Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30 • Hacker News Board

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#41

Post by donohoe » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 2:58 PM UTC

This is not the big deal that they are making it out to be, and I don't expect it to have a huge impact on publishers.

The simple truth is that the people who will circumvent paywalls are usually the kind of people who would never subscribe anyhow.

If you are a publisher relying on detecting private mode to compel people to subscribe then you have a content problem - or a lack of marketing talent.

I say this as someone who has worked in 15+ years in publishing (web/digital) and also with publishers and digital subscriptions (NYTimes and The New Yorker).

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#42

Post by Tepix » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 2:58 PM UTC

I just close my browser (i have it set to delete all cookies on close) and reopen it. No need for incognito mode.

If there was a way to pay once for all sites i frequent to support them and at the same time block the tracking, I'd be interested.

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#43

Post by rhinoceraptor » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 2:58 PM UTC

If your entire industry is only barely viable through the use of user-hostile tracking, I find it hard to feel bad when the ad tech loopholes are closed.

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#44

Post by crazygringo » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 2:58 PM UTC

Just curious... does anyone know what the main workaround sites were using to detect incognito?

And if there are other likely ones the sites will be able to fall back to?

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#45

Post by zxcvbn4038 » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 2:59 PM UTC

Haven’t we done this experiment enough times? When the publishers switch to hard paywalls their viewership tanks, their advertisers freak out, and they immediately roll it back. We’ve seen this in Europe we’ve seen this in the US when newspapers tried to force Google to stop indexing their content - turns out it is much better to allow Google to index. I expect to see a repeat here. All the paywalls do is send more revenue to the other guys. As long as their is one single source for content that’s not behind a paywall, no paywall will ever work. Furthermore most news outlets today focus on soft news and opinion pieces, and I really don’t care what tantrum some star or starlet is throwing, what else Donald Trump said that offended someone, who isn’t going to the Hamptons this summer, etc. It is news to someone but I’ll never spend a penny on it.

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#46

Post by edoceo » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 2:59 PM UTC

FabHK wrote: post #33

> Without fail, the websites detected the intrusion attempt and prevented access to the content Using incognito mode in the browser to make it a bit harder to be tracked (without even blocking ads!) is "an intrusion attempt"? Excuse me? That's absurd language.

Right, because you're "intruding" where you're not supposed to. It's hyperbolic but not wholly inaccurate. Gotta get clicks!

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#47

Post by axxl » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 3:00 PM UTC

glerk wrote: post #30

shusson wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> while their subscription terms continue to be asinine Agreed. The only official way to cancel a NYT subscription is to call them. Infuriating.

Same with the Economist. They must have crunched some numbers and determined this is more profitable. I usually “unsubscribe” from these kind of services by changing my credit card to an empty prepaid one and let the payment bounce.

With the Economist you can at least do it via email, or if you’re doing digital only you can use a subscription via Apple’s in app purchases etc and manage it that way.

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#48

Post by mschuster91 » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 3:01 PM UTC

News publishers should get their asses together in one building and build a "netflix for news". No I don't want to register or put my CC info at your US 10k town TV station with a single overworked dude managing IT just to follow a reddit link, but link yourself with a central ID provider that manages payment and does not disclose my personal data, and I'd be in for it.

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#49

Post by ungzd » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 3:02 PM UTC

aorth wrote: post #40

The title is confusing click bait and the article content is garbage... "intrusion attempt"? "master key"?

What is even more ironic is that it has anti-adblocker.

Re: Google unlocks 33% of publisher paywalls on July 30

#50

Post by AJ007 » Tue, Jul 30, 2019, 3:02 PM UTC

pilif wrote: post #7

No. This isn't about Google unlocking paywalls. This is about Google fixing a bug where the presence of Icognito Mode could be detected with JS which is totally against the premise of Incognito Mode whose purpose it is to be undetected, not to be detected as somebody wanting to be undetected. Publishers can everybody to be logged in in order to read their content. Then none of this applies.

“Intrusion attempt” as alleged in the article is more like an “intrusion attempt” by the publishers to exploit a bug in the user’s web browser.

Publishers have every ability to use some DRMed iOS app and bypass the web completely. Instead they want their cake (free SE & sharing traffic) and eat it too (paid or demographically tracked and ad targeted visitors.)