Find out how to read Harvard Business Review (HBR) web articles for free.
In other words, how to bypass Harvard Business Review paywall.
It is not difficult to access unlimited HBR webpages is because it uses a metered paywall, which is a type of soft paywall.
When you click the article, the content is loaded over to your browser.
In it comes together with tracking cookies, to keep a record of how many free article you have read.
Once you hit its predetermined limit, it triggers the paywall.
To counter it, you block the tracking cookies from doing its job.
Another thing is many soft paywalls are implemented using JavaScript to hide the content.
So you just disable the JavaScript from enforcing the paywall.
This is the reason why soft paywall is easier to circumvent than a hard paywall .
This is another post from The DiGiztal Bypass Paywalls Tips series.
Do you want to keep reading HBR for free without subscribing?
Then keep reading this post.
The first three tips, all you have to do is by merely clicking the mouse of your computer.
You don't to have to install anything, or seek assistance from outside.
Let's go through all the techniques people are using to overcome HBR.org paywall.
How to read Harvard Business Review site free
Table of Contents:
- Clear browsing data, cache and cookies
- Private browsing
- Blocking cookies
- Add a dot after org
- Bypass Paywalls Clean extension
- Hover Paywall extension
- Archive.Today
- Temporary Containers extension
1. Clear browsing data, cache and cookies
It means by clearing your browsing history.
Mozilla Firefox Browser:
After finished reading the second (last) free article, this is what you do:
Click "History" at the menu bar which is at the top of your computer screen.
Then click "Clear Recent History..."
NOTE: Make sure the "Cookies" under "History" is checked (with a tick in the box).
Click "OK" button.
Now click "Reload this page icon" (circle with arrowhead) which you want to read.
It will reload the full article, without the registration box.
Once again, you will see the same black banner below the page again, that says:
"You have 1 free article left this month ."
It means now you can continue to read one more free articles.
You just keep clearing your browser cookies, and you can continue reading Harvard Business review free articles.
Google Chrome Browser:
The procedure for Chrome is similar to what I have explained for Firefox.
When you come to the blocked article, click the three dots (Customize and control Google Chrome) at the top right hand corner of the page.
A menu drops down, click "History".
Then click "Delete browsing data".
A box pops up and click the blue color "Delete data" button.
Once this is done, go back to the blocked article and reload it.
Instantly you can read the full unblocked Harvard Business Review article without obstruction.
Just keep doing the same steps, and you continue reading its web articles.
2. Private browsing
This is another easy technique to continue reading all the Harvard Business Review site articles.
You use the built-in tool of your browser to circumvent its digital barrier.
For Firefox it is called "Open Link In New Private Window", and for Chrome, it is called "Open link in incognito window".
What you do is, right click at the article title, a context menu pops up, then click at either "Open Link in New Private Window" (Firefox) or "Open link in incognito window" (Chrome).
This is what it looks like with Google Chrome browser.
Go to the Harvard Business Review homepage.
Right click on the article title.
A context menu drops down, then click “Open link in incognito window“.
It will open the full unblocked article in the new window.
NOTE: To continuously reading the HBR site article free, you need to close the article you have just read,
Then go back to the Harvard Business Review homepage, and right click on the next article title that you want to read.
Likewise with Firefox, but you select the option, "Open Link in New Private Window".
3. Blocking Cookies
Mozilla Firefox Browser:
Set it up once in your Firefox browser, and you can continue reading unlimited free Harvard Business Review site articles.
Go to your Mozilla Firefox browser.
Click "Open menu" (three horizontal lines icon) at the top right hand corner of your computer screen.
It drops down the context menu.
Click "Settings" and a page appears.
Next click "Privacy & Security" on the left side of the page.
Scroll down a little bit until you see "Cookies and Site Data".
Click "Manage Exceptions..." button.
A box pops up, titled "Exceptions - Cookies and Site Data".
