Speak the Selection — [ Read Aloud free using ElevenLabs ,hume, Google TTS]

Speak the Selection — Read Aloud with AI Voices 🗣️ Transform your reading experience with Speak the Selection, the ultimate text-to-speech (TTS) extension that brings web content to life. Simply highlight any text, and our extension will read it aloud in natural, high-quality AI voices from the industry's leading providers: Google, ElevenLabs, Hume, Straico, and VoiSpark. This is the perfect tool for anyone who wants to listen to articles, documents, or any web content. Whether you're multitasking, have a visual impairment, or simply prefer auditory learning, Speak the Selection makes it easy to consume information without being tied to your screen. Why Choose Speak the Selection? 🚀 Your Keys, Your Control Unlike other TTS extensions, we don't charge you a subscription or act as a middleman. You connect your own API keys directly to Google, ElevenLabs, Hume, Straico, and VoiSpark. This means you get full control and can take advantage of each provider's generous free tiers. When you exhaust the free credits from one, simply switch to another! 💎 Premium Voices for Free Access the same cutting-edge, natural-sounding AI voices that power professional applications. Why settle for robotic narration when you can listen to content read by the best? ✨ Seamless and Intuitive Our clean, modern interface is designed to be there when you need it and out of the way when you don't. Feature-Packed for a Superior Experience 🌐 Multi-Provider Support Choose from a diverse range of voices and languages from: Google (multilingual) - Reliable, fast, and completely free ElevenLabs - Premium AI voices with emotional expression and ultra-accurate word highlighting Hume AI - Advanced emotional intelligence in speech Straico - Access to ElevenLabs and OpenAI models VoiSpark - 500+ voices, voice cloning, celebrity voices, and professional-grade audio tools 🎨 Theme Switching Choose between Auto (system), Light, or Dark themes for optimal visibility in any environment. Your theme preference is remembered and applied instantly. 🚫 Disable on Selected Websites If you don't want the extension to run on certain sites, simply click the button to disable it for those websites—giving you full control over where it works. ▶️ Instant Playback A sleek, floating play button appears as soon as you select text. It's draggable, so you can place it anywhere on the screen. 📋 Read from Clipboard Don't want to select text? No problem! Our context menu can read directly from your clipboard. 🖱️ Context Menu Integration Prefer a right-click? "Read Aloud" is also available in your context menu, along with handy stats. 📊 Real-Time Info The context menu shows you the character count, word count, and estimated reading time before you even start. ✍️ Word-for-Word Highlighting Follow along with synchronized, word-by-word highlighting. ElevenLabs now uses provider-specific timing data for ultra-accurate highlighting, while other providers use intelligent estimation for smooth synchronization. 🎛️ Customizable Player The floating player includes easy-to-use controls for: Play/Pause - Instant control over playback Volume - Fine-tune audio levels Playback Speed - Speed up or slow down (0.5x to 2.0x) Seek Bar - Visual progress with color fill indicator 📱 Smart and Responsive The player automatically adjusts its position to stay visible, even when you resize your browser window. 🎵 Uninterrupted Audio Our extension uses an offscreen document to ensure your audio continues playing in the background, even if you switch tabs. 📚 Long Text, No Problem Long articles are automatically split into smaller chunks for smooth, uninterrupted playback. 💰 Credit Saver For very long selections, we'll show you a confirmation prompt to prevent accidental high credit usage. 