Getting around some paywall sites

19 January 2015, 04:06

Some web sites let you view a limited number of articles before blocking you unless you subscribe. The Telegraph here in the UK let you view 20 (?) articles before this happens.

Needless to say, this is annoying. I haven’t contractually agreed to any kind of limitation. In my humble opinion, if you’re going to put in place a paywall then it seems fairer to do so with a complete block, like The Times, rather than a partial one.

The Telegraph’s block is achieved via a cookie, so the solution is to remove this cookie. However, most browsers only let you wipe ALL cookies, which can remove logins for sites too.

Safari on OS X comes to the rescue with a more surgical approach. Tap Cmd+, (comma) to open preferences, then click the Privacy icon. Then click the Details button around half way down, beneath the large Remove All Website Data.

In the dialog box, search for the site in question, then select it and click the Remove button.

Hey presto. Your site access limitation has been removed.

Know better?

Hi, I tried that but Telegraph & Vodafone immediately reload?
Very stubborn and won’t disappear.
Any ideas? are these what are called Evercookies?
Thanks, Chris

— chris · Jan 23, 10:55 PM · #

Chris, the answer is simple – don’t visit the sites as you delete the cookies as described above. Visit something like Google.com instead.

— Keir Thomas · Jan 25, 08:10 AM · #

Another way to get around site access limits is to visit such sites in a “Private” browser window (also known as “incognito” in Chrome). It will have no previous cookies, and the cookies are deleted when you close the window. If you hit your site access limit, simply return to the site in a new Private window.

— allan · Mar 19, 12:17 PM · #

 
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