How to view blurred text on websites

Blurring text on websites is a common method online publications use to keep their content exclusive to subscribers. While not all websites require payment to view blurred text, nearly all require you to share personal information to gain access. Luckily, you can learn how to view blurred text on websites that hide content behind paywalls.

Note : Remember that the methods below are not guaranteed to work on all websites. Additionally, they should only be used to evaluate whether a membership or subscription is necessary. Do not abuse them to ignore legitimate requests to pay fees.

1. Use Google Translate as a proxy to view hidden text

Google Translate is an effective tool for blurring text on websites. Use it to view the full and translated version of a website whose content is blurred.

Open the website whose text you want to blur and copy its URL.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 1

Go to Google Translate and paste the URL into the box on the left.

Click the URL in the box on the right. If you want a language other than English, select a language, then click the refreshed URL.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 2

You'll be taken to a new tab containing the unabridged version of the website. You can also try this method while using your smartphone, if the Google Translate app is installed.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 3

If this method doesn't work for you, move on to the next solution.

2. View snapshots on Internet Archive

The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine is a free tool where people can save and look up versions of websites. This tool also crawls the web and stores cached pages. You can use it to look up saved versions of a restricted article – if there are any.

Copy the URL of the website in question.

Go to Internet Archive and paste the URL into the Wayback Machine search bar to check if the page has been archived.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 4

Select the version of the page you want to see. For the newest content, choose the latest archived version based on date and time. Available archived versions are marked with a blue circle on the calendar.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 5

The archive version you choose will display blurred content.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 6

3. Open the page from Google Search

Although some sites allow subscribers to view premium content, they allow non-paying visitors to view the full content of links they clicked on from Google Search results to increase traffic . However, if you use this method, you are only allowed to see the content of the page URL you clicked on, and as you go deeper into the site, you will encounter a paywall.

Copy the title of the page containing the blurred text you want to see and paste it into Google Search. Hover over a page's tab and you'll see the page title. If you can't highlight and copy the page title, enter it manually.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 7

For more accurate search results, enter the site name at the end or beginning of your query.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 8

Click the result with the same page URL as the page you want to remove the blur from.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 9

The entire page will now be available to view. This method works on both PC and mobile devices.

4. View blurred content with Inspect Element

The Inspect or Inspect Element tool is available in all desktop web browsers. Using this option, you can view and edit the source code, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and media files of the website. Any changes you make are displayed in real time on the page you're 'testing'. This feature also allows you to remove text blurring on some web pages.

On the page where you want to remove the blur, right-click anywhere and select Inspect or Inspect Element. The Inspect section will appear on the right side or bottom of your browser window.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 10

To get rid of that annoying pop-up from the bottom asking you to enter your email address, use Inspect's search function and look for gateaway-content . Click display: flex in the block's properties at the bottom of the screen and change it from flex to none.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 11

Scroll up and click on the element containing gateway-container and examine the properties window below. Click on the overflow: hidden text box and change it from hidden to scrollable.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 12

Scrolled through the article without problems.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 13

Keep in mind that page blocker names can vary between sites, and the style attribute doesn't always render as overflow. You will need to try to identify relevant pieces of code that you need to modify or remove. If it's wrong, refresh the page to start again.

5. Switch to Reader Mode

Most modern browsers offer a Reader mode that helps remove website clutter, like ads and other distractions. This mode allows you to view blurred or paid content on some websites. This feature is optional in certain browsers, so you may need to enable it from Settings first. What's interesting is that you can sometimes use this mode to view blurred text on web pages.

In Chrome, click the three dots in the upper right corner and select More tools -> Reading mode .

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 14

With the reader on the right side of the screen, check to see if you can see the full content.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 15

Firefox makes things even easier. Navigate to the website in question and click the page-like icon in the address bar to switch to Reader view.

How to view blurred text on websites Picture 16

If you want to take advantage of Reading mode on Android when using Chrome, you will have to download Reading mode from the Google Play Store.

Lesley Montoya

Update 12 April 2024