The first time you open Plainly, you'll pick one of two modes. You can switch any time with Change mode in the toolbar — nothing about your saved documents changes when you switch.
Free, always, runs entirely on your device. Good for straightforward text; dense or unusual wording may come out rougher. See About for how it actually works.
A more accurate rewrite for dense or unusual documents. 7 days free, then a flat monthly price — no per-document charges, and no Anthropic/Claude account needed. Picking this the first time takes you to checkout.
There's also a small "Advanced: use your own Anthropic API key instead" link under the two mode cards, for anyone who'd rather bring their own key (BYOK) than subscribe — see About for how that's different from Sharper.
Paste text directly into the box, or bring in a file:
— page 2 — marker between them. Useful if you've photographed a paper document page by page and want it explained as a whole rather than one page at a time.Give it a name (optional — it defaults to the first file's name) and click Explain this. The original and the plain-English rewrite show side by side underneath.
Photo-to-text reading works best with a bit of care when you take the picture:
If a scan comes out hard to read, Plainly flags it with a warning so you know to double-check it against the original rather than trusting it blindly — a quick retake in better light usually fixes it.
Prefer the gist over a full rewrite? Click Summarise this instead — a few sentences covering the key points (amounts, deadlines, obligations, conditions) rather than a paragraph-by-paragraph rewrite. It's saved to your library separately from a full explanation, with a "Show original text" section you can expand. Summarising needs Sharper or your own API key — Free & Private can't do it.
The Explain in dropdown next to those two buttons controls the output language: English (the default) translates into English regardless of the source language; Same language as the original detects the language the text is written in and replies in that same language instead. This applies to both Explain and Summarise. Like Summarise, it needs Sharper or your own API key — Free & Private's rewriting is English-only.
Plainly reads .txt, .md, .pdf, .docx, and photos (.jpg, .png, and similar) directly, entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded just to read a file. Photos are read using on-device text recognition (OCR); see Getting a good scan above for what makes a photo read reliably. Older .doc files aren't supported yet: open the file and paste the text in instead. A PDF that's actually a scanned image with no text layer won't read directly either — but 📷 scan a photo of the page works as a substitute.
.docx file has a table or an embedded image, you'll see a warning after it loads. Plainly only reads text — a table's layout and any image content won't come through, so if either one carries information that matters, it may be missing from what gets explained.Every document you explain is saved to Your library, on this device only. Click a saved document to reopen it. Plainly also compares new documents against your existing library and surfaces likely-related passages ("Related, from elsewhere in your library") — handy for catching the same obligation phrased differently across two documents you're juggling at once. Click Delete on a library entry to remove it (this can't be undone).
Most contracts refer to their own clauses by number ("subject to clause 7.2…"). When a document you open reads like an agreement — numbered parts, clause-style references — Plainly offers once: turn on clause connections for it? The glance that spots this happens on your device and is thrown away; nothing is indexed or kept unless you say yes, and documents that aren't clause-shaped are left alone without a word. Say yes and a small 🔗 button appears under each part that shares a clause with others. Tap it to see them together: each place has a Show button that jumps straight to it. This works in every mode, on your device — nothing is sent anywhere.
With Sharper (or your own key) you also get help reading them together. Type the change you have in mind (optional), then tap ? Questions to ask next to any connected part — you get questions worth asking before relying on those parts together, with your change kept in view. Questions only: it never answers them, never gives advice, and never says what the law requires.
There is also a Draft for review box: paste any passage — from this document, or your own example text — and you get a plain-words first draft that follows your change. You are the author: read it, change it, use it or don't. It writes plain words, never contract wording, and nothing changes by itself.
A question the helper suggests can be kept: tap + Keep and it saves with the document under Questions I'm keeping. A question stays a question — it is never turned into a suggestion — and you can print, download or share the list yourself, always headed "Questions to ask".
Once connections are on, clause numbers become links wherever they appear in your kept questions and your correspondence log — tap "clause 7.2" and Plainly jumps to that clause and points it out.
