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README.md

Bypass Paywalls Clean for Chrome

Extension allows you to read articles from (supported) sites that implement a paywall.
You can also add domains as custom site and try to bypass the paywall.
Weekly updates are released for fixes and new sites.

Installation

Due to Google internal policy, the extension is not available on the Chrome Web Store.
The following instructions are needed to install third-party extensions in Chromium-based desktop browsers.
In extension developer mode you can always install BPC by Load unpacked (latest master, but no automatic updates) or by crx-file (latest release & automatic updates, but possibly you have to add the extension to the allowlist).

Load unpacked: Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Brave (all desktop)

  • or add extension to allowlist and install automatically updating crx-file (see next section)
  1. Download this repository as a ZIP-file from GitLab.
  2. Unzip the file and you should have a folder named bypass-paywalls-chrome-clean-master.
  3. Move the folder to a permanent location on your computer (do not delete the folder after installation).
  4. Go to the extensions page (chrome://extensions).
  5. Enable Developer Mode.
  6. Click Load unpacked and select the extension folder.
  • By default BPC has limited permissions, but you can opt-in to enable custom sites (and also clear cookies/block general paywall-scripts for non-listed sites). You can also just request permissions for the custom sites you added yourself (or clear cookies (BPC-icon) to ask for permission for current site).
  • For custom sites you can also copy manifest.json from custom folder to the main extension folder (in Chrome optional permissions can get lost on reload unless you do a crx-installation first; no allowlist is needed).
  • In Chrome/Opera/Brave to disable the developer mode extensions popup use the extensions toolbar menu (by default enabled in Chrome 87+ or (if available) enable (experimental) chrome flag: chrome://flags/#extensions-toolbar-menu)

If you're familiar with Git(Hub)-clients you can also clone this repo and update the extension that way (load unpacked folder used by Git(Hub)-client).

CRX-file: other Chromium browsers (Opera/Vivaldi/Yandex)

  • or add extension to allowlist for Chrome, MS Edge or Brave (see instructions)
  1. Download the extension as a crx-file from the releases page.
  2. In your browser go to the extensions page.
  3. Enable Developer Mode.
  4. Drag your crx-file anywhere on the page to import it (when you have an active 'load unpacked' installation, first remove it (and backup your custom sites); for automatic update).
  • By default BPC has limited permissions, but you can opt-in to enable custom sites (and also clear cookies/block general paywall-scripts for non-listed sites). You can also just request permissions for the custom sites you added yourself (or clear cookies (BPC-icon) to ask for permission for current site).

Android

  1. Install Kiwi Browser or Yandex Browser from the Google PlayStore.
  2. For Kiwi Browser you have two options:
  • load the CRX-file in releases (auto-updating, no allowlist needed, opt-in for custom sites not working (use kiwi-custom crx; updates to latest regular version)
  • install latest master zip-file (no automatic updates, for custom sites use manifest.json from custom folder, clearing Kiwi-cache will also remove extension though).
  1. For Yandex Browser follow Chrome instructions above (load unpacked; step 6: pick manifest.json instead of the folder). If it fails try a few times or use Total Commander (as file manager). You can use a Git client like MGit to clone (and update) this repository on your mobile device.
    For custom sites copy manifest.json from custom folder to the main extension folder (optional permissions are lost on reload).

Firefox

Visit the Firefox repository of Bypass Paywall Clean.

iOS/iPadOS

Use adblocker with custom (content)filter: https://gitlab.com/magnolia1234/bypass-paywalls-clean-filters

Notes

  • This extension works best alongside the adblocker uBlock Origin.
  • On Yandex Android use uBlock Origin development build.
  • Do not delete extension's folder from your computer/smartphone or Bypass Paywalls Clean (in developer mode) will disappear at restart.
  • In Chrome/Opera/Brave to disable the developer mode extensions popup use the extensions toolbar menu (by default enabled in Chrome 87+ or (if available) enable (experimental) chrome flag: chrome://flags/#extensions-toolbar-menu)
  • You will be logged out for most of the sites you have checked.
  • Some sites need to redirect to an amp-page (add an exception in your Redirect AMP to HTML extension or disable Brave > Shields > Auto-redirect AMP pages).

Update

For crx-installation: check for updates (in chrome://extensions).
For zip-installation (load unpacked/developer mode): unzip files to installation folder or use a Git(Hub)-client to clone the extension (locally).
You can also check for update of site rules at startup (opt-in); only available until about 10 days after fix-release.
For new sites you also have to opt-in to custom sites/request permissions for new domains (or wait for new release).

List of supported websites

* free articles only.

World news

Foreign Affairs - Foreign Policy - Harper's Magazine - Inkl - Newsweek - Reuters - Stratfor - The American Interest - The Atlantic - The Christian Science Monitor - The Nation - The New Republic - The New York Review of Books - The New York Times - The Spectator World - The Washington Post - Time Magazine

Business

Adweek* - American Affairs - American Banker - Barron's - Bloomberg - Business Insider - Digiday - Entrepreneur - Forbes - Fortune - Harvard Business Review - Inc.com - Law.com* - Law360* - MarketWatch - MIT Sloan Management Review - Quartz - S&P Global - Seeking Alpha - Stock News - The Business Journals* - The Business of Fashion - The Wall Street Journal - Vogue Business

Grouped in options:
Crain Communications sites like
Ad Age - Automotive News - Crain's Chicago Business - Crain's Cleveland Business - Crain's Detroit Business - Crain's New York Business - Modern Healthcare
NHST Media Group sites like
Intrafish - Recharge - TradeWinds - Upstream

Tech/Science

Chemical & Engineering News - Discover Magazine - MIT Technology Review - National Geographic USA - Nautilus - New Scientist - Popular Science - Science* - Scientific American - Times Higher Education - VentureBeat

Grouped in options:
GenomeWeb sites like
360Dx - GenomeWeb - Precision Oncology News
The Chronicle sites like
The Chronicle of Higher Education - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Encyclopedia/Book library/Knowledge base

BBC History Extra - Encyclopedia Britannica - eNotes - Glassdoor - Loeb Classical Library - Philosophy Now - Quora - SlideShare - Statista - StuDocu

Magazines/Blogs

Medium* - Substack
Grouped in options:
Medium custom domains like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Better Programming - Towards Data Science
Substack custom domains (opt-in to custom sites)

Apollo Magazine - Artforum - Artnet - Atavist Magazine - Commentary Magazine - ESPN USA - First Things - National Review - Puck.news - RugbyPass - Slate - SofRep - Sports Illustrated - The Art Newspaper - The Athletic - The Intercept - The Daily Beast - The Daily Wire - The New Atlantis - The Point Magazine - The Wrap

Grouped in options:
Condé Nast magazines sites like
Architectural Digest - Bon Appétit - GC - The New Yorker - Vanity Fair - Vogue USA - Wired
Hearst Communications magazines sites like
Bicycling - Cosmopolitan - Country Living - Elle USA - Esquire - Good Housekeeping - House Beautiful - Men's Health - Popular Mechanics - Prevention - Road & Track - Runner's World - The Hollywood Reporter - Town & Country - Women's Health
Outside magazines sites like
Backpacker - Beta - Better Nutrition - Clean Eating - Climbing - Cycling Tips - Gym Climber - Outside - Oxygen - Peloton - Podium Runner - Rock and Ice - SKI - Trail Runner - Triathlete - Vegetarian Times - Velo News - Women's Running - Yoga Journal
Penske Media Corporation sites like
Billboard - Rolling Stone - Sportico - Variety - WWD

Local USA news

Honolulu Star-Advertiser - Los Angeles Business Journal - Los Angeles Times - Mountain View Voice - New York Magazine (+ Curbed, Grub Street, The Cut & Vulture) - Newsday - Palo Alto Online - Pittsburgh Post Gazette - San Diego Union Tribune - Star Tribune - Tampa Bay Times - The Advocate - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - The Boston Globe - The Dallas Morning News - The Hill - The New Orleans Advocate/The Times-Picayune - The Seattle Times - The Philadelphia Inquirer

USA Today
Grouped in options:
Advance Local sites like
AL/Alabama - MLive/Michigan - NJ/New Jersey - Staten Island Advance - The Express-Times - The Oregonian - The Patriot-News - The Plain Dealer - The Post-Standard - The Republican
Gannett Group (local USA Today) sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Austin American-Statesman - Detroit Free Press - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - The Arizona Republic - The Cincinnati Enquirer - The Courier-Journal - The Detroit News - The Indianapolis Star - The Record (North Jersey) - The Tennessean
Hearst Communications (newspapers) sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Houston Chronicle - San Antonio Express-News - San Francisco Chronicle
Lee Enterprises Group sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Arizona Daily Star - Omaha World-Herald - Richmond Times-Dispatch - The Buffalo News - Tulsa World - Winston-Salem Journal
McClatchy Group sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Belleville News-Democrat - Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Lexington Herald-Leader - Miami Herald - The Charlotte Observer - The Fresno Bee - The Kansas City Star - The News & Observer - The Sacramento Bee - The State - The Wichita Eagle - Tri-City Herald
MediaNews Group sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted/local sites)
East Bay Times - Orange County Register - St. Paul Pioneer Press - The Denver Post - The Mercury News - The Press-Enterprise
TownNews sites (Blox CMS) sites (opt-in to custom sites)
Tribune Publishing Company sites like
Baltimore Sun - Capital Gazette - Chicago Tribune - Daily Press - Hartford Courant - New York Daily News - Orlando Sentinel - SunSentinel - The Morning Call - The Virginian-Pilot

Canada

iPolitics - Le Devoir - Saltwire Network - The Globe and Mail - The Hill Times - The Lawyer's Daily - Winnipeg Free Press

Grouped in options:
Groupe Capitales Médias sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Le Soleil
Postmedia Network sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Calgary Herald - Financial Post - National Post - The Province - Toronto Sun - Vancouver Sun
TorStar sites like
The Toronto Star and regional sites Niagara Falls Review - Peterborough Examiner - St. Catharines Standard - The Hamilton Spectator - Waterloo Region Record - Welland Tribune

Europe

EUobserver

United Kingdom/Ireland

Belfast Telegraph - Financial News - Financial Times - Investors' Chronicle - Irish Independent - London Review of Books - New Left Review - Prospect Magazine - The Banker - The Economist - The Independent - The Irish Times - The New Statesman - The Spectator - The Telegraph - The Times (link to archive.today) - The Times Literary Supplement - UnHerd

Denmark

Berlingske

Finland

Suomen Sotilas

Grouped in options:
Alma Talent sites like
Arvopaperi - Iltalehti - Kauppalehti - Markkinointi & Mainonta - Mediuutiset - Mikrobitti - Talouselämä - Tekniikka & Talous - Tivi - Uusi Suomi

France/Wallonia

Alternatives Economiques - Atlantico - Auto Plus - Causeur - Challenges - Charlie Hebdo - Connaissance des Arts - Elle - Esprit - Franc-Tireur - L'Avenir - L'Écho - L'Équipe - L'Express - L'Obs - L'Oeil de la Photographie (fr/en) - L'Opinion - L'Usine Nouvelle - La Croix - La Libre - La Montagne - La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest - La Tribune - La Vie - Le Journal du Dimanche - Le Journal du Net - Le Nouvel Economiste - Le Parisien - Le Télégramme - Le Vif - Les Échos - Les Inrockuptibles - Marianne - Paris Match - Science & Vie - Sciences et Avenir - Télérama - Valeurs Actuelles

Grouped in options:
Groupe EBRA sites like
Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace - L'Alsace - L'Est Républicain - Le Bien Public - Le Dauphiné Libéré - Le Journal de Saône-et-Loire - Le Progrès - Le Républicain Lorrain - Vosges Matin
Groupe La Dépêche sites like
Centre Presse - L'Indépendant - La Dépêche du Midi - La Nouvelle République des Pyrénées - Le Petit Bleu d'Agen - Midi Libre - Midi Olympique
Groupe Nice-Matin sites like
Monaco-Matin - Nice-Matin - Var-Matin
Groupe Rossel sites like
L'Aisne nouvelle - L'Ardennais - L'Est-Éclair - L'Union - La Voix du Nord - Le Courrier picard - Le Soir - Libération Champagne - Nord Éclair - Nord Littoral - Paris Normandie - SudInfo
Groupe Sud Ouest sites like
Charente libre - La République des Pyrénées - Sud Ouest

Germany/Austria

Allgäuer Zeitung - Augsburger Allgemeine - Automobilwoche - Badische Neueste Nachrichten - Berliner Zeitung - Cicero - Der Spiegel (link to archive.today) - Die Rheinpfalz - Die Zeit - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Freie Presse - Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger - Kölnische Rundschau - Krautreporter - Mitteldeutsche Zeitung - Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung - Neue Westfälische - Nordwest Zeitung - Nürnberger Nachrichten - Piqd.de - Rhein-Zeitung - Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag - Schweriner Volkszeitung - Volksstimme - Westdeutsche Zeitung

Grouped in options:
Funke Mediengruppe sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Berliner Morgenpost - Braunschweiger Zeitung - Hamburger Abendblatt - Neue Ruhr Zeitung - Ostthüringer Zeitung - Thüringer Allgemeine - Thüringische Landeszeitung - Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung - Westfalenpost - Westfälische Rundschau
Madsack Mediengruppe sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung - Kieler Nachrichten - Leipziger Volkszeitung - Lübecker Nachrichten - Märkische Allgemeine - Neue Presse (Hannover) - Ostsee-Zeitung - RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland
Westfälische Mediengruppe sites like
Münstersche Zeitung - Westfalen-Blatt - Westfälische Nachrichten

Italy

Corriere della Sera - Corriere dello Sport - Domani - Eastwest - Il Fatto Quotidiano - Il Foglio - Il Manifesto - Il Tirreno - Internazionale - Italia Oggi - La Gazzetta dello Sport - La Nuova Sardegna

Grouped in options:
Gruppo GEDI.it sites like
GElocal.it - Huffingtonpost.it - Il Secolo XIX - Italian.tech - La Repubblica - La Stampa - Le Scienze - LimesOnline (it/en)
Il Messaggero and regional sites like Corriere Adriatico - Il Gazzettino - Il Mattino - Quotidiano di Puglia
Quotidiano Nazionale and regional sites like Il Giorno - Il Resto del Carlino - Il Telegrafo Livorno - La Nazione

Netherlands/Flanders

De Tijd - Financieele Dagblad - Follow the Money - Groene Amsterdammer - Knack - Krant van West-Vlaanderen - NRC Handelsblad - Telegraaf - Vrij Nederland

Grouped in options:
DPG Media (not ADR) sites like
De Morgen - De Volkskrant - Humo - Parool - Trouw
Mediahuis België sites like
Gazet van Antwerpen - Het Belang van Limburg - Het Nieuwsblad
Mediahuis Nederland Regional sites like
Noordhollands Dagblad - Haarlems Dagblad - Leidsch Dagblad - IJmuider Courant - De Gooi- en Eemlander
Mediahuis Noord sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Dagblad van het Noorden - Leeuwarder Courant

Portugal

Correio da Manhã - Observador

Slovenia

Finance.si

Spain

El Confidencial - El Diario.es - El Español - El País - El Periódico de Catalunya - La Vanguardia - Política Exterior

Grouped in options:
ARA sites like
Ara.cat - Ara Balears
Grupo Prensa Ibérica sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Diario de Mallorca - El Día - El Periódico de España - Faro de Vigo - Información - La Nueva España - La Provincia - Levante-EMV - Mallorca Zeitung
Grupo Unidad Editorial sites like
El Mundo - Expansión - Marca
Grupo Vocento sites like
ABC - Diario Vasco - El Comercio - El Correo - El Diario Montañés - El Norte de Castilla - Hoy - Ideal - La Rioja - La Verdad - La Voz de Cádiz - Las Provincias - Sur

Sweden

Aftonbladet - Dagens Industri - NyTeknik

Switzerland

Beobachter - Handelszeitung - Neue Zürcher Zeitung (+ regional/opt-in to custom sites) - The Market

