User Profiles
Pre-configured accessibility settings for different learning needs — ADHD, dyslexia, low vision, and more.
What Are User Profiles?
User Profiles are pre-configured bundles of settings optimised for specific needs. Instead of adjusting 29 supports individually, apply a profile with one click.
AssisT ships with 12 built-in profiles. Seven of them also select one of the seven speech-to-text engine profiles, which change how dictation waits, prompts and gives feedback.
Quick access: Go to Settings → Preferences → Profiles and click any preset to apply it instantly.
Available Profiles
Default
Best for: Starting from a clean slate, or resetting after experimenting
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Text-to-Speech | Available, not switched on |
| Text Customisation | Off |
| Reading Guide | Off |
| Focus Mode | Off |
| Screen Colour Overlay | Off |
| LMS helpers | Off |
How it helps: Nothing is applied to the page until you ask for it. This is what a fresh install looks like, and it is where to return to if a combination of settings is not working.
ADHD Focus
Best for: Staying on task, reducing distractions, maintaining momentum
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Pomodoro Timer | Enabled (25/5 intervals) |
| Reading Progress Bar | Enabled |
| Simplified Interface | Level 2 |
| Reduced Motion | Enabled |
| STT Profile | Fast response, minimal distractions |
| Moodle Helper | Enabled |
| Google Classroom Helper | Enabled |
How it helps: The Pomodoro timer creates structured work periods. The progress bar shows how far you’ve read. Simplified interface removes visual clutter.
Autism Comfort
Best for: Predictable behaviour, sensory comfort, calm environment
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Reduced Motion | Enabled |
| Screen Color Overlay | Navy tint (calming) |
| Media Auto-play Blocking | Enabled |
| STT Profile | Predictable timing, gentle feedback |
| Moodle Helper | Enabled |
| Google Classroom Helper | Enabled |
How it helps: Removes unexpected animations and sounds. Creates a consistent, calming visual environment.
Dyslexia Support
Best for: Easier reading, tracking lines, phonetic support
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Text Customisation | OpenDyslexic font |
| Line Spacing | 2.0 (extra wide) |
| Letter Spacing | 0.12em |
| Reading Progress Bar | Enabled |
| Reading Guide | Enabled |
| STT Profile | Extra processing time |
| Moodle Helper | Enabled |
| Google Classroom Helper | Enabled |
How it helps: OpenDyslexic font reduces letter confusion. Wide spacing makes text easier to track. Reading guide helps maintain place.
Low Vision
Best for: Larger text, high contrast, magnification
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Text Customisation | Larger spacing, high-legibility font |
| Magnifying Lens | Enabled |
| Screen Color Overlay | High contrast |
| Focus Mode | Enabled (highlights focus area) |
| Moodle Helper | Enabled |
| Google Classroom Helper | Enabled |
How it helps: More generous spacing and a magnifying lens reduce eye strain. High contrast improves readability. For whole-page magnification, use Chrome’s own zoom.
Sensory Sensitive
Best for: Reducing stimulation, blocking unexpected content
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Reduced Motion | Enabled |
| Media Auto-play Blocking | Enabled |
| Screen Color Overlay | Soft sepia |
| Simplified Interface | Level 3 (maximum) |
| STT Profile | Anxiety Calm — patient timing, gentle feedback |
How it helps: Prevents visual overload from animations and auto-playing media. Soft overlay reduces harsh colours.
Anxiety Calm
Best for: Reducing stress, gentle interactions, offline-first
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Screen Color Overlay | Soft grey (calming) |
| Reduced Motion | Enabled |
| AI Features | Disabled (no cloud requests) |
| STT Profile | Patient timing, gentle feedback |
How it helps: Calm visuals and no AI requests mean predictable, private interactions with no surprises.
Night Study
Best for: Late-night work and eye comfort
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Screen Color Overlay | Warm Sepia, low intensity |
| Pomodoro Timer | Enabled |
How it helps: A warm tint over the page takes the glare off a bright screen and eases eye strain late in the evening. AssisT has no blue-light filter of its own; use your operating system’s night mode alongside this if you want one.
Motor Impairment
Best for: Working hands-free, or with limited or imprecise pointer control
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled, with highlighting |
| Text Customisation | Enabled, line spacing 1.8 |
| STT Profile | Motor Impairment — voice activation (“start dictation” / “stop dictation”) |
| Dictation mode | Continuous, so you do not re-click to keep going |
| Speech timeout | 60 seconds; silence timeout 5 seconds |
| Microphone button | Extra-large, hold-to-activate |
| Feedback | Audio and haptic |
How it helps: Everything is reachable by voice, the targets are large, and the timings are patient, so a slow or interrupted utterance is not cut off mid-sentence.
Low Vision STT
Best for: Dictation when the screen is hard to read
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled, slightly slower (0.9×), high-visibility highlighting |
| Text Customisation | Enabled, wide letter and word spacing, line spacing 2.0 |
| Reading Guide | Enabled, high-contrast line |
| Focus Mode | Enabled, heavy dimming |
| STT Profile | Low Vision — 96px microphone button, high contrast |
| Feedback | Louder audio feedback, spoken read-back of what was typed, state announcements |
How it helps: The dictation controls are large and high contrast, and AssisT reads your transcript back, so you can check what was captured without reading the screen.
Reading Mode
Best for: Focused article reading, distraction-free text
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled, 1.2× with word-by-word highlighting |
| Text Customisation | OpenDyslexic |
| Line Spacing | 1.8 |
| Reading Guide | Enabled |
| Screen Colour Overlay | Warm cream, low intensity |
How it helps: Strips away page clutter. Clean typography for comfortable reading.
Quiz Mode
Best for: Test-taking, focus during assessments
| Feature | Setting |
|---|---|
| Focus Mode | Enabled |
| Simplified Interface | Level 2 |
| Pomodoro Timer | Disabled (no interruptions) |
How it helps: Maximises focus during assessments. No timer interruptions.
How to Apply a Profile
- Click the AssisT icon
- Click Settings (gear icon)
- Go to Preferences tab
- Scroll to Available Presets
- Click any profile to apply
Creating Custom Profiles
Save Your Current Settings
- Configure features exactly how you want them
- Go to Settings → Preferences → Profiles
- Click Save Current Settings
- Enter a name for your profile
- Click Save
Managing Profiles
- Switch profiles: Select from dropdown in Preferences tab
- Delete profile: Click trash icon next to custom profiles
- Export profiles: Click Export to save as JSON file
- Import profiles: Click Import to load from JSON file
Where Profiles Are Stored
Profiles and settings are stored in chrome.storage.local, on the device you set them on.
- Nothing syncs across devices. Signing into Chrome on a second machine does not bring your profiles with it. AssisT does not use Chrome’s synced storage
- To move a profile to another machine, export it to a JSON file and import it there
- Uninstalling AssisT removes the profiles stored on that device
- Profiles work entirely offline. No internet connection is required
For Educators & Parents
Selecting profiles for students:
- Start with the Discovery Quiz if unsure — it recommends appropriate profiles
- Match profile to diagnosis when known (ADHD Focus for ADHD, Dyslexia Support for dyslexia, etc.)
- Try Sensory Sensitive for students who seem overwhelmed
- Create custom profiles for students with specific combinations of needs
Managing multiple students:
- Profiles can be exported and imported as JSON files
- Create a “classroom default” profile and share with students
- Each Chrome user account maintains separate profiles
Privacy note: Profiles contain no personal data — only feature settings.