What Lazy Reader can read
Lazy Reader reads the page behind each link you save, then writes the summary from that text. Most links need nothing from you. A few kinds need a key, the iPhone app or the Chrome clipper. This page lists each kind and what it needs.
Links
| Kind of link | How it is read | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Web pages and articles | Lazy Reader fetches the page and keeps the article text. | Nothing. |
| Pages behind a paywall or a login | The server only gets a preview, so the save waits as Waiting for full text. The Chrome clipper then reads the page in your own Chrome, signed in as you. | The Chrome clipper and Chrome open. |
| Medium and Substack posts | Read like any web page. Paid posts you cannot open wait for full text, like any paywalled page. Substack saves show the publication name. | Nothing for free posts. The clipper for paid ones. |
| YouTube videos | The summary is written from the video's captions. | Nothing. If YouTube blocks the server, the save waits as Waiting for transcript until the iPhone app or the Chrome clipper fills it in. |
| Instagram posts and reels | Read through SociaVault: the caption, the text on each slide and the transcript of a reel. | A SociaVault key in Settings, Capture, Instagram. Without it the save waits as Needs a key. |
| Notion pages | Lazy Reader loads every block of a public Notion page, not only the first screen. | The page must be public. |
| GitHub repos | For a link to a repo itself (github.com/owner/repo), Lazy Reader reads the README and the repo's description. | Nothing. A private repo or one with no README is read as a plain web page. |
| Newsletters | Forward the email to your private address. The mail is saved like a link. | Your address from Settings, Capture, Newsletter inbox. See Forward newsletters. |
INFO
When you share a page from Safari on your iPhone, Safari also sends the text it shows. That helps with pages that only draw their text in the browser.
Books
| File | How it is read | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| EPUB | Read on your device. Only the text is sent to Lazy Reader. The file itself is never uploaded. | No copy protection (DRM). |
| PDF with text | Read on your device, like an EPUB. | Real text you can select. A scanned PDF is refused. |
| MOBI, AZW and other Kindle files | Not read. | Convert the book to EPUB with Calibre first. |
On an iPhone, you can also share an EPUB or PDF from Files, Books or Mail to Lazy Reader. It opens the add-a-book screen. See Add a book for the steps and Limits and shortcuts for the size limits.
Limits worth knowing
- Reels over 2 minutes. The transcript service only handles videos up to 120 seconds. A longer reel fails with "Video is ... s long. The transcript service only handles up to 120 s." Trying again does not help, so there is no Try again button.
- Very long pages from the clipper. The clipper sends up to about 500,000 bytes of text. A longer page is cut, and the clipper says "Saved to Lazy Reader. The article is long, so only the first part was sent."
- YouTube videos with no captions. If the Chrome clipper cannot find a transcript either, it gives up after a few tries and the save ends as Couldn't open.
- Instagram may refuse a post. You see "Instagram didn't let us read this post. Your key is fine. Try again later."
What it costs
Every summary is written with your own OpenRouter key, so each one costs a little on your OpenRouter account. Instagram posts also use SociaVault credits, about one per fetch. See What it costs and where your data goes and the Usage group in Settings.
Related pages: Item status labels, A page stays waiting.