Changelog

What's new in FocalReader.

1.5.0 — June 6, 2026

Line focus — read one line at a time. Smart Window can now narrow all the way down to a single line. With Smart Window on, press Shift+→ to drill from a paragraph to one line, Shift+↓ / Shift+↑ to move line by line (rolling into the next paragraph at the edges), and Shift+← to widen back out. Works on web pages and PDFs.
The focus band can now shrink lower — down to a single line of text — for tighter line-by-line reading.

Local PDFs are easier to turn on. Opening a PDF saved on your computer? FocalReader now detects when Chrome is blocking access to local files and shows a one-tap prompt — in the popup, plus a status card in Settings — to switch on Allow access to file URLs. Local PDFs then get the same dim band and Smart Window as online ones.

Fix (Firefox): the popup now opens reliably — a Chrome-only API reference was stopping the background script from loading on Firefox — and no longer renders wider than it should.
Smart Window: the page now stays fully visible until you move onto a paragraph or heading. Previously, with Smart Window on and nothing focused yet, a cursor-following band could briefly appear before you'd picked a target.

Smart Window is now free for everyone. Element-aware focus that snaps to paragraphs, headings, and articles — previously a Pro feature, now part of the default extension. No accounts, no upgrades, no upsells.
Removed the Pro upgrade modal, license activation flow, and PDF upsell strip. Removed the api.gumroad.com host permission and the alarms permission since we no longer poll a license server.
If you previously purchased Pro: everything you paid for is now free for everyone. We're winding down the paid tier — there's nothing for you to do, Smart Window just works.

Send feedback in one click: a new feedback button in the popup footer and a full form on the Settings page deliver your message straight to the FocalReader inbox.
Auto-hide on cursor exit: the focal band now fades out smoothly when your cursor leaves the page viewport (URL bar, dock, other window) and fades back in on return — no more stale dim while you're elsewhere.
Popup polish: Opacity and Active Opacity sliders share a single row; values snap in steps of 10 for less twitchy adjustments.

FocalReader now activates on tabs that were already open at install or update time. Previously you had to reload each tab manually after installing or updating; now the focal band shows up immediately on every supported page in your browser.

Fix: Sign-out confirmation now uses an in-popup two-tap pattern instead of the native browser dialog (which Firefox clipped inside the narrow popup window).

Fix: Pro checkout button on Firefox now opens the Gumroad checkout page (background script load path corrected for Firefox MV3 event pages).

Smart Window Pro: element-aware focus that snaps to paragraphs, headings, and articles instead of a fixed band.
7-day free trial for Pro — try Smart Window risk-free, cancel anytime before day 7.
Country-localized pricing (Purchasing Power Parity) — automatic regional discounts on the Pro plan based on visitor country.
Switched billing to Gumroad as merchant of record. Handles VAT/GST/sales tax globally; you get a license key by email after checkout.
Auto-pause on payment pages: the focal band now stays out of your way on gumroad.com.
Popup polish: cleaner Pro entitlement chip, tighter modal copy, fixed yellow band glitch under Smart Window toggle.

Movable focal band with adjustable width, height, and opacity.
Tint color picker for the dimmed area.
Follow Mouse mode — focus follows your cursor instead of the page center.
Auto Dim — automatically lowers brightness on the area outside focus.
Per-site pause: turn the extension off on specific domains.
Keyboard shortcuts for toggle (Alt+Shift+F), follow mouse (Alt+Shift+M), auto dim (Alt+Shift+A), and popup (Alt+Shift+P).
Available on Chrome and Firefox.

Have a feature request? Email support@focalreader.com or post in the community.