Anyone know of some good porn-blockers for laptop computer and iPhone?

I admit have spent too much time researching this topic the past.

I have never tried it myself, but for the alerts to your accountability partner there is a program called Covenant Eyes. My understanding is that it doesn't block websites directly instead it shares blurred screenshots of your computer activity.

Personally, I use a program called dnscrypt-proxy on my computer with a custom blacklist of websites. That stops the websites from even loading on the computer. This setup has two other nice features for me: it's able to redirect all Google and YouTube searches to the safe browsing mode, and I've also used it to block social media websites in the mornings until 10am.

On my Android phone I use a parental control app called Boomerang. It has a web filter in it, but I've actually deleted the web browsers and social media from my phone completely and I use Boomerang to prevent me from installing them again. I've also set the phone display to grayscale mode. This is partly to stop me from viewing, but also to stop me wasting time on my phone in general.

Boomerang is the best app I've used for this, because it's the only one that can't be disabled. I use it on a Samsung phone and it makes use of something called Knox to have much more control over the OS and even disable things like power saving mode (which would disable the filter). Unfortunately, although it is available for iPhone and non-Samsung android phones I don't think it would work as well - although still on par with other blocking apps that are available.

It is worth asking the question whether blocking is even a good idea. There are arguments for both sides.

For a blocking system like I'm using now, there are collateral damage effects. For example on my phone I can't look up a website while out and about, say to purchase a ticket or look up a restaurant menu. For me on balance this is worth it, because there is generally a way around it such as making a phone call or asking your friend to use their phone. The time I get back from not wasting it browsing generally, and taking away an outlet for viewing is worth it for me. On the computer, the safe search blocks pornographic content which is a positive, but I believe it also blocks other things that are not suitable for children, but that I might not necessarily want hidden from my own search and YouTube. Say for example websites about weapons, war, etc. There is also no way of me knowing what exactly I'm not seeing. Again on balance I find the tradeoff to be worth it for me personally.

There will also always be websites that fall through the cracks of your own blocking system, even for example large websites such as Twitter and Reddit which do not have a safe mode that can be enforced from dnscrypt-proxy. Blocking those sites all together is of course possible but would lead to even more collateral damage. Generally these websites have either a setting in the user preferences to enable viewing pornographic content, or a warning screen that you have to click through to see it. My solution is to treat clicking the "I'm over 18" box as equal to a relapse. This gives me access to information on these websites while still having a zero tolerance to deliberately seeking out pornography.

Lastly there is is the argument that being dependent on blocking will deprive you of the self control needed to be cured of your addiction in general, and it will leave you vulnerable to viewing when your blocking fails. I can see the logic of this argument but my personal view is that the blocking is also worth it on balance. It can help prevent inadvertently seeing something pornographic, and it provides a road block to stop you from seeking out pornographic material. Using the analogy of an alcoholic, making sure there is no alcohol in the house seems like an obvious and sensible move. Sure you could leave the house full of alcohol and continuously test and develop your willpower, which may then help prevent a relapse at say an open bar work event. But being realistic it seems sensible to simply remove the outlet for relapse at the source.

 

The blocker I use for windows/pc is Cold Turkey, works pretty well and you can set up a timed lock so you can't stop it. Also an option that prevents uninstalling as long as the block is active.

Only downside is that you need to create a blacklist and whitelist by putting in a premade list and/or add your own tags, terms websites.

What I also like about it is you can also block certain searches on certain sites, and thus not blocking the entire site.

This software is a one time payment and you can get it on all your devices after.

For Iphone I can't really help you sice i don't own one.

Hope this helps.

 

I use Net Nanny on my laptop and android. I like how I can do specific search terms, specific for my needs. Some of those are two characters. Every other blocker I tried had to have search terms more than 3 letters.
I also love that it blocks my laptop from accessing the internet from 10.30. And for whatever reason if I'm still on it it disables at 11.00.
It can be annoying and block helpful sites - had an akward moment today at my postgrad course when looking up psychology stuff. But you just find a different website.
It's about 50 quid a year.
The password is with an elder at his house.

covenant eyes works great for my friends who have in person accountability. I tried it but my accountability person literally never asked me, even when I was accessing porn and he was getting the emails. He just said that "accountabiltiy works best if you confess first." Bullcrap. It's a two way thing. If you're never even gonna speak to me about the issue why would I feel safe enough to confess?

All I'll say about the debate about the pro's and cons is - it's a good safety guide for clean living. Even when you are learning self-control, it just removes a whole level of worry that I'll be triggered online. And let's be honest, I've been battling this addiction for just shy of 20 years. Am I really gonna gain self control quickly?

I started using a dumbphone and it's been a really brilliant way to make my life cleaner.