ContextSnapFor researchers working across fields and languages
Understand any figure, equation or Methods section in seconds.
Highlight it or snap it. ContextSnap explains it right where you are reading, in plain words and in your language. No copy-paste, no new tab, no losing your place.
- Free plan, no card
- No account to create
- Set up in 30 seconds
ContextSnap runs in Chrome on a computer. Send yourself the link and add it there when you are back at your desk.
Works on PubMed Central · arXiv · bioRxiv · journal websites
Drug X and mortality in chronic kidney disease
Over a median follow-up of 2.4 years, 412 of 3,108 patients died. Mortality was lower in the treatment arm (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.61–0.85) after adjusting for baseline eGFR.Over the 2.4 years of follow-up, patients on the drug had a 28% lower risk of dying at any point than the control group (HR 0.72).
The 95% CI (0.61–0.85) stays below 1, so the benefit is unlikely to be chance.
Adjusting for eGFR (kidney function) means the result is not just one group having healthier kidneys to begin with.
Each bar is the average tumor size on day 21. The whiskers show SEM, how precisely that average is known.
Drug B cut tumor volume by about 60% versus vehicle, and the *** means that drop is highly significant.
Drug A is marked ns: with only 8 mice per group, its smaller drop could be chance.
A wearable glucose sensor for continuous monitoring
The electrode responds to step changes in glucose as a first-order system, H(s) = K / (τs + 1), with a fitted time constant of τ = 4.2 s.This formula describes how quickly the sensor reacts when glucose suddenly changes.
K is the gain: how much the signal moves per unit of glucose. τ is the time constant: after one τ, the reading has covered 63% of the change.
With τ = 4.2 s, the reading settles in about 20 seconds (roughly 5τ).
Why not just ask a chatbot?
Getting unstuck should not cost you your train of thought.
Every detour to another tab breaks your focus. ContextSnap brings the answer to the paper instead.
The chatbot detour
5 steps- Copy the sentence, or screenshot the figure
- Open a new tab
- Paste it and explain which paper it is from
- Read a generic answer that ignores the paragraph
- Find your place in the paper again
Your focus is gone. Repeat for every question.
With ContextSnap
2 steps- Highlight the text, or snap the figure
- Read the answer next to it, with the paragraph already understood
How it works
Three ways to get unstuck. All without leaving the page.
Use the one that fits what you are stuck on. Then keep asking follow-up questions in the same panel.
Highlight a sentence
Select the text and click Explain, or press the shortcut. ContextSnap reads the paragraph around it, so the answer fits this paper, not a dictionary.
Snap a figure
Drag a box around a figure, a table, a chart or an equation. Perfect when what you are stuck on is not text at all.
Snap the context, then the question
Snap the whole figure first, then the one panel or symbol you want explained.
Read science in any language
English is the language of science. It does not have to be the language you think in.
Read an English paper and get the explanation in your own language. Or read a paper in Chinese, German or Japanese and get it explained in English.
more time to read an English-language paper, for researchers with lower English proficiency.PLOS Biology, 2023
of US science and engineering PhDs in 2024 went to international students on temporary visas. In engineering, 54%.NSF, 2024
They divided oxygen use by a marker of how many mitochondria the cells had, so the result shows how hard each mitochondrion works.
他们用线粒体数量的指标（柠檬酸合酶活性）去除耗氧量，所以结果反映的是每个线粒体的工作强度。
Dividieron el consumo de oxígeno entre un marcador de cuántas mitocondrias tenían las células, así que el resultado muestra cuánto trabaja cada mitocondria.
세포 속 미토콘드리아 양의 지표(시트르산 합성효소 활성)로 산소 소비량을 나눴기 때문에, 결과는 미토콘드리아 하나하나가 얼마나 일하는지를 보여 줍니다.
細胞内のミトコンドリア量の指標（クエン酸合成酵素の活性）で酸素消費量を割っているので、結果はミトコンドリア1個あたりの働きを示しています。
Sie haben den Sauerstoffverbrauch durch ein Maß für die Menge an Mitochondrien geteilt. Das Ergebnis zeigt also, wie aktiv jedes einzelne Mitochondrium ist.
Họ chia mức tiêu thụ oxy cho một chỉ số về số lượng ty thể trong tế bào, nên kết quả cho biết mỗi ty thể hoạt động mạnh đến đâu.
“Double-blind randomized controlled design”: patients were assigned to groups by chance, and neither patients nor researchers knew who got the treatment, so expectations could not bias the results. The study enrolled 240 patients.
Works the same for German, Japanese, French, Spanish and most other languages, including text inside screenshots.
Private by design
Your reading stays yours.
Here is everything that happens when you ask for an explanation. Nothing else leaves your browser.
Your page
Only the part you select or snap is sent, when you ask.
ContextSnap server
Adds our key and counts your daily limit. Stores nothing you send.
AI model
Writes the answer through a paid AI service that is not allowed to train on your data.
Pricing
Start free. Upgrade when you cannot read without it.
One explanation is one question plus up to two follow-ups about it. All prices in US dollars.
Free
- 15 explanations a day in your first week, then 5 a day
- Highlight text or snap one or two regions
- Answers in your language
Pro
- 1,000 explanations a month, about 33 a day
- Web search with cited sources, up to 10 searches a day
- Everything in Free
- Cancel any time
Lab
- Pro for every member, 1,000 explanations a month each
- Each member gets answers in their own language
- One payment for the whole group
Pay once. Keep Pro for the lifetime of ContextSnap.
1,000 explanations a month, web search included. Pays for itself in 18 months versus Pro yearly.
Questions
Before you install
Does it work on PDFs?
Not yet in Chrome’s built-in PDF viewer, because Chrome does not let extensions run inside it. ContextSnap works on web pages, which includes the HTML version of most papers on PubMed Central, arXiv, bioRxiv and journal sites. PDF support is on our roadmap.
Is my content used to train AI?
No. We use a paid AI service whose terms do not allow your prompts or answers to be used to improve its models. We do not store your selections, images, questions or answers. The Privacy Policy lists exactly what leaves your computer.
How is this different from a chatbot?
It lives on the page you are reading. It can see the figure you snap, it reads the paragraph around your selection, and the answer appears right next to it. You do not copy, paste, switch tabs or explain the context first. Answers come from a leading AI model (currently Google’s Gemini).
Do I need to create an account?
No. Install it and start. The free plan needs no account, no email and no card. You only enter a licence key if you upgrade.
Can the answer be wrong?
Yes, like any AI. It is great at getting you unstuck, but check anything important against the paper or another source. It is not medical, legal or financial advice.
Which languages does it support?
ContextSnap reads text and screenshots in almost any language. Answers can be set to English, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian or Vietnamese, or follow your Chrome language automatically. The extension’s menus are in English, Vietnamese, Chinese and Russian.
Can I use it on more than one computer?
Yes. A Pro licence works on up to 3 of your own devices.
Where is it available?
Anywhere our AI provider is available. It does not work in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Russia, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, Afghanistan or Myanmar.
How do I cancel?
Use the link in your receipt email from Dodo Payments, or email us. You keep Pro until the end of the period you paid for. See the Refund & Cancellation Policy.
Your next paper is already open in another tab.
Add ContextSnap now and the next time you get stuck, you will be unstuck in seconds.
Add to Chrome — it’s freeQuestions first? Email thetristanlinh@gmail.com. A person reads every message and replies within two business days.