# Flash Reader — user reviews > 126 indexed App Store user reviews of Flash Reader by Didstopia, rated 4.20/5 from 155 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flash-reader/id402491178/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flash-reader/id402491178.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 102 · 4★ 20 · 3★ 13 · 2★ 6 · 1★ 14 ## What do users think of Flash Reader? Overall sentiment: neutral **Pros** - 🚀 Ahead of its time - 👍 Simple to use - 🚀 Helps read books efficiently - 👍 Useful, easy to use - 👍 Brilliant app, great time saver - 👍 Great for readers who find words move on the page **Cons** - 🐛 Doesn't allow to open modern websites - 🐛 Restarts the book being read - 🐛 Crashes when using camera - 🐛 Bugs and stops working - 🐛 Loses reading progress - 🐛 Inaccurate resume times - 🐛 Doesn't work for Kindle content - 🐛 Limits on library size and websites - 🐛 Never fully loaded - 🐛 Crashes after updates - 🐛 Ads for a paid app - 🐛 Removes free features **Commonly reported bugs** - Login screen freezes - Incompatible with older devices - Crashes when switching modes - Loses reading progress - Inaccurate resume times **Most requested features** - Fancy text like newer video captions - Bookmarks and navigation - Support for Google Drive - Quick rewind option - Table of contents - Search option - Ability to go backward/forward - Choose page to go to - Dark mode - Advanced analytics dashboard ## Newest reviews (13 of 126) ### 4/5 — Ahead of its time and very simple to use. *2025-01-27, version 3.3.5* Who would have thought years later that this type of concept would be integrated into short form videos on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram for the captions. This app is the only ways re cents that I have completed reading books. I just wish it had fancy text like the captions on the newer videos. ### 2/5 — Major flaws *2022-06-24, version 3.3.5* It was good until it restarted the book I was reading, which is a pretty big issue since you can’t skip around. These two things make it pretty much unusable. ### 4/5 — epub *2020-07-27, version 3.3.5* I just learned that you can import ebooks in epub format into Flash Reader. This is a game changer. My only wish is that a table of contents could also be imported to make it easier to navigate the book. ### 3/5 — Dr *2020-01-11, version 3.3.5* I tried many apps like this and definitely this one is my favourite: Useful, easy to use and most of all open ALL docs from emails, PDF... Thank you! Edit: I still love it, but it misses major options, like go backward or forward (10-50 or 100 words) would have been SO helpful, chose the page to go to or asearch option. It also bugs : many times, it completely stops working when a dot appears alone, not attached to a word. And it’s a HASSLE to move on, which can be sometimes so frustrating because I loose my reading flow that I consider just reading the book in the classic format. I hope that will be fixed VERY SOON. ### 3/5 — Love flash reader (suggestion for a feature) *2019-02-01, version 3.3.4* I love flash reader and it’s ability to teach me subjects and review texts quickly and efficiently. Additional features I would like to see are 1. bookmarks so I can go back to specific sections of text more quickly 2. Add support for Google Drive for quick and easy way to add my books and other text without having to rely on clipboard (copy/paste). Thanks for the great app and attention to my suggestions. Good luck, Mike ### 2/5 — It does work.. BUT..... *2019-01-01, version 3.3.4* There is just one huge slider which is useless to find ones place. This app needs the ability to show a table of contents and perhaps a short rewind option so we can find our place in a book or start at a different location than the copyright page. Until it does that I am deleting it. ### 3/5 — A Few Major Flaws but Otherwise Great *2018-06-26, version 3.3.4* For the most part, I love this app. It helps me concentrate on boring article, speeds up my reading, and it is mostly an easily navigable app. One major problem us that the resume times are horribly inaccurate and it can be hard to find your spot in larder texts. Another feature I would love to see is a 10 second rewind button. Something will catch my eye and I’ll look away for two seconds and end up having to reread a whole minute because when going backwards, it is very difficult to get to the right spot. Will keep using! ### 1/5 — Never fully loaded *2016-05-15, version 3.2.8* After a week it still