Wayback Machine (also known as Archive.org) is such a wonderful service. It stores historical versions of web pages, ensuring that internet content is never lost.
One common way it is used is to bypass paywalls on news websites. These websites often require a paid subscription, but if you know how to use Wayback Machine cleverly you can access the full article for free
Removepaywalls.com has made it even easier. Here are the best ways to use it below
1) removepaywalls.com homepage
On the removepaywalls.com homepage you can enter the URL of an article, and it will give you access to the article content without a paywall. It works by finding the article you are trying to access from an archive site. It also provides options for alternative archive sites, or other paywall supression techniques (eg. by disabling Javascript) if the initial method did not work.
2) Chrome Extension
Download the removepaywalls.com chrome extension to enable one-click instant paywall removal. The extension adds a button to your browser, which if you pin it, will be placed right next to the search bar. If you don’t pin it, you’ll need to click on the extensions button (which looks like a puzzle piece), and find it under the list of your extensions
When you are on a paywall article, just click on the button, and you should be able to access the article for free. Note that this only works on desktop browsers.
3) iOS shortcut for iphones
Download the removepaywalls.com iOS shortcut to install a button into your share options sheet on your web browser. With this installed, when you are on a paywall article you can just click the share options, and select Removepaywalls.com from the list. When you click it, you’ll bypass the paywall and access the article.
- Visit the shortcut link on icloud.com here
- Click “Get Shortcut” on that page
- Click “Add shortcut” on the iOS popup that appears
- Done!
Append Social Media Sharelink
News website algorithms are sometimes more lenient on traffic that comes from social media platforms, so that it can maximize the virality on articles. Try taking your URL and adding the following to the start of it: https://facebook.com/l.php?u=
Let us know how it works
We’re doing our best to understand what works for each of the media platforms. Let us know which of the above methods works, and which doesn’t. Ideally send us a link to the article that you were trying to access. We’ll keep learning, improving removepaywalls.com, and sharing insights with you on this page. You can find us at info@removepaywalls.com