If you’ve been reading Techtippr for a while, you already know I have a slight obsession with productivity. Not in a wake up at 4am and meditate kind of way — more in a how do I squeeze every drop of useful output from my day without burning out kind of way.

One of the biggest wins I discovered years ago? Listening to articles instead of reading them. While an article plays in my ears, I can browse for the next one, answer messages, or just give my eyes a break. It’s the kind of multitasking that actually works.

“I’ve been doing the listen-while-I-browse thing for years. The problem was: I could never find a tool I fully trusted.”

I tried a lot of tools. Free ones, paid ones, browser extensions, mobile apps. Some were buggy. Some required weird logins. Some sounded like a robot from the 1980s. None of them felt reliable enough to stick with.

So I did what any reasonable productivity nerd would do — I built my own.

Narrator in action — select text on any webpage and hit play. That’s it.

Meet Narrator — Your Browser’s New Voice

Narrator is a Google Chrome extension that reads any text on any webpage out loud. Select a paragraph, click the Narrator icon in your browser toolbar, and your computer reads it to you — instantly, using voices already built into your OS.

No account needed. No weird permissions. No subscription. It works on Chrome, Brave, Edge, and any Chromium-based browser with extension support.

What Can Narrator Do?

Here’s everything packed into the first release:

Why I Spent Weeks Testing Before Publishing

Because I’ve been burned before — not by my own tools, but by recommending something to you that falls apart a month later. I didn’t want that for Narrator.

So I ran it through everything: long-form articles, technical docs, news sites, emails in the browser — the works. I tweaked speed controls, tested different voices, tracked down bugs that only show up after real daily use. After a few weeks of that, I was confident enough to ship it.

What’s Next for Narrator?

Right now it’s a Chrome extension, and I want to nail that before expanding. Here’s the roadmap depending on how this lands:

If you install Narrator and love it — or if something bugs you — drop a comment below. Your response literally shapes the roadmap here.

A Note Before You Go

This is something I built for myself first — and sharing it with readers feels like a natural next step in the Techtippr journey. I’ve shared tools, tips, and workflows over the years. This is the first time I’m sharing something I actually made.

It’s going to keep getting better. I’ll be fine-tuning it in the coming days and weeks. If something doesn’t work right, tell me. If there’s a feature you wish it had, tell me. This is very much a living thing.

Now go install it, put something long in the queue, and give your eyes the break they deserve. 🎧

— Asif