Dear Madhav,

They make it difficult to see, but whenever you download something from them, there will be an ‘I just want this pdf’, option, usually in the bottom left-hand corner of whatever screen has popped up, and usually not highlighted/made bold in any way (unlike the paid options)

You can always download the pdf you came to download for free; the various pdf bundles they then offer you always cost something. 

I can send screenshots if that helps. 

Personally, I pulled all my things from academia and put them on researchgate (and am mentioning this here to encourage more people to do so, exactly because of academia’s money-grabbing practices).

All my best,

       Antonia

On Sat 10 Oct 2026 at 15:02, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

I have a question about academia.edu. I downloaded something from this website and it triggered a membership at $79.00 per month. I have now canceled my membership. However, I want to know how to use this website without triggering this exorbitant membership. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Madhav

Madhav M. Deshpande

Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies

Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]

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