Privacy Policy for Text to Speech – Read Aloud

Last updated: November 11, 2026

This policy describes how Text to Speech – Read Aloud (formerly Readwell) handles information when you use the browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox.

Information handling

Text to Speech – Read Aloud has no account system, no analytics and no advertising trackers, and it does not operate a server of its own. The developer does not receive, collect, sell or share your information.

What the extension reads

The extension reads the text of a web page only when you ask it to: by clicking its toolbar button, pressing one of its keyboard shortcuts, or choosing one of its right-click menu items. It also reads documents and text you open or paste into its Reader view.

Text sent to the voice you choose

To turn text into speech, the text being read is sent to the voice service you select:

• Natural voices: Microsoft's speech service (speech.platform.bing.com).
• Google voices: Google Translate's speech service (translate.google.com).
• Your own voice server: the address you enter in the extension's settings, if you set one up.

Only the text being read is sent. Your browsing history, cookies and personal identifiers are not sent. Voices installed in your browser or operating system work on your device, and text read with them is not sent anywhere. How Microsoft and Google handle the text they receive is described in the Microsoft Privacy Statement and the Google Privacy Policy.

Information stored on your device

The extension uses your browser's local storage to keep your settings (such as voice, speed and pronunciation list), your reading position, and the documents you open in Reader view, including their illustrations. This information stays in the browser profile where the extension is installed and is not uploaded.

Audio (MP3) and text files you choose to download are saved wherever you choose, and remain there until you delete them. You can remove documents from the Reader view library at any time. Uninstalling the extension deletes its stored settings and library.

Permissions and website access

• Active tab and scripting: after you ask it to read, the extension accesses the current tab to find its text, highlight the sentence and word being read, and show a small player on the page. It does not request access to all websites or to your browsing history.
• Context menus: adds the "Read aloud" items to the right-click menu.
• Storage: saves your settings, reading position and Reader view library locally.
• Text-to-speech (Chrome, Edge): uses the voices installed in your browser and operating system.
• Offscreen document (Chrome, Edge): plays the speech audio when the extension's popup is closed.
• Network request rule (Chrome, Edge) or web request (Firefox): Microsoft's natural voices require a Microsoft Edge browser identification. The extension sets that header on its own requests to speech.platform.bing.com only, and does not read or change any other request.
• Access to speech.platform.bing.com and translate.google.com: used only to create speech with the voices described above.
• Optional website access: requested only when you open a document from a website in Reader view or add your own voice server, and only for that website.

All extension code is included in the installed package. The extension does not download or execute remotely hosted code.

Your choices

You can choose which voices are used in the extension's settings, including turning off the Microsoft and Google voices so that only voices on your device are used. You can disable or uninstall the extension through your browser's extension manager at any time.

Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated when the extension's information-handling practices change. The date above identifies the latest revision.

Contact

For privacy questions, use the developer contact or support option on the extension's store listing.