving the tab open:

Safari: add it to your Reading List from the Share menu or the bookmarks menu. On iPhone and iPad you can also save it for offline reading.
Chrome: add it to your Reading list from the bookmarks menu.
Any browser: a simple bookmarks folder called “To read” works fine.

Then set aside time to read, rather than reading in the gaps between other things.

5. Make the text comfortable

Small text and long lines are tiring. A few adjustments help:

Zoom in with Command and + on Mac, or Ctrl and + on Windows. Browsers usually remember the zoom level for each site.
Use dark mode in the evening if bright pages bother you. Reader view in most browsers has its own colour themes.
Narrow the column in reader view if lines feel too long. Firefox and Safari let you change the width.

6. Open a cleaner copy when a page is too busy

Some pages are hard to read even in reader view, or reader view isn’t offered. An archived copy is often simpler, because archives store the page without much of its moving parts. You can paste the link into byepaywall and open it in an archive service, or in smry.ai, which tries to extract just the article text. How to view the archived version of a page explains what to expect from an archived copy.

7. Read on paper, or something like it

For long reports or anything you need to concentrate on, printing to PDF and reading it later, or on a tablet with notifications off, removes most distractions at once. Use your browser’s Print option and choose Save as PDF.

8. Support the publications you read most

The busiest pages are often the ones that rely most on advertising. If there’s a publication you read every week, a subscription or membership usually means fewer interruptions, and it pays for the work you’re reading. Many outlets also offer email newsletters, which bring articles to you without the clutter of a home page.

That’s also why byepaywall is meant for the occasional article, not as a replacement for supporting the writers you rely on. About byepaywall says a little more about that.

A short routine

If you want a simple starting point:

Turn on a Focus or Do Not Disturb.
Close the tabs you aren’t reading.
Open the article in reader view.
Save anything else that catches your eye to your reading list for later.

It takes less than a minute, and reading gets noticeably calmer.