Without doubt, one of the most annoying things that happens when surfing the internet is coming up against a paywall. A paywall is a barrier that restricts access to content by asking for a paid subscription. Unfortunately for people who have not got the money to splash out on subscriptions to all the best news sites, paywalls are becoming more common as newspapers go online to manage the drop-off in the sales of print media. In this article, we are going to explain a few ways that you can bypass paywalls to access your favorite content.
- Clear Browser History and Cookies
Lots of sites these days only allow you to access a certain number of articles per month. To get around this, try going into your browser settings and deleting your browsing history and cookies. This will remove the record stored in your browser of how many articles you have read, effectively resetting your article allowance for the month.
- Open Articles in Incognito Window
This is the simplest way of circumventing a paywall. Many paywalls work by checking your cookies and search history for how many free articles you have used up of your monthly allowance. All browsers have a version of an incognito window that prevents sites from viewing cookies and search history. Opening articles in this mode works for plenty of paywall sites.
- Use Browser Add-ons
It does not take a lot of effort to find browser add-ons that can get you around paywalls. Fed up with limited access, developers have created free software that you can install in your browser that will do all the hard work for you. All you have to do is click on a button when you encounter that paywall and you are in.
- Disable Your Browser’s JavaScript
Many paywalls function using JavaScript. If you go into the developer tools options in your browser, you can easily turn JavaScript off. This may interrupt the paywall before it has time to load, leaving you free to read at leisure.
- Add a Period After the SubURL
Another way to beat the paywall that almost sounds too good to be true involves periods. Simply add a “.” after the “.com” in the subURL of the website’s address and you will find that the paywall miraculously disappears on some of the biggest news sites.
- Use a Third-Party Site
Nowadays, there are a number of third-party sites will get you through the paywall in a matter of seconds. One such site is Outline.com. All you have to do is copy and paste the URL of the article that you want to view into the box and Outline will create an outline of it.
When it comes to paywalls, where there is a will there is a way. Before you give up on that fascinating article your friend has sent you, try one of the ways of beating paywalls described above, and it will not be long before you are enjoying unprecedented digital freedom.
