Ask HN: Why is referrer control not working for WSJ?

11 points by kaushikktiwari 10y ago ↗ HN

I usually use referrer control to spoof my referring link to news.google.com.

But, it stopped working today for some reason. I block cookies from WSJ so that's not the reason.

It doesn't allow me to read anything but shows me the sign in/ subscribe page.

4 comments

[ 17.6 ms ] story [ 959 ms ] thread

minimaxir 10y ago ↗

Looks like WSJ found a workaround for that bypass.

Google will not be amused.

kaushikktiwari 10y ago ↗

https://support.google.com/news/publisher/answer/40543?hl=en...

NameNickHN 10y ago ↗

I've noticed the same thing. I guess that they've stopped using cookies and are using some kind of "super cookie" that uses the visitors computer environment to create a individual id.

mcintyre1994 10y ago ↗

WSJ are testing closing the loophole to see if it improves their subscription rates: http://digiday.com/publishers/wall-street-journal-paywall-go...

> A Journal spokesperson said the publisher was running a test to see if doing so would entice would-be subscribers to pay up. The rep wouldn’t elaborate on how long and extensive the experiment was and if permanently closing the loophole was a possible outcome.