Google is adding a feature that makes some paywalled articles a thing of the past

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

One of the most annoying parts of the internet is wanting to read a spicy news article from a big outlet, only to be paywalled when you click on the link. It truly is a bummer. Now, Google is looking to give users free access to select content from a variety of news sites.

This comes as part of News Showcase, a new feature in Google News. Basically, Google is partnering with news outlets that offer premium articles, allowing people that get to the article through Google News a way to read up without paying up. That said, you will still have to register with the sites that host the articles you want to read.

In a blog post, Google states, “[W]e’ll soon start offering people access to paywalled content in partnership with select news publishers. Paywalls are a crucial part of some publishers’ revenue strategies. To support that goal, we’ll pay participating partners to provide limited access to paywalled content for News Showcase users. In return, users will register with the news publisher, providing a way for the publisher to build a relationship with readers.”

If you are in the US, don’t get too excited yet, as Google isn’t trialing the new feature here yet. Instead, the feature is rolling out in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. Google states it is currently working with close to 400 news publications. Google is currently discussing the feature in other countries, as well.

Overall, this is a pretty interesting feature. Paywalled articles are a pain and can keep people from reading exclusive reports and other important pieces, so having a legit way to read some of these would be great.

What do you think? Could you see yourself using this new feature in Google News? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Google’s Shopping Gift Guide will show you all the trending products people are buying right now
• Genshin Impact is the best mobile game of 2020, according to Google Play
• A bunch of US states could be planning to sue Facebook next week
• Jeff Bezos has donated $684 million worth of Amazon stock to non-profits

Josiah Motley

Former KnowTechie editor.