12ft Ladder, also known as 12ft.io, once promised to “Show me a 10ft paywall, I’ll show you a 12ft ladder.”For years, it was one of the easiest ways to read paywalled news articles without interruptions. But in 2025, thousands of…

For several years, 12ft.io (also known as “12ft Ladder”) was a popular tool used for bypassing paywalls. Its simple trick — “Show me a 12-foot ladder so I can get over the paywall” — became widely known among researchers, students,…