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How Gift Links Let You Share Paywalled Articles

Many people have faced a paywall when trying to access an important article.

Best News Links desk3 min read

Hand holding smartphone with blank white screen.
Photo: Santeri Viinamäki via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
In this guide
  1. What a Gift Link Is
  2. How Subscribers Generate a Gift Link
  3. How the Recipient Opens the Gift Link
  4. How Long the Gift Link Lasts
  5. The Significance of Gift Links

Many people have faced a paywall when trying to access an important article. Fortunately, a publisher-issued access token called a "gift link" allows a user to legally send one locked story to a non-subscriber. However, the quotas, length of time, and experience of the recipient vary by publisher.

A gift link is a publisher-controlled tool that provides access to an individual paywalled story without requiring payment. These links are not interchangeable with a general subscription and are exclusively tied to the post or article they are linked to. For instance, Ghost's gift links give anyone access to a post or page, even without sign-up or payment. Unlike ordinary share or email tools, each post and page has its own unique gift link for sharing with non-subscribers. The Straits Times also allows subscribers to share subscriber-only content with as many people as they wish, while the recipient only needs to have access to the link to read it.

Each publishing platform uses a different system for generating a gift link. To share a paywalled story in the Financial Times, open the article, click the share icon, select "Share with anyone," and choose "Create a gift link." The Washington Post has a dedicated share button located above the first paragraph of an article, while the Straits Times provides a gift icon at the top of each article. Foreign Policy includes a gift icon in its article sharing options, offering the ability to copy a link or send it via email and WhatsApp. Notably, only users with staff access levels, such as Owner, Administrator, or Editor, in Ghost can copy or share gift links.

The experience for non-subscribers opening a gift link varies by platform. Ghost's publisher-controlled access via gift links allows anyone access to a single members-only or paid members-only post or page without requiring sign-up or payment. The Straits Times also grants recipients access to the article even if they do not have an ST subscription. However, the Financial Times has a limit of 3 openings per link, and the Telegraph allows the recipient to read the article for up to 30 days. While the Washington Post's help page refers to "gift articles," it does not specify the recipient's experience.

The duration of gift links varies by publisher. Financial Times gift links can be opened 3 times and are valid for 90 days, while the Telegraph's articles can be read for up to 30 days from the day the link is generated. Ghost gift links can be reset, and Foreign Policy does not specify a duration for its gift articles. Publishers set gift link permissions to control access.

Gift links serve as a legitimate way to share a locked story, while a copied URL is simply a location without publisher-authorized access. Ghost's gift links offer a legitimate way to access articles without sign-up or payment, while FT’s share tools and ST’s gifting options also allow publisher-controlled access to non-subscribers.

In conclusion, gift links provide a useful tool for sharing individual paywalled stories, but the specific rules and user experience vary significantly between publishers.

This guide describes general practice in the United States at the time of writing. Prices, library services and publisher policies change; check the current terms on the official page before you rely on them.

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