5 Methods To Copy Text From Protected Websites Online

Did you ever get no response when you tried to choose text, open a context menu, or copy content? Users can’t copy and paste TEXT from some websites because they use technical strategies.

This tutorial will show you how to copy text from protected, disabled, and restricted websites. Using content protections like turning off right-click, hotlink protection, and server-side excludes isn’t a good user experience practice.

Websites usually don’t follow these rules because UX always comes first. However, some sites try to protect their content from copycats and fraudsters because they take all their hard work and don’t show them any tribute. Even some popular websites duplicate original content and rank well in search engines. (You should refrain from engaging in these types of activities.).

There are multiple ways to protect content and disable the right click. The WordPress platform has a lot of plugins for this, and web hosting and CDNs offer features like server-side exclusions and link protection.

1. Extracting Text From Images

This strategy is my top pick since it’s beginner-friendly. With optical text recognition, you can easily convert images into text.

Simply take a screenshot of the text you want to copy from a protected website and convert it into text, PDF, DOC, and other formats using online optical text recognition tools.

Here’s a practical example: I took a screenshot of the text from a content-protected website. A reliable website called Onlineocr offers an easy way to use OCR with a few steps.

I’ve got a screenshot of it.

OK, I’m going to upload my screenshot to this OCR tool. There are a few options and many languages, but you should pick the correct recognition language for optimum results.

There’s also an option to select the output format (Docs, Excel, or plain text).
I chose plain text, and it finished in 10 seconds, exactly what I wanted.

There are only four steps: upload, set the language, convert, and download. That’s why I said this is a beginner-friendly approach. Search Google or other search engines for “OCR tools.”

You can find plenty of other OCRs. Many OCRs convert images to text with optical character recognition. Users can do this type of stuff with Google Cloud AI Optical Character Recognition. – Plus, online OCR is web-based.

They can extract characters from scanned PDFs and images without implementing programs to convert photos to text.

With a web browser, users can use the online OCR service on any device and the simplest ways to copy text from restricted websites.

2. Using Google Chrome Extensions

Almost everyone uses a browser – even you are probably reading this in a web browser right now. The most popular browser is Chrome (over 2 billion users).

Users can copy text from a protected web page using Chrome in multiple ways, but quickly with a Chrome extension. Many Chrome-based browsers have add-ons – default features that allow you to extract text from restricted sites.

The question is, is it possible to copy text from a secured website with a Chrome extension?

Yes. Some Chrome extensions allow you to copy text from copy-protected websites. I’ve tested a few extensions, and most of them work.

However, some extensions often cause websites to crash, so you have to manually deactivate and reactivate them.

“Allow Copy – Select & Enable Right Click” is a popular Chrome extension with over 900K users. It lets you enable context menus on restricted websites and copy options for all pages when a website doesn’t allow right-click menus.

I’m going to test this addon, and this site doesn’t allow right clicks. Also, I can’t use shortcuts and can’t drag and drop images.

So, I’ve installed the “Allow Copy” Chrome extension, moved to the content-restricted website, and allowed the option “Enable Copy.”

Yeah, that works; you can see it here:

The Chrome store has many browser extensions to copy text from protected websites online and save images on content-protected sites. There are also other ways to copy text from a protected website using Chrome.

3. Using Reading Mode In Your Browser

In most browsers, you can enable Reading Mode, which is a handy feature that allows you to copy text from secured pages. However, Chrome has a weaker reading mode than Firefox, Edge, and Opera browsers.

1. Google Chrome

Google Chrome’s latest version comes with Reading Mode by default. You can use it by right-clicking and selecting “read mode.”.

Yes, this won’t work if a website turns off right-click. However, some sites don’t let you copy text – if so, copy text from protected websites using “Chrome Reading Mode.” Before doing these things, clear the CDN and browser cache.

You can customize Chrome’s reading mode with fonts, colors, and more, but you can’t always count on this approach.

2. Mozilla Firefox

I don’t feel comfortable using Firefox as my main web browser. However, Firefox has a robust “reading mode” that makes it easy to navigate even content-protected websites.

Anyone can open Firefox reading mode by pressing the “F9” shortcut key on the keyboard or from the address bar icon.

Here’s a screenshot:

I’ve copied text from several protected sites using this method. You can usually use this mode without an extension or another Firefox path to copy text from websites with copy protection.

In WordPress, some security and cache plugins implement content protection strategies. It can affect the server cache or cache plugin on a website.

3. Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge is another popular browser that has seen a lot of progress over the past few years. You can think of it as just another version of Chrome, and you can add extensions to copy content from any website you want.

However, like Mozilla Firefox, it has a practical reading mode.

