Google-Read-Aloud

What is Google-Read-Aloud?

Google-Read-Aloud is a specialized user agent developed by Google that converts web page text into speech. It's not a traditional web crawler but rather a "user-triggered fetcher" that activates only when someone uses Google's text-to-speech features in products like the Google app, Google Go, or other Google services. Initially launched as "google-speakr" in 2019, it was later rebranded to Google-Read-Aloud to better reflect its purpose and align with Google's accessibility initiatives.

When active, Google-Read-Aloud identifies itself with the user agent string Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 7.0; SM-G930V Build/NRD90M) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/59.0.3071.125 Mobile Safari/537.36 (compatible; Google-Read-Aloud; +https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/1061943). This string includes a link to Google's official documentation to help webmasters verify the legitimacy of requests.

Unlike autonomous Google crawlers such as Googlebot, Google-Read-Aloud operates on-demand and is part of Google's suite of accessibility tools designed to make web content more accessible to users with visual impairments, learning disabilities, or those who simply prefer consuming content audibly.

Why is Google-Read-Aloud crawling my site?

If you're seeing Google-Read-Aloud in your server logs, it means someone is using Google's text-to-speech features to listen to content on your website. The agent isn't randomly crawling your site – it's fetching specific pages that users have requested to be read aloud.

When a user activates the read-aloud feature, the service first checks Google's cache for a recent copy of the requested page. If the cached version is outdated or unavailable, Google-Read-Aloud will fetch the page directly from your server to ensure the user receives the most current content.

The frequency of visits depends entirely on how often users request your content to be read aloud. Popular, information-rich sites may see more frequent visits, while less trafficked sites might rarely encounter this user agent. Each visit is legitimate and authorized, as it's directly tied to a real user's request.

What is the purpose of Google-Read-Aloud?

Google-Read-Aloud supports Google's text-to-speech functionality across its ecosystem, powering features like "Read It" in the Google app and voice navigation in Google Go. Its primary purpose is to enhance web accessibility by converting written content into spoken words for users who may have difficulty reading text on screens.

The content fetched by Google-Read-Aloud is processed through Google's text-to-speech engine, which supports over 40 languages and offers various voice customization options. This service provides significant value to users with visual impairments, reading difficulties, or those who prefer auditory learning.

For website owners, Google-Read-Aloud increases the accessibility of your content to a broader audience without requiring any additional development work. This can potentially expand your reach to users who might otherwise struggle to consume your content in text form.

How do I block Google-Read-Aloud?

Google-Read-Aloud does not respect standard robots.txt directives because it's user-triggered rather than an autonomous crawler. To block this service from accessing your content, you need to add a specific meta tag to your HTML:

<meta name="google" content="nopagereadaloud">

This tag instructs Google-Read-Aloud to bypass your page, preventing both content fetching and potential reload issues that might occur on dynamic pages. For subscription-based or paywalled content, you should also implement structured data markup to indicate that your content is not freely accessible:

"isAccessibleForFree": "False"

Before blocking Google-Read-Aloud, consider the accessibility implications. While preventing access might solve technical issues like unwanted page reloads on checkout pages or form submissions, it also makes your content less accessible to users who rely on text-to-speech technology. A better approach might be to selectively block only problematic pages while allowing access to your main content. Legitimate Google-Read-Aloud requests come from Google's IP ranges and can be verified through reverse DNS lookups if you're concerned about authenticity.