looks like it's loading. Can't open it, can't delete it. ### 1/5 — Latest update secretly requires you to repurchase the pro upgrade. *2016-04-19, version 3.2.7* Been using this app for a long time on my iPhone and iPad. This latest update appeared to break the "restore purchases" function, as I'd purchased the pro upgrade before and it did nothing. Sent messages to support in the app from both my phone and iPad; no response. On a whim, I tried hitting the button to purchase it again, thinking it might do the "you've already purchased this upgrade, it will be restored for free" bit, but no. Turns out I secretly had to repurchase it all along. Kind of underhanded. I don't like that. If I buy an upgrade, I shouldn't have to buy it a second time later on, especially after only a minor update. ### 1/5 — Lying developer. *2016-01-28, version 3.2.5* Was thinking this would finally be a tolerable speed reader I could throw some money at, then noticed that developer owns clone apps that claim to be originals. C'mon man, we know who made Canabalt and it wasn't you. ### 1/5 — CRASHING AGAIN *2015-12-11, version 3.2.4* NEVER DOWNLOAD NEW RELEASES. ZERO QC. PRODUCT CRASHES FOR MONTHS AFTER EACH POINTLESS "update" ### 1/5 — Unethical developer actions *2015-10-02, version 3.2.3* One year ago I bought this app. It was $4 + tax. Since then it's gone free with in app purchases to restore the former functionality, meaning I'd have to pay more. Additionally, it's been a full year since the iPhone 6 came out, and this app has been updated since then, yet it still doesn't support the 6/6+/6S/6S+. ### 1/5 — Don't normally write reviews, but... *2015-08-30, version 3.2.3* These guys removed key features from this app that made it good. You used to be able to sync it to your Pocket account. Now? Have to pay $5. Guys—instead of removing historically free features and pissing off your user base, why didn't you think of some cool new features to incentivize people to upgrade? I am now searching for a new solution. Maybe I'll be back. But the UX has become pretty clunky without the Pocket integration and $5 feels like gouging since this feature used to be free. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Rubbish *2023-06-19, version 3.3.5* Doesn’t allow to open modern websites ### 1/5 — Don't get tricked *2021-01-29, version 3.3.5* Free app that works with Pocket? Nice! Nope, gotta pay to sync with pocket Alright, it's an investment Nope, since I log onto Pocket using my Google account, I cannot connect it to Flash. Ugh Back to research *FOLLOW UP* I clicked help and I got asked to enable notifications.... Magically, the "skip" button is not working but the "ok" worked alright 🤦🏻‍♂️👎🏼 ### 1/5 — CRASHES Please issue a refund *2021-01-24, version 3.3.5* I just upgraded the app to be able to use the camera and now it crashes every time I try to use it. Bad. ### 1/5 — Trash *2020-07-15, version 3.3.5* This app is pure trash. Nothing works. Absolutely nothing. ### 1/5 — Flash Reader app 1st impression—rubbish😱 *2020-05-12, version 3.3.5* I just downloaded the app and got annoyed within the first few minutes. It immediately got stuck on the Tips and pull down with 2 fingers page. Skip does not work. Suspicious that this app is not being supported so more user purchase the Flash Reader Pro. I will uninstall and try again but 1st impressions always resonate! ### 1/5 — Be prepared to read the same passages over & over & over ... *2019-10-27, version 3.3.5* There are a lot of minor issues I have with this speed reading app. None of which are dealbreakers. So let’s jump ahead to the biggest glitch. Well, I call it a glitch but it appears to be a deliberate design decision. If you don’t stop reading, go back to the book menu, and then exit to the top menu, the app ignores ALL of your reading progress. So any time you forget to do this (which is often because it is not a habit forced on you by any of the dozens of apps or spritz browser extensions I regularly use) or if you are just tired and shut the iPad without meticulously exiting the app, you lose all of your progress. Which could be forgivable (... maybe..) if you could easily locate your last reading position. But, again, unlike most speed reading apps, flash reader only shows you a few words at a time (as opposed to highlighting your current words on a page with much more text) even when you are not in speed reading mode. You have to guess where you stopped by using a scrolling gesture on the progress bar. It’s like finding a