In the space below "Address of website", paste or type in:
https://hbr.org
Click the "Block" button.
You can see the Harvard Business Review domain listed under "Website" and its "Status" as "Block".
Finally click the "Save Changes" button.
Alternatively you can use Cookie AutoDelete extension.
Download and install it to your browser, and you can enjoy unlimited HBR articles from its website.
For Mozilla Firefox users, click this link.
Google Chrome Browser:
Similarly, you can also set it up for Google Chrome browser.
Go to Google Chrome browser.
Click the three small dots (Customize and control Google Chrome) and the context menu pops up.
Click "Settings".
When you come to settings page, click on "Privacy and security".
Now click "Cookies and other site data".
Scroll down to the last option "Sites that never use cookies".
Click "Add" button
A box pops up for you to add the site domain.
Type [*.]hbr.org
Then click the blue color "Add" button.
For Chrome users who prefer to use the Chrome Cookie AutoDelete Extension, click this link.
4. Add a dot after org
What you do is by adding a dot after the the top-level domain, org.
You add a dot after the org of the article URL at the address bar.
For example, you wan to read this article, "How People Are Really Using Gen AI in 2025".
This is its URL: https://hbr.org/2025/04/how-people-are-really-using-gen-ai-in-2025?ab=HP-latest-text-5
Add a dot after org, and now it looks like this:
https://hbr.org./2025/04/how-people-are-really-using-gen-ai-in-2025?ab=HP-latest-text-5
For a clearer explanation, it is highlighted in yellow.
Then press the "Enter" key to reload the webpage.
Now you should see the full article of "How People Are Really Using Gen AI in 2025".
Why does this old trick can work?
It is because the browser sees it as a different domain.
Technically the web browsers and cookies treat hbr.org and hbr.org. as different domains.
Even though they resolve to the same IP address (the same server), browsers often enforce strict rules about which domains can access which cookies.
5. Bypass Paywalls Clean extension
This paywall remover extension is currently the most popularly used to get over both soft and hard paywalls.
You can access umpteen paywalled websites with this tool by magnolia1234, even Financial Times and Wall Street Journal.
Install this free extension and you can keep reading all Harvard Business Review articles and stories you want.
For Firefox browser, follow this tutorial: How to install Bypass Paywalls Clean for Firefox
For Chrome browser, follow this tutorial: How to install Bypass Paywalls Clean for Chrome
6. Hover Paywall extension
You can also use this rarely mentioned browser extension, Hover Paywall.
It can comes with ad blocking function.
For this case, you just enabled the "Block Paywalls" settings.
To find out more, refer to this Hover Paywall extension guide.
7. Archive.Today
Use the free archive site Archive.today, to view its archived page.
There are three ways to do it.
This is one of them:
Go to the Harvard Business Review homepage.
Right click on the title of the article which you want to read.
A menu box pops up, click "Copy Link".
Go to the Archive.Today site.
Paste the article URL in the space provided under "My url is alive and I want to archive its content".
Should the article has already archived, you can read it right away.
If not, then you have to archive it, then you can view the complete unblocked article.
Find out more ways how to use Archive.Today to bypass paywalled articles for free.
8. Temporary Containers extension
This method works for Firefox browser only.
First installed the Firefox Temporary Containers extension.
Go to Harvard Business Review home page.
Right click any of the article title which you want to read.
A menu pops up next to the article title.
Place your cursor over "Open link in new Temporary Container tab".
Move it over to the expanded menu, and click any of options there.
It will open a new tab with the full article.
To read the next article, repeat the same procedure.
NOTE: These methods may not involve direct hacking or unauthorized access, they can still violate anti-circumvention laws and terms of service. Consider using the legal and ethical ways to access paywalled web articles.
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DISCLAIMER: This post is for educational purposes only. It aims to help you better understand web technologies and digital security. It does not endorse breaking website rules or illegal activity. Use responsibly; the author is not liable for misuse or legal issues.