Reads web pages aloud using your device's built-in voices. No account, no cloud, no data leaves your browser.
Users
428
+115 in 30 days
Rating
5.0 / 5
unchanged in 30 days
Ratings
11
0 in 30 days
Store rank
#46K
#39K among extensions
Version
1.0.23
updated 6 Oct 2026
Users
monthly, 2 months
Latest, 15 Oct 2026:428 usersMove the mouse over the chart for any month
Ratings count
monthly, 2 months
Latest, 15 Oct 2026:11 ratingsMove the mouse over the chart for any month
The Chrome Web Store rounds user counts down to the leading digit, so the user line moves in steps. The ratings count is exact and is the better signal of real adoption.
About Herald Beta: Text to Speech Reader
This is the BETA channel of Herald. Feedback and issues: github.com/proctorio/herald
Herald reads selected text or full pages aloud using the voices already installed in your operating system and browser. It is keyboard driven, works alongside screen readers rather than fighting them, and highlights what it reads.
In its default configuration Herald makes zero network requests. The text it reads never leaves your device. There is no account, no sign-in, no analytics, and no cloud synthesis.
Herald is built for students with reading disabilities, low vision users, institutions with Section 508 and WCAG obligations, and anyone taking a proctored assessment who needs assistive technology that will not conflict with exam software.
Unlike cloud-voice readers, Herald is a minimal, local-only, allow-list-friendly reader designed for locked-down assessment environments. Every permission it requests maps to a visible feature, it injects nothing into a page until you ask it to read, and its behavior can be audited from its public source repository.
Built on Read Aloud by Hai Phan, MIT licensed. Herald is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the original author.
Growth
Window
Users
Change
Ratings
Rating
7 days
+35
+8.9%
0
0.00
30 days
+115
+36.7%
0
0.00
Chrome Web Store search rankings
Where Herald Beta: Text to Speech Reader appears when people search the store, with the 30 day change