Questions
Registered users / subscription - hitting paywall even though all settings show user should be allowed through
I have a reader who - despite being a registered user and having been logged in on her phone, continues to hit our paywall, even though there is no reason she should be doing so.
We have tried to duplicate the issue on multiple devices and cannot do so.
I know that the paywall operates using cookies.Can anyone think of what might be happening in this isolated case? Phone is an iPhone6.
Answer
I assume that when she hits the paywall, she can log in and see content. But, each time she comes back, she has to log in again?
If so:
- It is unlikely to be a "remember me" issue since your site has "force enabled for all user" for the "remember me" setting.
- It is very likely she is in private browsing mode. In this situation the browser doesn't store cookies so it will not remember you between settings. (We see this complaint especially from iPhone users.)
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203036
If she can't log in at all, then:
- There is probably something wrong with her account or her subscription purchase. Our Customer Support staff can help troubleshoot the issue.
Let me know if this helps! =)
Christine
I am checking on the private browsing part. The problem is weird and since I cannot recreate it on my iPhone, I bet you are right.
I'll advise.
This private browsing issue has been a problem since Noah built his first canoe and mused about a little shower coming. Can you not detect privacy settings and notify a user that his settings will cause an issue? If you can't set a cookie, then an error is generated. That error should be able to be detected and a user informed.
Everything we can do to lower user frustration is important. This is just another little thing that can affect churn.
Browser companies do not want websites to be able to detect private browsing mode - otherwise it isn't private, really. ;) There have been ways that some websites have found ways to detect incognito, but browser companies consider those to be bugs, and they actively try to fix them.
Like CadillacNewsIT said, Chrome lets you set cookies, so it is difficult to know that a user is in private mode. Boston Globe figured out a way to detect incognito in Chrome, but Chrome immediately filed a bug ticket against it.
It used to be that Safari let you set cookies in private browsing mode, but it blocked local storage - so we actually discussed doing a check for that and then triggering some behavior. But, as of Safari 10, it looks like (based on some quick internet searches) it has now been fixed.
So, essentially, from a product perspective anyway, our thought is that we shouldn't fight against the browser companies on this topic and try to implement any functionality that targets incognito users.
That being said, we are always looking for ways to improve experiences for the end users and would welcome continued thoughts and discussions on this topic. Maybe better messaging at log in time would help?
Problem is that you can set the cookie, it just won't remember it the next time you arrive since it won't store it to the drive. I've explored this one on several occasions, and that is 90% of the cause for this type of issue,
Customer support service by UserEcho
I assume that when she hits the paywall, she can log in and see content. But, each time she comes back, she has to log in again?
If so:
- It is unlikely to be a "remember me" issue since your site has "force enabled for all user" for the "remember me" setting.
- It is very likely she is in private browsing mode. In this situation the browser doesn't store cookies so it will not remember you between settings. (We see this complaint especially from iPhone users.)
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203036
https://help.bloxcms.com/knowledge-base/applications/community/subscription/misc/article_cfd7d142-2be6-11e5-802b-97eec97f5d12.html
If she can't log in at all, then:
- There is probably something wrong with her account or her subscription purchase. Our Customer Support staff can help troubleshoot the issue.
Let me know if this helps! =)
Christine