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Guide

Accountability apps vs porn blockers

Search for help with porn and you'll meet two kinds of software with the same goal and opposite methods. Accountability apps let someone you trust see your activity, so that slips lead to conversations. Porn blockers stop explicit content from loading in the first place. This guide explains how each works, where each fits, and how to choose for yourself or your family.

Two models. Same goal, opposite methods.

ACCOUNTABILITY APPS Watched, then discussed
01Your activity is captured as you browse: screens, sites, or searches.
02Software or AI flags anything explicit or concerning.
03A report goes to an ally you chose: a spouse, friend, mentor, or parent.
04The two of you talk about it.

Covenant Eyes and Bark work this way. The product is the relationship; the software keeps it informed.

PORN BLOCKERS Blocked, full stop
01A filter sits between the device and the internet, often at the DNS level.
02Explicit sites simply fail to load.
03Nobody is notified, because nothing happened.
04The block is only as strong as whatever protects the off switch.

Canopy, BlockerX, free DNS filters, and LockedWeb live here, with very different answers to step 04.

Step 04 is the whole argument.

An accountability app is hard to cheat because a person is watching. An ordinary blocker is easy to cheat because you hold the keys: pause it, log out, uninstall, and it's gone in a minute. Both categories are answering the same question: what happens at 1 a.m., when the person who set the rule wants around it?

That question split the blocker category in two. A commitment blocker is a blocker whose off switch is deliberately out of reach. With LockedWeb, loosening anything takes a 72-hour wait and a one-time code from a human, so the decision you made on a strong day survives the weak ones. No watching required.

The three categories, side by side.

SWIPE FOR THE FULL TABLE→
Accountability apps Ordinary blockers Commitment blockers
The core move Watch and report Block, until you turn it off Block, and defend the block
In a weak moment The page loads; your ally hears about it You pause the filter; it's gone in a minute The wall holds; loosening takes 72 hours
Who sees your browsing Your ally, in reports Usually no one No one. LockedWeb stores aggregate category counts, never history
Second person required ✓ It's the point No Optional: a contact gets removal alerts only, never browsing
On a kid's device Parents read reports Kids find the password Parent holds the code; the 72 hours bind everyone, and no reports exist
Examples Covenant Eyes, Bark Free DNS filters, browser extensions, Freedom LockedWeb

When each one fits.

Choose an accountability app if…
·Being known keeps you honest: you want a human in the loop more than a wall. ·You're in a recovery program organized around shared reports. ·The dangers you're worried about live inside conversations, which no filter can see.
Choose a commitment blocker if…
✓You've beaten every filter you control and need one you can't talk yourself out of. ✓You don't want anyone (spouse, friend, pastor) seeing your screens. Ever. ✓You're protecting kids' or family devices without putting anyone under surveillance.

Can you run both? Yes. An accountability app and LockedWeb don't interfere with each other: the reports keep a conversation going while the filter holds the line. Some families do exactly that.

Products named here are described from their public materials, August 2026. If anything is stale or unfair, email hello@lockedweb.com and we'll correct it.

LockedWeb is a commitment blocker.

Porn blocked on every device you protect, yours or your whole family's. No pause, no logout, no off switch. Loosening anything takes 72 hours and a one-time code from a human, and nobody gets browsing reports, parents included.

Get protected today How removal works →
$69/YR OR $9.99/MO · 30-DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE
GO DEEPER, HEAD TO HEAD vs Covenant Eyes vs BlockerX vs Canopy vs Qustodio vs Bark vs Freedom