That's not a legitimate comparison of the situation, because if you can bypass the paywall to be able to read it usually means the data is already on your device for you to read in the first place, it's just "hidden" in some shitty way.
I would compare it with a physical newspaper company sending you the newspaper covered in some tamper-resistant material that lets you read the first rows only. I see no reason why you shouldn't try to tamper with that cover given that you effectively own it now.
Go full "log in to read this" (by which I mean only sending the data you intend EVERYONE to read even when the user is not logged in) and then it's a fair comparison.
EDIT:
> I know people here will come up with ~~reasons~~ excuses for justifying this theft, but it just reinforces the entitled nature of well-paid tech workers in my mind.
I think the industry that has given rise to shitty paywallish implementations should justify themselves as well, then.
NB: I pay/have paid for news sources, including ones that I appreciated but had literally no time to read. However, this sort of approach to "protecting IP" is particularly stupid, so I feel no remorse bypassing it (I do it manually, though, it's more satisfying).
I would compare it with a physical newspaper company sending you the newspaper covered in some tamper-resistant material that lets you read the first rows only. I see no reason why you shouldn't try to tamper with that cover given that you effectively own it now.
Go full "log in to read this" (by which I mean only sending the data you intend EVERYONE to read even when the user is not logged in) and then it's a fair comparison.
EDIT: > I know people here will come up with ~~reasons~~ excuses for justifying this theft, but it just reinforces the entitled nature of well-paid tech workers in my mind.
I think the industry that has given rise to shitty paywallish implementations should justify themselves as well, then.
NB: I pay/have paid for news sources, including ones that I appreciated but had literally no time to read. However, this sort of approach to "protecting IP" is particularly stupid, so I feel no remorse bypassing it (I do it manually, though, it's more satisfying).