Absorb
Absorb is an RSVP reader for iPhone that displays books and other text one word at a time with ORP highlighting.
What Absorb is
Absorb is an RSVP reader for iPhone that displays books and other text one word at a time with ORP highlighting. Reading speed can be adjusted from 150 to 1,000 words per minute. It imports EPUB, PDF, and TXT files, websites, articles, and camera scans. Listed reading languages include English, Polish, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Hungarian, Swahili, and Czech. The app tracks progress, goals, words read, and average WPM across a library. Absorb says an account is not required and that imported content, progress, and preferences are designed to stay on the device. Its policy says imported books, full website text, scan images, and extracted scan text are not intentionally uploaded to Absorb servers. PostHog may process usage analytics, while no advertising SDKs are included. A free plan is available; full access requires a subscription or lifetime unlock. iOS 16.4 or later is required, and Mac use needs macOS 12.0 or later with Apple M1 or newer.
Good
- Adjustable speed up to 1,000 WPM
- Imports files, websites, and camera scans
- Supports many reading languages
- Tracks reading goals and progress
- No account required
Watch out
- Full access requires payment
- Requires iOS 16.4 or later
- Mac support requires Apple M1 or later
- Usage analytics may be processed by PostHog
Who it suits
Absorb suits readers who want RSVP pacing, broad language support, and local handling of imported content. It is intended for iPhone and compatible Mac users managing personal reading libraries.
Verdict
Absorb combines fast RSVP reading with varied imports, language choices, and library statistics. Its free plan is limited to what is included without full-access payment, and platform requirements should be checked first.
Plans and prices
From Absorb's own pricing page, checked 8 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Absorb | $4.99 a month | Full access requires a subscription or Lifetime unlock · Monthly access |
| Absorb Pro Annual | $19.99 a year | Full access · Annual |
| Absorb Pro Lifetime | $69.99, paid once | Full access · One-time Lifetime unlock |
The facts
Each one read from Absorb's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Analytics
- The privacy policy says PostHog may process product usage analytics and that Absorb does not include advertising SDKs or use analytics for third-party advertising.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Data handling
- The privacy policy says Absorb does not intentionally upload imported book content, full imported website text, scanned page images, or extracted scanned text to an Absorb server.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Imports
- It supports EPUB, PDF, and TXT files, websites, articles, and camera scans.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Languages
- The site lists support for reading in English, Polish, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Hungarian, Swahili, and Czech.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- Absorb says an account is not required and imported content, reading progress, and preferences are designed to stay on the device.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Absorb is an iPhone RSVP reader that displays books and other text one word at a time with ORP highlighting.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Reading history
- The app tracks progress, goals, words read, and average WPM across the library.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Reading speed
- The app advertises adjustable reading speeds from 150 to 1,000 WPM.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Security
- The privacy policy says Absorb relies on the device operating system’s security protections for local app data.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Support
- Users can contact the developer about questions, bug reports, purchase issues, import problems, or feature ideas through the support form.checked 8 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platform compatibility
- The App Store listing says the app requires iOS 16.4 or later and lists Mac compatibility with macOS 12.0 or later on an Apple M1 chip or later.checked 8 Oct 2026
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