It is assumed that bypassing paid access to WSJ, Business Inside, NYT, etc. can only be done by a paid client. Paid access exists for this very purpose: so that no one other than paid users can access certain content.
However, depending on how paid access works, you might be in luck if you use the paid access unlock tool to see what’s behind it. In other cases, a simple browser trick may be enough to remove paid access and read an article, watch a video, etc.
There are two types of paid access, and you’re probably in luck if you only open the soft view. Programmatic paid access is one that allows you to see some of the content before it blocks the rest, whereas hard paid access requires prepayment with no content preview or limited time access.
Note. We do not recommend using paywall blockers as they rob the company of a potentially huge revenue stream. As with ad blockers, you must use them wisely and consider the impact they can have on your favorite sites.
12 payment wall unblocking tool
There are several ways you can try to bypass paid access. Some of them won’t work at all, but there are one or two options that should work for the site you are trying to access.
Bypass Paywalls Firefox Extension
Use this Firefox extension. to bypass paid access. He works for Bloomberg, Denver Post, Baltimore Sun, Inc.com, The Herald, and many other sites. Just use the download link at the top of this page to get the file, then drag and drop it into the Firefox window to install.
From there, all you have to do is head over to the site and see if the paid-access extension has removed. You can go to settings to disable blocking (allow paid access) on any of the supported sites.
Look for the article elsewhere
Copy the title of the article and paste it into a search engine to find a duplicate. This is one of the easiest ways to bypass paid access because in many cases a popular article from a subscription-based news organization is copied and posted elsewhere for free.
When doing this kind of search where there are multiple spaces, it is important to remember that the words must be enclosed in quotation marks, as shown above. This will limit your search results, but it will ensure that what you find matches the article you are looking for.
Try Unpaywall Chrome Extension
Unpaywall is a Chrome extension that unlocks paid access to scientific articles. It searches the internet for free PDF versions of an item and then provides you with a link to find the free version.
Reset browser cookies
Delete your browser cookies or use incognito mode to bypass paid access. If a website allows multiple articles to be viewed and then blocks access through paywall, they do so by storing cookies that track how many pages you have viewed.
Deleting cookies or opening the website in incognito mode to bypass cookies will appear on the website as a new visitor, resetting the number of free articles you can open.
Find out where your browser cookies are stored in order to delete them. Or learn how to use private browsing mode in Chrome or Opera, Edge or Internet Explorer, or Firefox
Use Outlinecom
Enter the URL of the page in Outline An outline is designed to annotate web pages and read content without getting distracted from it, but because of the way it works, it is usually useful for going beyond paywalls.
Remove Paywall manually
If possible, remove the paywall popup. Some websites use a super-basic paywall system where the only thing stopping you from viewing a page is a pop-up window. While there is no easily accessible exit button, you can view the page’s source code and manually remove it to reveal hidden content.
For example, in Chrome, right-click the paywall message and select Check. Use your mouse pointer in the upper-left corner of the Chrome tool to find the paywall source code. When you find it, right-click the data and select Remove Item. You may have to remove a few things until you find the right mix to get rid of paid access entirely.
A similar option that might work if the paywall uses JavaScript is to block the script using a tool like the Quick JavaScript Switcher for Chrome If you’re not using Chrome or these methods don’t work, try a web proxy that can remove scripts like HMA
Stop full page loading
Pause the page quickly until paid access. If you were unable to remove it or block JavaScript, you can interrupt the full page load so that the paywall popup does not appear.
But we must act quickly; if the page loads too fast, or paywall starts before the article, it won’t work. To try this, simply refresh the page and press the Esc key several times right after the content loads.
Digging through archive sites
Archive sites such as the Wayback Machine and Archive.is store web pages for archival purposes. You can use these methods to find articles that you might not otherwise be able to access due to paid access blocking.
Use the Read Later Tool
Bookmark the article or read it later, such as Pocket, to bypass the article limit. This only works if you are given free access to the site on your first few visits.
Similar to the cookie method described above, this method does not store the visit as one of yours, because the page content is sent to a different location and is not downloaded to your computer.
Convert page to PDF
There are many page to PDF converters, one example is Webpagetopdf.com Just enter the URL of the paywall page in the text box, convert it, and then download the PDF to get an offline, always available copy of the article.
Find your login details
If you’re dealing with a hard, pay-per-view that requires a user account, try the shared sign-in service. Sites like BugMeNot may have login details that you can use to log into the site and bypass paid access by impersonating the real user.
Sign up for a free trial
Another method of bypassing paid access involves paying sort of. If there is an option to apply for a trial to bypass paid access, use it and then cancel the trial before being charged. It’s definitely an easy task, but we’re bringing this up because it’s still free and will definitely help you get past the hurdle.
However, if you do, be sure to cancel your trial or you will have to pay! You can use a virtual payment service like Privacy to ensure that the card you use to pay only covers the trial and does not charge any service fees.
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