Over the past years, various websites have started to put up paywalls. This is mainly to keep their platform sustainable. But if you’re cash-strapped, knowing how to get around news paywalls is surely a great life hack.
The likes of Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and Financial Times are some of the prominent websites with paywalls. If you need to access their articles and can’t afford the fee, our methods here might be the solution you’re looking for.
Disclaimer: These methods may or may not work depending on the paywall structure of the website. Also, paywall websites always upgrade their technology, so these methods may only be effective for a specific period of time.
How to get around news paywalls
Do you need to access an article behind a paywall but can’t afford the fee? If so, the following methods might be a useful temporary solution:
1. Use a browser tool
The most popular way to bypass paywalls is to use a browser add-on or extension. These tools are programmed to automatically disable paywalls, so readers can access the article behind it. However, this only works on several websites and not all.
A quick Google search of “bypass paywall tools” will give you a myriad of options. Feel free to try each one and see what works on the specific page you want to access.
Again, there’s no guarantee that this method will work for good as publishers and website owners are always cracking down on such tools.
2. Use Evernote’s Web Clipper
Another hack I personally know is the Web Clipper tool of Evernote. If you’re too lazy to look for paywall bypass tools, the Web Clipper is a convenient choice. It only took me a minute to access a paywalled article in The Washington Post, for example.
Basically, this is a solution for those who are browsing on computers or in web mode. First, install the Evernote app on your device. Make sure you’re logged in.
Next, install the Web Clipper browser extension or add-on. Once done, visit the page or article with the paywall that you want to access.
When the paywall pops up, click the Web Clipper tool on your browser and wait for it to process the article. After that, you can access the clipped article on your Evernote app in full and without the paywall.
The good thing is that you can access the article anytime since it’s already an offline copy on your Evernote app. You can also view the clipped article on your mobile phone using the iOS or Android Evernote app.
3. Utilize an annotation service
Another tool you can use is an annotation service. It’s somewhat similar to the Evernote method I discussed above.
You can use the popular tool called Outline by simply entering the page’s URL. Basically, this tool is used to help readers annotate web content and read without distractions. Due to this nature, Outline also bypasses paywalls inadvertently.
However, some paywalled websites blocked Outline, so the tool can’t access the website through its URL. To circumvent this, you can shorten the website link by using a tool like bitly or TinyURL. Once you have the shortened URL, paste it on Outline and the content will be pulled out.
4. Disable your browser cookies
Do you know how metered paywalls count your article access? Cookies.
Internet cookies are used to save information from every user’s session on a page. When it comes to paywalled websites, these cookies can be used to track the number of articles a specific user has accessed.
By disabling your internet cookies, websites won’t have the ability to track your session information. Therefore, you can bypass their paywall and read as many premium articles as you want.
However, this isn’t always the case with all metered paywalls. Many website owners are smart enough to detect the IP address of the user’s device and monitor their access from there. In this case, you can use the next method.
5. Use a VPN
If disabling your internet cookies isn’t enough to bypass a paywall, you can try using a VPN instead.
VPN or Virtual Private Network is a service that masks your IP address. This is done by redirecting your network to a different server. You can choose from servers in different countries and cities to stay anonymous online. And since you can use different IP addresses, you’ll be perceived as a different user on every switch.
This works on some websites with a paywall, but not all. You can pair this with other methods discussed here for higher success rates.
If you’re looking for the best VPN to use, consider the likes of Nord, PureVPN, ExpressVPN, and IPVanish.
6. Check Unpaywall first
If you’re trying to access scholarly journals, you might as well use Unpaywall. Take note that this isn’t really a form of cheating. Unpaywall is a legal tool that uses a database of full-text articles gathered from open sources.
Some of these articles may appear under a paywall on different websites. With this, you should consider checking Unpaywall first as the article might be there for free. This way, you no longer have to bypass any paywall.
7. Disable JavaScript from your browser
Websites with paywalls use JavaScript to hide articles for premium access. JavaScript is a coding language that allows programmers to create dynamic content, animated pages, and many website features.
When you disable JavaScript on your browser, the website can’t load its paywall. With this, you’ll be given a plain text of the content.
However, you should also know that disabling JavaScript on a browser can break your view of the website. In some cases, you can’t view the website at all, so this is a hit-and-miss method.
To make sure that you won’t ruin your browsing experience, consider using a secondary browser dedicated to this method only. With that, you don’t have to turn the JavaScript on and off whenever you have to bypass a paywall.
8. Use a webpage to PDF tool
Lastly, you can use a PDF conversion tool to access an article behind a paywall. Basically, you’ll convert the page into a PDF file, so you can read it for free. Just remember that this method will remove the bells and whistles of the website, so you’re only left with bare text and no special formatting.
Any webpage to PDF tool can work here as long as it’s not blocked by the website. Also, some websites protect their content from these tools, so this method may or may not work depending on the page you’re trying to access.
9. Edit a few webpage elements
If you have basic knowledge of CSS and HTML, you can try editing the page element of a website to bypass its paywall. The goal here is to remove the paywall banner code that’s blocking the content.
However, this method only works if the paywall isn’t requiring the user to log in to a paid account to access the article. It’s a trial-and-error method, but still worth trying.
To do this, right-click on the last visible line of the article then choose ‘Inspect Element’. A console on the right side of your screen will open revealing the elements and codes of the page. You need to look for the part with labels like “paywall” or “subscribe” or “access”.
Delete this part and see if it will reveal the article. Don’t worry because the page will go back to normal once you hit refresh.
Final words
Knowing how to get around news paywalls is a handy skill. This way, you don’t have to spend money if you only need to access one or two articles from a website. It’s also helpful for students who need the resources for their studies but can’t afford to pay for them.