Paywall Bypass
If you're trying to read an article behind a paywall, there are a few ways you can bypass it. One way is to use an Incognito or Private browsing window. This will prevent the paywall from seeing that
If you're trying to read an article behind a paywall, there are a few ways you can bypass it. One way is to use an Incognito or Private browsing window. This will prevent the paywall from seeing that you've already accessed the article. Another way is to find the article through a search engine like Google. If you search for the title of the article, you may be able to find a version that's not behind a paywall. Finally, you can try accessing the article from a different device. Sometimes paywalls only allow a certain number of views per IP address, so using a different device may give you access.
How do paywalls work?
Most paywalls involve a process called metered paywall, where users are allowed to view a certain number of articles for free before being asked to pay for further access. Paywalls can also be "hard," meaning that no matter how many articles you've read, you'll still need to pay to continue reading. Some publications have introduced "freemium" models, where certain content is available for free while other content is behind a paywall.
There are a few ways to get around paywalls. One is to simply close the browser window when you've reached your limit and reopen it in a incognito or private browsing window. This will reset the article limit and allow you to keep reading. Another way is to use an extension like "Read Article" for Google Chrome, which allows you to bypass most paywalls with ease.
Ways to bypass a paywall
There are a few ways to bypass a paywall and get access to premium content without paying for it. Here are a few methods:
1. Use an Incognito or Private Browsing Window
2. Use a Proxy Server
3. Use Google Mobile Search
4. Use Outline.com
5. Use the Wayback Machine
Should you bypass a paywall?
There are a few reasons why you might want to bypass a paywall. Maybe you're trying to access an article from a news site that you don't usually read and you don't want to sign up for a subscription. Or maybe you're a student who doesn't have the money to pay for a subscription. Whatever the reason, there are a few ways to bypass a paywall.
One way is to use Google's cache. If you search for an article on Google and it comes up behind a paywall, click on the "Cached" version of the page. This will take you to a version of the page that Google has stored, which should be accessible even if the original page is behind a paywall.
Another way is to use an Incognito or Private browsing window. Many times, sites will allow you to view a certain number of articles before they lock you out and ask you to subscribe. If you open an Incognito or Private browsing window, you can sometimes view more articles before hitting the paywall again.
Finally, there are some extensions and plugins that can help you bypass a paywall. One is called "Paywall Pass" and it's available for Chrome and Firefox. Another is "Bypass Paywalls," which is also available for Chrome and Firefox as well as Safari.
How do search engines access paywalled content?
In order to access paywalled content, search engines like Google use a process called "crawling." This involves sending out automated programs, called "spiders," to collect information from websites. When a spider encounters a paywall, it will attempt to bypass it by using a variety of methods.
One common method is to look for an alternate version of the page that is not behind a paywall. For example, if a spider encounters a paywall on www.example.com/page1, it will check to see if there is an unprotected version of the page at www.example.com/page1?id=12345 or some other URL.
Another common method is to use what are called "proxies." A proxy is essentially another computer that acts as an intermediary between the search engine and the website. When a spider uses a proxy to access a website, the website's server sees the IP address of the proxy instead of the IP address of the search engine. This can sometimes allow the spider to bypass the paywall.
There are also some more sophisticated methods that spiders may use to bypass paywalls, but these are beyond the scope of this article.
Google's stance on paywalled content
Google's stance on paywalled content is that it should be available to everyone. Google believes that people should be able to find the information they need, regardless of whether or not they can afford to pay for it. This is why Google has developed a number of tools to help people access paywalled content.
One such tool is the Google Chrome extension "Paywall Bypasser". This extension allows users to bypass paywalls on a number of popular news websites. The extension works by redirecting the user to a Google cached version of the page, which is usually available for free.
Another tool developed by Google is the "Outline" app. This app allows users to read articles from a number of popular news websites, even if they are behind a paywall. The app works by fetching articles from RSS feeds and then displaying them in an easy-to-read format.
There are also a number of ways to access paywalled content without using any tools or extensions. One method is to simply search for the title of the article you want to read on Google. In many cases, Google will display a preview of the article in the search results, which you can then click on and read for free.
Another method is to use the "Wayback Machine" service offered by the Internet Archive. This service allows you to view old versions of websites, which may include articles that are no longer behind a paywall.
Blocked in EU because of GDPR
There are a number of ways to bypass a paywall, but if you're trying to access content from an EU site, you may be blocked because of GDPR. Luckily, there are a few workarounds that can help you get the content you want.
One way to bypass a paywall is to use a VPN. This will allow you to change your IP address and access content that is normally blocked in your country. Another way to bypass a paywall is to use a proxy server. This will route your request through another server, which can sometimes circumvent the restrictions placed on your IP address.
If you're still having trouble accessing content, there are a few other options you can try. One is to use an internet browser that supports incognito mode or private browsing. This will prevent your browser from saving cookies or tracking your browsing history, which can sometimes lead to Paywalls. You can also try clearing your cache and cookies before accessing the site. Finally, if all else fails, you can try contacting the site directly and asking for access to the content you're trying to reach.
Is it ethical to bypass paywalls?
There are a number of ways to bypass paywalls, but each has its own ethical considerations.
The most straightforward way to bypass a paywall is simply to visit the website from a different browser or device. This is known as "incognito mode" browsing, and it allows you to view content that would normally be behind a paywall without paying for it.
However, this method can be considered unethical if the content you're accessing is behind a paywall because the publisher intends for people to pay for it. Bypassing the paywall in this way deprives the publisher of revenue they could otherwise use to produce more content.
