[Tip] How to Enable or Disable Reader Mode in Opera Browser

The newer versions of Opera web browser (version 80 and later) come with a new feature called “Reader Mode” which allows users to view any web page in simple text mode without any CSS style formatting, javascripts, etc. Reader Mode helps users in reading the full article without any distractions.

Reader Mode is also known as Simplified View or Distill Page View. This feature was already available in other popular web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Now the feature has been implemented in Opera web browser as well.

Reader Mode shows its icon (reading book icon) in browser’s address bar. Users can click on the icon and the web browser displays the web page in Reader Mode.

Although Reader Mode functionality was implemented in recently released Opera 80 version but many users complained that they couldn’t find Reader Mode icon or option in Opera browser.

The official announcement page about Opera 80 release also contains information about Reader Mode feature introduced in Opera browser. After reading comments from users, it was clear that Reader Mode is disabled by default in Opera 80 and the feature will be enabled by an update scheduled to be released next week.

PS: The option was enabled in our Opera web browser.

Here are some comments from users complaining about Reader Mode missing in Opera 80:

“kmielczarczyk” from Opera team confirmed that the Reader Mode feature was not enabled for users:

So it seems Reader Mode was scheduled to be enabled in Opera 80 version but somehow the feature remained disabled or deactivated.

Fortunately there is a hidden preference/flag which can be modified to enable or disable Reader Mode functionality in Opera browser.

If you want to enable and use Reader Mode option right now in Opera browser without waiting for the next update, this article will help you.

Similarly, if you have Reader Mode feature enabled in Opera but you want to disable or remove it, the method given in this article will also help you.

Following steps can be used to enable or disable Reader Mode in Opera web browser:

1. Launch Opera web browser and type opera://flags in address bar and press Enter. It’ll open the hidden secret advanced configuration page called “Experiments“.

2. Now click inside “Search flags” text box and type reader. It’ll show following option in the result:

3. To activate and enable Reader Mode feature in Opera browser, select “Enabled” from the drop-down box.

To deactivate and disable Reader Mode feature in Opera browser, select “Disabled” from the drop-down box.

4. Opera will ask you to restart the browser. Click on “Relaunch now” button to restart Opera.

That’s it. You have successfully turned on or off Reader Mode feature in Opera web browser.

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