needle in a hay stack. Did I stop at the word “the” at about the 2 hour mark of the book? Or was it at the word “the” at the 3 hour mark of the book. Sigh. Unfortunately there are not a lot of good speed readers on iPadOS and I keep trying to use this flawed design. I’ll have to dig out an old android phone or resort to some of the (excellent) spritz chrome browser extensions until something better comes along. ### 1/5 — Terrible. Do not buy. *2019-05-22, version 3.3.5* Do not buy this app. It works less when you actually purchase the full version and there’s no difference. It works half of the time. Do not buy. ### 1/5 — Does not work for Kindle Content *2017-08-09, version 3.3.3* App does not work for kindle content. App support pages give a 404 error. Emails to app support went unanswered. Don't waste your time or money. ### 1/5 — What Happened? *2016-12-02, version 3.3.1* I remember buying this app years ago, and it worked wonderful. But now it asks me to upgrade and has limited everything I can do with it. I cannot hold as many items in my library as before, and the number of websites you can visit on the browser is limited. I already paid for the app, why should I be charged for functions it came with? Disappointed in the app. ### 1/5 — Unfortunate *2016-11-09, version 3.3.1* This is the reader I have been looking for. Unfortunately I have NEVER been able to get ANYTHING to load into it. What good is a reader if you can't read anything? ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — For a slow reader *2020-01-24, version 3.3.5* I don’t do much reading, nor do I read at a good pace. This app has helped me get through books at a pace that is very satisfying. It also helps read books electronically in a way that is revolutionary. Reading books on a phone or tablet should not just look like electronic books. The technology should be used to revolutionize how we read. This app does that. ### 5/5 — Love it. But know it's limits *2017-09-08, version 3.3.3* This is outstanding and is better than any spritz app I have used. According to the developer this predates spritz so don't expect spritz. Also if you have a kindle...there is no spritz reader on the market that works for kindle (nice one star review). The work around is to download a program that converts kindle files to text. Then upload your books and voila! Having bought almost every speed reader, this is the one I would get. ### 5/5 — Great reader *2017-02-16, version 3.3.1* One if the best. Stands out with ability to read PDF's, slowing down on commas and periods. Can be better by adding a quick back button on the reader page (re-read the last sentence for example) and by adding ability to select (or exclude) segments of a PDF. ### 5/5 — Great for getting a book read! *2017-01-28, version 3.3.1* I use this all the time, great for travel! ### 5/5 — Reading kindle books *2016-12-20, version 3.3.1* Does what it says it will do. I enjoy using it ### 5/5 — Best speed reader app. *2016-04-25, version 3.2.7* This allows you to select 1,2,3 or 4 words at a time at any rate from 100 to 1600 words a minute. I will share a secret. You copy what text you want and just open this app and it automatically imports the text. You cannot copy Kindle, IBooks, Nook. But! Download iPieta-- it has hundreds of books and the entire Bible and you can copy any of it. Download the Merck Manual for medicine and you can copy any of it. You can download a lot of free books from the Internet. Or classics (not Nook or Kindle) but the book as a separate app on your iPhone. This is best reading app! ### 5/5 — A valuable tool *2015-12-03, version 3.2.3* Reading entire novels in just over an hour is fantastic. Well worth 5 dollars. ### 5/5 — Great - more backup integration *2015-04-25, version 3.2.1* Awesome app! Difficult to read EBooks on iPhone, but this app makes it very, very easy! Add more back up integration options! I am integrated with other apps, and not so much iCloud ### 5/5 — Yeah *2015-01-23, version 3.1.3* Hey best app ever, try to make it so this app easier to use by making it a two part app that can give you three option -speed reader-speed voice- combination of both Anothor idea I had is what if you guys made it so each word blinked twice each word with a space inbetween like double reading each word so your brain can gratify you and give you Endorphins so you have better retention its just an idea ### 5/5 — Alshaibah *2014-12-30, version 3.1.2* Good --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-08.*