Another way to bypass paywalls is to use a proxy server. A proxy server is a computer that acts as an intermediary between your computer and the internet. When you connect to a website through a proxy server, the website will see the IP address of the proxy server instead of your actual IP address.
This can allow you to access content that would normally be behind a paywall, but it can also be used to conceal your identity and location from websites you visit. As such, it can be considered unethical depending on how you use it.
Finally, there are various browser extensions and plugins that can bypass paywalls. These typically work by overriding controls on webpages that block access to content behind a paywall. They're generally considered legal and ethical since they don't technically circumvent thepaywall itself.
How do I bypass the paywall in Google Chrome?
If you want to bypass a paywall on a website that requires payment to view content, there are a few methods you can try. One popular method is to use the Google Chrome extension "Bypass Paywalls." This extension will allow you to view content on many websites that have paywalls without having to pay for a subscription.
Another method you can try is to use an incognito or private browsing window in your browser. This will prevent most paywalls from appearing, as they are usually set to detect if someone is trying to view content without paying.
If you're still having trouble accessing content on a site with a paywall, you can try using a web proxy. There are many free web proxies available online, which will allow you to view blocked content. However, keep in mind that some sites may block access from known proxy servers.
How to bypassing a paywall manually
Beyond browser extensions, there are other ways to bypass a paywall. Here are a few additional methods to try.
Try these websites
Try the incognito window
In the incognito mode, cookies are cleared and disabled. And thus, you can often just open a paywalled article in the incognito mode to remove the paywall.
To open an incognito window with a shortcut, press Shift + Command + N.
Remove cookies
Some websites like Medium have metered paywalls. You can read a few articles but then need to subscribe to see more content.
Websites with metered paywalls use cookies to keep track of how many articles you open.
You can usually bypass those paywalls by removing those cookies. Cookie Remover is a great extension to do exactly that.
Paste the article title in Google search
Google ranks articles based on engagement these days. Imagine someone goes to Google, clicks on the first search result, and then bounces right away because of a paywall.
This is obviously suboptimal for the website’s reputation and SEO, so webmasters often make exceptions for visitors coming directly from Google.
Try copying the article title into Google search and open it from Google. Doing this in the incognito mode can help too.
Pro Tip: if you can’t find the article based on the title, add the domain to search “site:https://www.economist.com/”
Emulate social media
Some websites unlock paywalls when people come from social media websites. Imagine some with a subscription shares an article on Facebook, but his friends can’t read it because of the paywall. To prevent this, some news outlets unlock paywalls for those use cases.
To pretend as if you are coming from Facebook, use this URL and add your article link at the end:
Endnotes
Paywalls often disrupt our flow and force us to sift through many alternatives to find basic information.
You can install extensions to bypass the majority of paywalls, both hard and soft. We recommend you to install multiple extensions from this list above as each extension works differently. This way, you don’t have to think about paywalls ever again. If a paywall can be bypassed, the odds are that these extensions above will successfully do it.
Finally, it’s important to support the journalists you love. It takes hard work to write quality content. If you find someone's article really useful (even if you bypassed the paywall to read it), consider contributing. It does make a difference!
Meanwhile, the traditional media will keep trying to stay afloat with paywalls competing with literally everyone on the internet, which is a losing battle. New sustainable ways to monetize content need to be developed without costs to user experience.
5 Best Chrome extensions to bypass a paywall
1. Bardeen - best for hard paywalls
Bardeen is an extension that automates your manual computer tasks with a shortcut.
Unlike most extensions, this automation can bypass even hard paywalls.
Here is how it works. Most articles get scrapped regularly by public web archives. Bardeen will find your article in those web archives and open them.
Try it out! Pick any article from the Economist to see this playbook in action.
2. ReaderMode - best for soft paywalls
ReaderMode makes articles easier to read. And coincidentally by stripping the design from websites, ReaderMode also removes soft paywalls that come in the form of popups and overlays.
We love ReaderMode because it makes articles easier to read and helps you focus on the actual content you read. You can use both Bardeen and ReaderMode in a combination. First, bypass a hard paywall with Bardeen. And then launch Reader mode to make it pretty.
3. Unpaywall - scientific articles
Unpaywall is a Chrome extension that unlocks access to 30+ million scientific articles and makes science more accessible.
Here is how it works. You do your research the same way as before. Then, when you open a scholarly article, Unpaywall automatically looks for a copy in its database.
If the extension finds it, a green “unlock” icon will appear on your screen. Click it to get redirected to the full article.
And in case you are wondering, it’s entirely legal. Turns out that most scholarly journals allow their authors to “self-archive" papers on university and government web servers. So technically, you can think about “bypassing the paywall” as finding that article elsewhere on the internet where it’s free.
4. Bypass Paywall - works with tricky websites
Bypass Paywall will bypass paywalls on 160+ news websites. The creator of this extension went through the most popular news outlets manually and wrote custom logic to bypass paywalls.
The extension pretends to be a Google search bot, which unlocks articles in most cases.
_useGoogleBotSites = useGoogleBotSites.concat(items.customSites);
The extension is open-source on Github and is not in the Chrome store (pretending to be Google isn’t kosher).
So you will need to install BypassPaywall manually. Here is how:
- Download the zip from Github
- Unzip the file on your computer
- Manually install in Chrome.
Extensions → Enable “Developer Mode” → Click on “Load unpacked”
5. uBlock
uBlock Origin stops annoying popups on almost all websites. The extension, by default, can prevent paywall popups from loading. With this extension, you won’t even know there was a popup in the first place.
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