Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Videos
  • Most Popular
  • Top Categories
  • Books
  • About Dave
  • Ask Me
  • > Donate <
  • Home
  • iPad Help
  • What does “Reader View” mean in iPhone Safari?

What does “Reader View” mean in iPhone Safari?

December 21, 2016 / Dave Taylor / iPad Help, iPhone & iOS Help / No Comments

I’m worried I have some sort of virus or something on my iPhone: some Web sites I visit have their URL replaced with “Reader View”. What the heck is that, and should I be worried??

As far as I am aware, there are no reports of any viruses or malware aimed at the Apple iPhone — or iOS 10.x — in the wild. In fact, it’s quite difficult to inject bad code onto your phone, particularly within a program that you already have from Apple as part of the operating system itself. I’m talking about the Safari browser, of course, the version that’s designed for the smaller touch-based Apple iPhone and iPad.

I can appreciate your slight paranoia, but it’s your computer that’s much more susceptible to malware when compared to your smartphone, whether you have an iPhone or an Android phone like the Samsung or LG. In fact, Reader View is a very cool feature of Safari and one that I suspect you’ll get into the habit of using once you know what it’s all about.

So let’s have a look!

First off, here’s a typical Web page within the Safari browser on an iPhone. In this case, an iPhone 7:

national weather service web browser view safari ios 10 iphone

You can ignore the miserable weather forecast and pay attention to the very top line, where it shows the base domain name of the URL for this particular page (it’s not the home page, though that can occasionally be confusing). It shows forecast.weather.gov, as you’d expect.

But watch what happens when I go to a Web site where there is a simplified version of the page available for browsing:

sciencefiction.com star wars reader view safari ipad iphone

Nothing. What?? Wait, give the browser a second or two and the top will chance from the domain name to something that you’re seeing:

iphone ipad safari reader view available

Ah, that’s what you’re seeing, Reader View Available, and there’s nothing wrong.

In fact, tap on the words “Reader View Available” and you’ll switch to a very different layout:

star wars reader view safari ios iphone ipad

A very different layout, and one that’s more reader friendly, as you would hope from its name. Notice also along the top that the menu button (the horizontal lines) has switched to a black background (to remind you you’re in Reader View) and that there’s now a tiny font-size menu with a small “A” and a big “A”. Tap on that and you can fine tune the font size too. Super helpful!

That’s it. That’s Reader View in Safari on your iPhone. Quite the opposite of being a risk, it’s darn useful!

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
ios 10.x, ios malware, ipad safari, iphone malware, iphone safari, iphone virus, reader view, reader view available, reading articles, simple web page

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • How Can I Prevent Remote Access to my Windows PC?
  • The Easy Way to Add Contacts to my New Android Phone?
  • How Can I Hide or Report An Offensive Advert on Facebook?
  • Switch “Paste” & “Paste and Match Style” Keyboard Shortcuts on MacOS?
  • How Can I Easily Create a QR Code For My Web Page?

On Our YouTube Channel

AUKEY Omnia 100W + Minima 20W Power Chargers -- DEMO & REVIEW

Roborock S6 MaxV Robot Vacuum Cleaner -- DEMO & REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help (106)
  • Amazon Echo & Kindle Help (79)
  • Amazon, eBay, and Online Shopping Help, (157)
  • Android Help (160)
  • Apple Watch Help (49)
  • Articles, Tutorials, and Reviews (327)
  • Business Advice (192)
  • Computer & Internet Basics (720)
  • d) None of the Above (160)
  • Facebook Help (365)
  • Google, Chrome & Gmail Help (157)
  • HTML & Web Page Design (244)
  • Instagram Help (44)
  • iPad Help (137)
  • iPhone & iOS Help (571)
  • iPod & MP3 Player Help (173)
  • LinkedIn Help (79)
  • Linux Help (149)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (86)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (833)
  • Most Popular (10)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (10)
  • PayPal Help (68)
  • Pinterest Help (53)
  • Reddit Help (12)
  • SEO & Marketing (80)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (84)
  • Trade Show News & Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (212)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows 10 Help (831)
  • Wordpress Help (201)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (43)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (42)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2020 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy