Bypassing the Medium Paywall

A paywall is a method of restricting access to content through a paid subscription. In 2017, Medium introduced a paywall that writers could voluntarily opt into. In exchange, participating writers would receive a share of the membership fees paid by readers.

Although I had no personal interest in joining Medium’s “Partner Program,” many publications—such as The Startup—prioritize content placed behind the paywall:

I was eventually removed from the program after Medium modified their eligibility criteria, bait & switching many writers into uploading their content to the platform.

The Deprecated Method: Incognito Browsing

Previously, copying and pasting an article link into an incognito browser window would bypass the paywall. Medium relied on cookies to track how many articles non-members had read. After exhausting the three free “member-only” stories, closing all incognito windows and opening a new one would clear the cookies, effectively resetting the counter and making Medium treat the session as a new visitor.

Update: This method no longer works. Medium now requires users to create an account and log in before viewing any premium content, rendering the incognito trick ineffective.

Limitations of This Approach

This workaround did not function on the Medium mobile app. Additionally, it prevented readers from clapping for stories (since no account was logged in) and blocked Medium’s recommendation algorithm from learning reader preferences.

The Difficult Method: Becoming a Medium Writer

When I first wrote an article on Medium, I signed up for a free account and submitted my work to some of the platform’s largest publications, including The Startup. A list of Medium’s 10 largest publications is available here . Most publications provide submission guidelines on their pages, typically through a “Write for Us” or “Submit” button.

Upon being added as a writer to a publication, I was granted lifetime access to all of that publication’s content. Even without publishing anything, being listed as a writer provides full reading and clapping privileges for all articles within that publication. Having been accepted into six of Medium’s largest publications, I now have free access to much of the platform’s best content.

For those not inclined to write original content, it would theoretically be possible to submit someone else’s article from elsewhere on the internet, gain writer status at various publications, and then simply never publish the plagiarized piece. This is, of course, ethically dubious.

Limitations of This Approach

Access remains restricted to articles from publications where one holds writer status.

Conclusion

This post was written purely for educational and entertainment purposes. Stealing from writers is not something I condone. If Medium writers are not compensated for their work, the quality of content on the platform will inevitably decline—an outcome that benefits no one.