With this feature, you can copy text from any restricted website. Press the “F9” shortcut on the keyboard to open Microsoft Edge reading mode. In addition, you can access it by clicking on the icon in the address bar that indicates read mode.

Here’s an example image showing how I open reading mode with Microsoft Edge when the website is right-click disabled

Yes, this is a practical feature, and USERS don’t need to use an extension to copy text. In my experience, this method works well for all kinds of websites that have the right-click functionality disabled.

4. Opera

Opera Browser has a smaller user base than Chrome and Safari. Still, it is smooth and customizable, making it an attractive alternative to them.

It’s got many features, and Opera’s “Read Mode” is as good as Firefox/Edge. It is easy to copy text from any website, regardless of how restricted the content is.

Once you are on the website from which you want to copy the content, you should see the reader mode icon in Opera’s address bar.

Click on it. Plus, you can customize it.

I can’t list all of the web browsers with information on how to copy text from protected web pages because there are so many. Most web browsers are equipped with a reader mode or extension that allows you to do this.

There are a lot of people using Safari, but I’m not familiar with it. Read more about Reader View in this Safari user guide.

4. Using The Page Source Code

I recommend this only if you’re familiar with HTML. In many web browsers, you can view the source code of a page. If you use Google Chrome, visit the webpage where you want to copy the text.

To view the page source, right-click on that page and tap “View Page Source or press Ctrl + U.

You’ll see something like this:

Users can scroll down and navigate the content with that HTML web page and perhaps right-side on some websites. When you peer at the source code of a page, recognize content with “P” for paragraphs and “H” for headings.

See this image for an example:

However, some plugins and add-ons now disable source code views; this won’t work if the content utilizes those approaches.

Here’s how to open Page Source Code in other browsers:

• Firefox: this is an open-source web browser, Press the Ctrl + U key on your keyboard or right-click on the page and opt for ” View Source. “
• Edge: The approach is the same with Microsoft Edge. Select Inspect Element by right-clicking on the page; Ctrl + U also works.
• Opera: Press “Ctrl + U” on your device to open the selected page source code. Or click on the right-click menu and choose “page source.”
• Safari: I don’t use Safari, but you can open the page source code this way. Click “Develop” in the menu bar, then select Show Page Source—Web Inspector from the options menu.
• Brave/Vivaldi/Tor: Ctrl + U shortcut or right-click view page source works with most web browsers.

The above strategies will open the source code of the webpage within the browser, allowing you to view the SC, scripts, content, and JS elements.

You can copy text from shielded sites with the page source, but that’s not always the most suitable approach. It’s also barred on some sites, but you can try this if the other methods don’t work.

5. Using The Browser’s Print Feature

Usually, browsers have a feature for printing; otherwise, you can convert a page into a PDF file. Also, this method can be used to grab text from secured web pages – but there are addons for restricting the Print-PDF feature.

I’ve noticed good results with this approach with Firefox and Microsoft Edge. Most of the time, Chrome’s Print – PDF feature works well, but not all websites support it. Also, you can download the PDF file to your PC with this method.

What are the steps involved?

• For websites that don’t disable the right-click function, press right-click, then click Print.
• If right-clicking isn’t working, use the shortcut key “Ctrl+P” to open the PDF printing feature with any web browser.

Okay, here’s a practical example:

This website blocked content copying using a WordPress plugin.

So, I’m gonna convert this page to a PDF document with Chrome.

That works – an ideal approach to grabbing all the content on a web page.

You can save it as a PDF, but I’d recommend previous methods for copying a specific text part. This is a simple method of grabbing content from locked web pages, but you must respect the author’s rights and content policies.

Another way how to copy text from a protected website online:

Some sites don’t disable right-clicking; however, you can’t copy the text, so you can use Ctrl+S to save the web page.

If it works, open the file in any browser to view the content. I’m not saying it’s always practical – however, there are several tools available to secure copytext.

Each of these approaches is different from one process to another, so sometimes, it may be effective. You can see that content protection strategies are mainly used in the WordPress documentation.

Wrap It Up

I may have omitted other tricks for extracting text from protected sites. Despite this, most of the strategies above are practical and straightforward—you can use these tips without much hassle, even as a beginner. It’s easy to unlock, click, select, and copy features on any website. Trying to copy text from restricted websites is like trying to sneak a peek at your birthday presents before the day.

Some websites have their content under lock for a reason. I think it’s ridiculous to take original content, change the wording, and publish it without crediting the author. (Give credit to the creator, too).

So, if you find yourself in a copy-paste pickle, it’s time to get innovative with your words. Still, I hope these approaches to copying text from restricted websites may be helpful for legitimate reasons. Read – cloud hosting control panels.

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