Under every explained document there is a row of buttons: Print, Download (a tidy file showing the original and the plain English together), Share, WhatsApp and Email. Use them to keep a copy, hand it to someone on paper, or send it on. Every copy that leaves Plainly is labelled a plain-language explanation — not the original document; the original wording always governs.
Each part of the document also has ✉ Email about this part — writing to whoever supplied the document, drafting help, the IN PLAIN TERMS check line and the correspondence log all have their own section below. Your kept questions can be sent the same way, with their own WhatsApp and Email buttons.
On Sharper or your own key, Help me draft it turns your rough points into a polite, plain-words draft of that message. You read it, edit it, and then choose Email or WhatsApp — the draft never claims anything you didn’t say, never gives advice, and nothing sends until you press send yourself. Messages sent from Plainly carry a one-line “Sent via Plainly” sign-off.
Every message you start is noted under Correspondence about this document — your own record of what you asked, when, and by which route. Mark each entry waiting, answered or agreed, and paste their reply so the whole exchange stays together with the document, on your device.
Each part of a document has ✉️ Email about this part. You can always write it yourself — Plainly opens a draft in your own mail app quoting the exact wording. With Sharper (or your own key) you can also jot rough points and get a first draft in courteous plain words: questions and requests only, never demands, never legal wording, and nothing sends until you press send in your own mail app or WhatsApp.
Under a helped draft you’ll see one extra line, labelled IN PLAIN TERMS: a single sentence saying what the message asks for, in the plainest possible words. It is a check for you, not part of the message — read it, and if the draft doesn’t say exactly that, edit the draft until it does. The label is never sent.
Everything you send is noted in the correspondence log kept with the document, on this device: when, by email or WhatsApp, and about which part. Mark each entry waiting, answered or agreed / settled, and paste their reply under it so the whole exchange stays in one place. When a document has kept questions or correspondence, small Questions ↓ and Correspondence ↓ buttons at the top jump you straight to them.
Your library lives only in this browser's storage — clearing your browser data, or switching devices, loses it unless you've backed up. Click ↓ Back up my library any time to download a JSON file; ↑ Restore a file back in later (on this device or a new one).
If you've saved something since your last backup, a banner reminds you at the top of the app. You can back up right from the banner, or dismiss it for a day with Remind me later.
A Sharper subscription can cover more than one device — adjust the quantity at checkout, or when subscribing again. Once you're on Sharper, the toolbar shows Devices: N of M and a Release this device button, which frees your slot for another device (a new phone, say) immediately — you'd need to subscribe again on this device afterward to use Sharper here again.
If your subscription lapses or a payment fails, Sharper stops working on every device it covered until it's resolved; Free & Private keeps working regardless.
Tap the ? in the toolbar to turn on help mode. While it's on, tapping any button, link or control shows a plain-English explanation of what it would do — nothing runs until you turn help off (tap ? again, or press Esc). Safe to explore with; you cannot trigger anything by accident.
Under your library, Sign a document places a picture of your signature on a PDF or on photos of pages. Draw your signature with mouse or finger — or sign on plain paper, photograph it, and upload the photo: the paper background is removed automatically, keeping just the ink. Open the document, tap where the signature goes, and print → Save as PDF for the signed copy.
Plain words on what this is: a signature image, the electronic equivalent of signing by hand — not identity verification and not a certified e-signature. For many everyday documents that's exactly what's needed; where certified signing is required, use a qualified provider. Your signature is saved on this device only, and there's a button to forget it.
Your library lives only on the device where you made it — nothing moves by itself. Before you stop using the old device:
If you close Plainly with work that isn't backed up, it warns you before letting the page go — but a device you simply stop using can't warn you, so the backup habit is what actually protects you.
Plainly works straight from the browser — installing just gives it its own icon and window, like any other app, nothing to download from a store. See Install on your device for the steps on iPhone, Android, Mac, and Windows.
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