Africa

Kenya

Daily Nation

Australia/New Zealand

Brisbane Times - Eureka Report - Griffith Review - Intelligent Investor - New Zealand Herald - The Age - The Australian Financial Review - The Saturday Paper - The Spectator Australia - The Sydney Morning Herald - The West Australian (+ regional/opt-in to custom sites) - WAtoday

Grouped in options:
News Corp Australia sites like
Cairns Post - Code Sports - Geelong Advertiser - Gold Coast Bulletin - Herald Sun - Northern Territory News - The Advertiser/AdelaideNow - The Australian - The Chronicle - The Courier-Mail - The Daily Telegraph - The Mercury Tasmania - The Weekly Times - Townsville Bulletin
Australian Community Media (daily) sites like (opt-in to custom sites for unlisted)
Bendigo Advertiser - Central Western Daily - Daily Liberal - Illawarra Mercury - Newcastle Herald - The Advocate - The Border Mail - The Canberra Times - The Courier - The Daily Advertiser - The Examiner - The Northern Daily Leader - The Standard - Western Advocate

East Asia

Asia Times - CommonWealth Magazine Taiwan* - Harvard Business Review China - Initium Media - Mainichi Shimbun - Nikkei Asian Review - South China Morning Post - Southern Weekly - Tech in Asia - The Diplomat - The Japan Times - The Star Malaysia

India

BQ Prime - Business Standard - Hindustan Times - Inc42 - India Today - Live Law - LiveMint - MediaNama - Mid-Day - Outlook - Outlook Business - The Economic Times (ET Prime) - The Financial Express - The Hindu - The Hindu BusinessLine - The Indian Express - Times of India

Israel

Globes - Haaretz.co.il - Haaretz.com - The Jerusalem Post - The Marker

Latin America

Argentina

Ámbito - Clarín - La Nación

Brazil

Estado de Minas - Exame - Grupo Abril - O Estado de S. Paulo - O Globo - Valor Econômico

Grouped in options:
UOL sites like
Crusoé - Folha de S. Paulo - UOL

Chile

Diario Financiero - El Mercurio (+ regional/opt-in to custom sites) - La Segunda - La Tercera

Colombia

El Espectador - El Tiempo

Mexico

Mexico News Daily

Peru

Grupo El Comercio sites like Diario Correo - El Comercio - Gestión

* free articles only.

Sites with limited number of free articles

The free article limit can normally be bypassed by removing cookies for the site.
Click on the BPC-icon and then 'clear cookies'-button in the popup (for unsupported sites grant permission for domain).
If removing the cookies works you can also add the site as a custom site.

New site requests

You can submit a request for a new website.
Please read the following instructions and share your results for a quicker process.
Remember to check the previous requests before asking for a new website.

  1. Open incognito window and search for article in Google search (or webcache).
  2. Clear cookies for the site (by this extension: opt-in to custom sites or grant permission for the site; also enables blocking of general paywall scripts).
  3. Disable Javascript on the site (by browser, uBlock Origin or other extension).
  4. Add the domain as custom site for more bypass options.
  5. Open page in reader view (by browser or extension).
  6. Try one of the archive sites.

Add custom site

Add your own custom site (also for testing).
Check 'Options'-link in popup-menu and go to custom sites.
* by default BPC has limited permissions, but you can opt-in to enable custom sites (and also clear cookies/block general paywall-scripts for non-listed sites). You can also just request permissions for the custom sites you added yourself (or clear cookies to ask for permission for current site).

By default sites' cookies/local storage are removed after page loads (to bypass article limit).
Also you can enable Googlebot/Bingbot user-agent, set referer (to Facebook, Google or Twitter; ignored when Googlebot is set), set random ip-address, disable Javascript for (sub)domain(s) and/or external domains, block regular expression, unhide text on (or when paywall(selector) redirect to) amp-page and/or load text from json or Google webcache (paywall|article selector).

Example list of custom sites or download list (json)

Add excluded site

Add excluded sites/domains (for your subscriptions).
You can also exclude a specific domain which is grouped in options.

Troubleshooting

Changelog-releases

License

Disclaimer

  • This software is provided for educational purposes only and is provided "AS IS", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement. In no event shall the authors or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages or other liability, whether in an action of contract, tort or otherwise, arising from, out of or in connection with the software or the use or other dealings in the software.