Ideas Weave Every Narrative with AI.
Login walls aren’t about security — they’re about harvesting your data and locking you into a platform. Every time you hit ‘Sign In’ to read an article, you’re paying a toll with your identity. This article exposes the lie behind the friction and shows you how to see through the wall.
Zhihu’s login wall isn’t a bug or a lazy design choice — it’s the product. Every question is bait, and your identity is the catch. Before you’ve read a single answer, you’ve surrendered your anonymity and your attention trajectory. The login page is the real message: knowledge platforms aren’t in the knowledge business. They’re in the business of converting curiosity into inventory.