YouVersion Lowers Barriers to God’s Word with Dyslexic Font

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 22, 2024)—For the millions of people worldwide who are affected by dyslexia, connecting with God through His Word is uniquely challenging. Instead of listening for the Holy Spirit, their brains are busy trying to decode the words on the page. Because YouVersion is passionate about removing any barrier to God’s Word, the Bible App offers Scripture in a font designed for people with dyslexia and similar learning differences.

This solution was inspired by one of YouVersion’s own team members who struggles with reading comprehension because of a learning difference. After using the OpenDyslexic font in other apps and experiencing improvement, Chris Vaughn helped make the font available in the Bible App.

“I’ve always struggled with reading comprehension,” said Vaughn. “It has been a source of shame, but having YouVersion care about my needs has helped me feel seen and supported.”

Added to the Bible App in 2020, the OpenDyslexic font features larger word and line spacing, as well as uniquely weighted letters to help people differentiate between words and sentences more easily. From the Bible Reader screen, the font can be changed by pressing the “AA” icon in the top right corner, selecting “font,” and scrolling to find OpenDyslexic.

With the added font, Vaughn hoped to give others the ability to focus on the power of God’s Word instead of expending energy to read what is says. Since then, YouVersion has heard positive feedback from the dyslexic community. Many have shared that, combined with listening to an audio Bible, the font has helped them better engage with and comprehend Scripture.

“I’m thankful God has allowed me to help improve the Bible App for so many people like me,” said Vaughn.

About YouVersion

Created by Life.Church, YouVersion designs free, biblically centered experiences that encourage and challenge people to seek God throughout each day. The YouVersion Family of Apps—including the Bible App, Bible App Lite, and Bible App for Kids—has been installed on more than 775 million devices worldwide. The Bible App offers a Bible experience in more than 2,000 languages and helps people deepen their relationship with God. Bible App Lite is optimized for offline use and helps people access God’s Word in markets with device and data limitations. Bible App for Kids, developed in partnership with OneHope, helps children engage with the Bible through interactive animations and fun activities. For more information about YouVersion, visit youversion.com.