Paywall Detector

Local paywall evidence beside Google Search results.

Created as a hobby project, feel free to contribute: https://github.com/justnchew/paywall-detector-chrome v1 - built for google.com Know more before you click. “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” Found a promising headline, clicked it, and hit a paywall? Paywall Detector helps you remember that discovery so you can make a more informed choice next time. It adds clear access labels to Google Search results and Top Stories, helping you spot publishers and articles that may require a subscription or registration. Understand each label 🔒 Paywalled — A supported paid-subscription wall was detected when you visited that specific article. 🔒 Restricted access — Article metadata indicates an access restriction, or a previously visited article on the same publisher provided that evidence. This does not necessarily mean payment is required. 👤 Registration required — A supported registration wall was detected on the article. ⚠️ Often paywalled — The publisher commonly restricts access, but this particular article has not been checked. ❔ Not checked — No saved evidence or publisher rule is available. Access remains unknown. Hover over a label to see its supporting evidence and observation time. It remembers what you discover When you visit a supported article, Paywall Detector checks its metadata and supported visible paywall elements. If it finds evidence of an access restriction, it saves that finding locally. When the same article appears in a later Google search, its label reflects the saved evidence. Restricted-access findings can also inform labels on other results from the same publisher, with a tooltip identifying the source article. Findings expire after seven days to help keep labels relevant. Local processing, simple controls Paywall Detector runs entirely in your browser. There are no accounts, analytics, backend services, or paid APIs. Saved findings stay in your browser’s local extension storage. It does not automatically open or fetch search destinations. It checks supported article pages only when you visit them and never bypasses or removes paywalls. Use the popup to turn search labeling on or off, or clear your saved findings whenever you want. Why install Paywall Detector? - Get useful access information before opening a search result. - See labels on ordinary Google results and Top Stories. - Remember restrictions you have already encountered. - Distinguish subscription walls from registration requirements. - Keep your findings locally without creating an account. Current coverage This initial version supports Google Search on www.google.com, with publisher rules and article detection for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times on their supported website hosts. Coverage is intentionally limited. Access can vary by article, account, location, and publisher changes. Labels reflect publisher rules or evidence observed in your browser—they are not guarantees. Paywall Detector never assumes an article is free simply because no wall was detected. Install Paywall Detector to make more informed choices about which search results to open.