You Can’t Use Incognito Mode to Get Around the Globe’s Paywall Anymore
Brick photo via iStock/123ducu
It’s a sad day for Bostonians who don’t feel like paying for their news.
The Boston Globe has apparently closed the loophole in its paywall that allowed readers to circumvent the free article limit using their browser’s incognito, or private, mode.
The Boston Globe no longer allows reading articles in incognito/private mode w/o a subscription. #privacy pic.twitter.com/PDrTtxX1AO
— Weld Pond | Chris Wysopal (@WeldPond) May 19, 2017
Anthony Bonfiglio, who oversees all digital properties for Boston Globe Media Partners, referred us to chief consumer revenue officer Peter Doucette, who could not be immediately reached for comment about the change. Bonfiglio assumed the role in the same July 2016 reshuffling that placed Linda Pizzuti Henry, wife of Globe and Red Sox owner John Henry, in charge of Boston.com.
The Globe launched BostonGlobe.com as a paywalled site in 2011. Three years and 60,000 digital-only subscribers later, the newspaper ditched the paywall in favor of a “meter,” allowing for 10 free stories in a 30-day period. Last summer, the Globe offered voluntary buyouts to the staffers of the free-to-read Boston.com in order to establish a “clearer differentiation between the in-depth journalism of Globe.com and the community-centered resources of Boston.com.”
