Soft paywalls
Soft paywalls limit access while still allowing some free views. The article content is loaded in the page, just hidden behind a modal or CSS overlay.
Metered paywalls give you a certain number of free articles per month. Registration walls require a free account. Cookie-based limits track your reading history in the browser.
SMRY can often access this content because the full article is in the page source or available through web archives.
Hard paywalls
Hard paywalls require payment before any content is delivered. The article text is only sent to authenticated subscribers — it never exists publicly.
Access control happens on the server, not in your browser. Web archives, reader modes, and extraction tools cannot access content that was never sent.
SMRY cannot bypass hard paywalls. There is no technical workaround because the content simply does not exist without authentication.
Known restricted sites
These sites have access restrictions that prevent content extraction. This list is based on our analytics data and is not exhaustive.
News & Publications
These publications require paid subscriptions to access articles. Content is only delivered to authenticated subscribers.
Creator Platforms
Content on these platforms is uploaded directly by creators for their paying subscribers. There is no public version of this content to access.
Private Social Media
Content on private social media accounts is only visible to approved followers or friends. This is not a paywall but a privacy setting.
Document Download Sites
These sites require payment to download documents. The files are stored on their servers and require purchase to access.
Questions
Why does SMRY work for some articles but not others on the same site?
Many publications use hybrid models where some content is free and some is premium. Web archives may also have captured articles before they were paywalled.
Can I request support for a blocked site?
We cannot add support for hard-paywalled sites — there's no technical way to access content that requires authentication. For soft-paywalled sites that aren't working, email us at support@smry.ai.
Quality journalism costs money to produce. SMRY helps you read content that's technically accessible but inconvenient to reach. For publications you value, consider supporting them with a subscription.