Storya reads chapters aloud with the voices already installed on your device: free, no account needed. Voice quality depends on your device, so the most important step is installing a good voice for the story's language.
Using it on a chapter page
1Open a chapter and tap the headphones icon in the top bar (or open Reading settings and press Listen).
2Reading starts from the paragraph on screen; the paragraph being read is highlighted and the page scrolls along.
3In Reading settings, drag the Speed slider from 0.5× (slow) to 2.0× (fast). A change applies from the next sentence.
4If your device has several voices for the language, pick one under Voice. A ★ marks natural (neural/online) voices.
5Tap the headphones again to stop. Changing chapter or leaving the page also stops it.
Check the voices on this device
See which voices your browser has and hear a sample. After installing a voice, fully close the browser, reopen it and press Check again.
Checking voices…
Install a voice on your device
Android phone (Chrome)
The easiest route, with fairly natural voices.
Open Settings → System (or General management) → Language & input → Text-to-speech output (names vary by manufacturer).
Set the preferred engine to Speech Services by Google (install it from Google Play if missing).
Tap the gear next to it → Install voice data → choose your language and download.
Restart Chrome: open the recent apps list, swipe Chrome away completely and open it again (Chrome loads the voice list only at start-up).
Open a chapter and tap the headphones icon.
After installing a voice, swipe Chrome away from the recent apps and reopen it (Chrome reads the voice list only at start-up). Xiaomi/Redmi/POCO phones often use the manufacturer's own speech engine, which lacks many languages: install Speech Services by Google from Google Play and select it as the preferred engine. Some phones stop reading when the screen turns off, so keep the screen on while listening.
iPhone and iPad (Safari, Chrome)
Open Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → Voices and choose your language.
Pick a voice and tap the download icon to get the higher-quality version if offered.
Restart the browser: swipe Safari (or Chrome) away from the app switcher and open it again.
Open a chapter and tap the headphones icon.
If nothing plays, check the silent switch and the media volume.
Windows computer
Fastest: use Microsoft Edge, which ships natural online voices that appear under Voice.
For Chrome or other browsers: Settings → Time & language → Language & region → Add a language, and enable the Text-to-speech feature.
Restart the browser: close every window (check the system tray icon too) and open it again so the new voice shows up.
Mac (Safari, Chrome)
Open System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → System voice → Manage voices.
Download a voice for your language.
Restart the browser: quit it completely (Cmd + Q) and open it again.
Troubleshooting
›I just installed a voice but still cannot see it
Restart the browser: close it completely (on a phone swipe it away from the recent apps, on a computer quit every window) and open it again, then press Check again in the voice check above. Browsers load the voice list only at start-up.
›A message says there is no voice for this language
Your device has no voice for the story's language yet, or you installed one but have not restarted the browser (required: close it completely and reopen). Follow the section for your device above. Storya deliberately never reads a language with another language's voice, because it would mispronounce it.
›There is a voice but no sound
Check the volume and silent mode, any connected Bluetooth headphones, and reload the page. On iPhone the voice must finish downloading first.
›It stops midway or when the screen locks
Mobile browsers usually pause speech when the screen turns off or you switch apps. Keep the screen on while listening.
›The voice sounds robotic
Choose a ★ voice if there is one, use Edge on a computer or Google voices on Android, and try lowering the speed to about 0.9×.
›I want to listen faster
Raise Speed to 1.3×–1.6×. The maximum is 2.0×, but some voices become hard to follow at high speeds.