Clean Reader app censors swear words in ebooks

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An Idaho-based couple has released a censoring app for iOS and Android
Called Clean Reader it removes swear words and profanity from books
'I don’t want to [freak] you at all,' reads an altered Lady Chatterley's Lover
Users can pick between 'clean', 'cleaner' and 'squeaky clean'
Lowest setting blocks 'major' swear words, and the highest all profanity
Alternatives for the deleted words are suggested when reading
But one author condemned the app, saying it encourages 'suppression'

Published: 05:58 EST, 25 March 2015 | Updated: 09:34 EST, 25 March 2015

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Have you ever read through a particularly expletive-laden passage in a book and felt the language was a bit too rich for your tastes?

If so, you might be interested in Clean Reader which censors swear words from ebooks - and allows children to enjoy works of literature that contain profanity.

The app replaces certain words that might be deemed R-rated with more friendly alternatives, but one author has derided it as encouraging 'suppression'.

An Idaho-based couple has released a censoring app for iOS and Android. Called Clean Reader it deletes certain swear words from books. Alternatives are then suggested when the user taps on the deleted word. Shown is an excerpt from Gone Girl, where 'sh****' becomes 'crappy'

The app is available now for free on both iOS and Android devices and was developed by couple Jared and Kirsten Maughan from Twin Falls in Idaho.

HOW CLASSIC BOOKS APPEAR IN CLEAN READER

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence

Before: ‘I don’t want to f*** you at all. My heart’s as cold as cold potatoes just now.’

After: ‘I don’t want to [freak] you at all. My heart’s as cold as cold potatoes just now.’

Before: ‘It was not woman’s fault, nor even love’s fault, nor the fault of sex.’

After: ‘It was not woman’s fault, nor even love’s fault, nor the fault of [love].’

Before: ‘She threaded two pink campions in the bush of red-gold hair above his penis.’

After: ‘She threaded two pink campions in the bush of red-gold hair above his [groin].’

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Before: ‘The girl is one step ahead of me in everything, even sh**** luck.’

After: ‘The girl is one step ahead of me in everything, even [crappy] luck.’

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

Before: ‘Choose sitting oan a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing f****** junk food intae yir mooth.’

After: ‘Choose sitting oan a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing [freaking] junk food intae yir mooth.’

After downloading the app, users are able to browse a variety of books in the app’s store.

When a book is opened, readers can switch between ‘clean’, ‘cleaner’ or ‘squeaky clean’ settings.

The lowest setting only blocks ‘major swear words,’ according to Clean Reader, which includes ‘the F-word’.

The ‘cleaner’ setting blocks slightly more words, while the highest setting ‘is the most restrictive setting and will block the most profanity from a book including some hurtful racial terms.’

In the books, deleted words are covered up with a grey box, removing them from view.

If users click a green dot in the middle of the box, the app will suggest alternative words that the can be used instead.

For example, in an excerpt from best-selling novel Gone Girl, a censored sentence reads: ‘The girl is one step ahead of me in everything, even [crappy] luck.’

In another example, a segment of D. H. Lawrence’s 1928 novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover reads, in ‘squeaky clean’ mode: ‘I don’t want to [freak] you at all. My heart’s as cold as cold potatoes just now.'

The famous intro to Irvine Welsh’s 1993 novel Trainspotting, meanwhile, reads: ‘Choose sitting oan a couch watching mind-numing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing [freaking] junk food intae yir mooth.’

The app works by scanning through a book and blocking out offensive words, letting readers of all ages enjoy books that might otherwise be deemed not suitable for them.

Clean Reader app replaces swear words in ebooks

Users can pick between 'clean', 'cleaner' and 'squeaky clean'. The lowest setting blocks 'major' swear words, and the highest blocks all profanity. Alternatives for the deleted words are suggested when reading. But one author condemned the app, saying it encourages 'suppression'

The app works by scanning through a book and blocking out offensive words (examples shown in these images) letting readers of all ages enjoy books that might otherwise be deemed not suitable for them

Shown left is an excerpt from Lady Chatterley's Lover, where the word 'sex' has been replaced by love. On the right is an excerpt from the same book, with this time 'penis' replaced by 'groin'

In the section shown left of Irvine Welsh's profranity-ridden Trainspotting (cover image of the book shown on the right), 'sh**' is changed to crap, while many other words on the page have been changed - which tends to be a common theme for the book

After downloading the app, users are able to browse a variety of books in the app’s store which have been scanned to replace or remove profanity with other words

THE CLEAN READER DEBATE: IS IT RIGHT TO CENSOR BOOKS?

Condemning the app on her blog, in a post titled ‘why I’m saying “f*** you” to Clean Reader’, author of Chocolat, Joanne Harris, likened it to examples of suppression from history.

She said: 'Anyone who works with words understands their power. Words, if used correctly, can achieve almost anything.

'To tamper with what is written - however much we may dislike certain words and phrases - is to embrace censorship.

‘We’ve been down this road before. We should know where it leads by now. It starts with blanking out a few words. It goes on to drape table legs and stick fig leaves onto statues.

'It progresses to denouncing gay or Jewish artists as “degenerate”. It ends with burning libraries and erasing whole civilizations from history.’

‘One day our oldest child came home from school and she was a little sad,’ explained the creators of the app.

‘We asked her what was wrong and she said she had been reading a book during library time and it had a few swear words in it.

‘Eventually we decided we would do all we could to bring Clean Reader to the world.’

The creators note that the app doesn’t violate copyright law as it doesn’t make actual changes to the book.

‘All Clean Reader does is change the way the content is displayed on the screen,’ they note.

The app has come under criticism, though, for censoring works by authors - and changing the meaning of the book as originally intended.

'To tamper with what is written - however much we may dislike certain words and phrases - is to embrace censorship,' said author of Chocolat Joanne Harris in her blog.

‘We’ve been down this road before. We should know where it leads by now. It starts with blanking out a few words. It goes on to drape table legs and stick fig leaves onto statues.'