A privacy-first mobile app that reads text aloud using AI and OCR, helping adults navigate everyday reading challenges independently.
Point. Snap. Listen.
54 million adults in the U.S. read below a 6th-grade level. Many navigate daily life by asking others for help, memorizing routines, or avoiding situations entirely. Existing solutions require accounts, track usage, or have complex interfaces that assume literacy.
- Point — Open the app and point your camera at any text (menus, forms, mail, medicine labels, signs)
- Tap — Tap the speaker button to hear the words read aloud in a natural voice
- Understand — Tap the brain button to hear a simplified explanation of complex text
No accounts. No settings. No learning curve.
This app is built on a simple principle: what you read is nobody's business.
- No accounts or sign-ups required
- Photos are processed in real-time and immediately discarded
- No tracking, no history, no analytics on what you read
- Everything is forgotten after it speaks
See our Privacy Policy.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Natural Voice | High-quality Google Cloud Text-to-Speech with Neural2-J voice |
| Adjustable Speed | 0.5x to 2.0x playback speed to match your pace |
| Explain Mode | AI simplifies complex text into plain language (short, medium, or long) |
| Icon-Based UI | No reading required to use the app |
| Audio Help | Tap ? to hear instructions spoken aloud |
| Multi-Language | Works with any language supported by Google Vision |
- Framework: Expo SDK 54 with React Native
- Camera: expo-camera for real-time capture
- Audio: expo-audio for TTS playback with sentence-by-sentence prefetching
- Animations: react-native-reanimated for pulsing speaker indicator
- Navigation: React Navigation with bottom tabs
/ocr— Google Cloud Vision API proxy for text recognition/tts— Google Cloud Text-to-Speech with Neural2-J voice/explain— Gemini 2.0 Flash for plain-language simplification
- Node.js 18+
- Expo CLI
- Firebase project with Cloud Functions enabled
- Google Cloud APIs: Vision, Text-to-Speech
- Google AI (Gemini) API key
-
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/mtornga/PostLiterateApp.git cd PostLiterateApp -
Install dependencies
npm install
-
Configure environment variables
cp .env.example .env # Add your API keys -
Start the development server
npx expo start
Deploy the backend functions:
cd functions
npm install
firebase deploy --only functionsBeta testing on Google Play. Looking for testers to help meet Google's closed testing requirements before public release.
Visit marktornga.com/portfolio/readthisforme to join the beta!
- iOS release via App Store
- Offline mode for basic OCR
- Document scanning with multi-page support
- Integration with accessibility services
This project is licensed under the MIT License.
- Email: readformeapp@gmail.com
- Website: marktornga.com
- GitHub: @mtornga
Technology should help people live more independently — without requiring them to hand over their data or their dignity.