Durable Metered Paywall Using Device-Based Identification

Summary

Improve Pelcro’s metered paywall so free-article limits cannot be easily reset using incognito mode or simple cookie clearing.

Problem

Metered paywalls today rely on cookies. Users can bypass them by:

• Opening incognito/private windows

• Clearing cookies or cache

• Reopening the same browser repeatedly

This requires no technical skill and undermines meter effectiveness. Clients regularly flag this as a core weakness.

Goal

Reduce casual meter abuse without:

• Forcing login for free articles

• Breaking SEO or crawler access

• Claiming “perfect” enforcement

This is about raising the bar, not eliminating all bypasses.

Proposed MVP

• Use device / browser-based identification (probabilistic fingerprint)

• Persist meter across sessions in the same browser

• Prevent repeated incognito resets

• No login required

• Same behavior for crawlers

Non-Goals

• Cross-device or cross-browser enforcement

• Blocking advanced paywall-removal tools

• Hard paywall behavior

Impact

• Fewer trivial bypasses

• Higher publisher confidence

• Estimated 4–6% revenue uplift for metered publishers (customer-provided benchmark)

• Reduced support escalations and sales objections