🎤 Text-to-Audio Converter Have a block of text you want to save as an audio file? Just paste it into our converter, and you can download it in MP3 or WAV format. ⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts Control playback without touching the mouse: Space - Play/Pause ←/→ - Seek backward/forward by 5 seconds ↑/↓ - Increase/decrease volume +/- - Increase/decrease playback speed 🔧 Advanced VoiSpark Features 500+ Voices - Extensive voice library with 30+ languages including Hindi, Mandarin, Spanish Voice Cloning - Clone any voice from 1-minute audio sample (friends, family, celebrities) Celebrity Voices - SpongeBob, Morgan Freeman, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Taylor Swift, and more Voice Changer - Transform recordings into celebrity or character voices Custom Synthesis - Design unique voices with age, gender, and style controls (singing, rapping) Multi-Provider AI - ElevenLabs, OpenAI, MiniMax, Cartesia, Hume, Fish Audio engines Advanced Filtering - Filter by category, model, language, gender, accent, and age Voice Categories - Narrator, Gaming, Audiobook, and professional categories Language Boost - Enhanced pronunciation for 30+ languages Emotional Control - Adjust emotion, speed, pitch, and accent parameters High-Quality Output - Studio-grade 48kHz audio for professional listening experience 🎼 ElevenLabs Sound Effects & Music Sound Effects Mode - Generate custom sound effects with duration control Music Generation - Create original music with customizable length and style Advanced Parameters - Fine-tune generation with prompts and settings Use Cases for Everyone 🎓 Students Listen to research papers, articles, and textbooks to make studying more efficient. A great tool for auditory learners and those with reading disabilities like dyslexia. 👨‍💻 Professionals Keep up with industry news and reports while you work on other tasks. 📰 Content Consumers Breeze through your daily news, blogs, and long-form articles without the eye strain. ♿ Accessibility An invaluable tool for users with visual impairments, providing a clear and natural-sounding way to browse the web. ✍️ Writers & Editors Proofread your work by listening to it, making it easier to catch errors and awkward phrasing. 🎬 Content Creators & Voice Artists Clone celebrity voices for character work and impersonations Create custom AI voices for branded content and audiobooks Generate professional voiceovers in multiple languages Access studio-quality audio for enhanced listening experience Use voice changer for creative audio content and entertainment What's New in Version 2.0 🐛 Major Bug Fixes Fixed Seek Bar Color Fill - Progress bar now properly shows visual fill as audio plays Fixed Player Unresponsiveness - Player now stays responsive even after long periods of inactivity Service Worker Stability - Added keep-alive mechanism to prevent Chrome from terminating the background service Automatic Reconnection - Extension automatically recovers from connection losses 🎯 Enhanced Highlighting ElevenLabs Provider-Specific Timing - Now uses ElevenLabs' JSON response format for accurate word-level highlighting instead of fallback method Improved Synchronization - More precise timing data for better reading experience ⚡ Performance Improvements Faster Loading - Removed unused files and optimized codebase Better Memory Management - Improved cleanup and resource management Enhanced Stability - More robust error handling and recovery 🧹 Code Quality Clean Architecture - Better organized folder structure Removed Legacy Code - Eliminated unused CSS and documentation files Improved Maintainability - Cleaner, more organized codebase Get Started in Seconds Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store Open the settings and enter your API key for Google, ElevenLabs, Hume, Straico, or VoiSpark (You can get these for free from their respective websites) Select your favorite voice from the extensive library Highlight any text on any website and press play! Technical Specifications Manifest Version: 3 (Latest Chrome standard) Permissions: Storage, Context Menus, Offscreen, Notifications, Scripting, Downloads, Clipboard Read, Alarms Supported Formats: MP3, WAV Playback Speed Range: 0.5x to 2.0x Volume Control: 0% to 100% Text Chunking: Automatic for long content Background Playback: Yes (offscreen document) Keyboard Shortcuts: Full keyboard control support Privacy & Security Your API Keys Stay Local - All API keys are stored locally in your browser No Data Collection - We don't collect or store your personal data Direct API Communication - Your requests go directly to the TTS providers Secure Storage - Uses Chrome's secure storage APIs Support & Community Have questions or need help? We're here to support you! 📧 Contact: For support, feature requests, or bug reports 📚 Documentation: Comprehensive setup guides and troubleshooting 🔄 Updates: Regular improvements and new provider support