Technology

July 15, 2024

7 Best Accountability Software for Phone & Computer in 2024

Written by: Canopy

Written by: Canopy

Published July 15, 2024

Our online lives bring us so much, helping us stay connected to one another and access educational and entertaining content.

But with all the upsides, come some worrying downsides—including pornography use and addiction.

1 in 4 Americans report having watched pornography in the last month, with men 4 times more likely to admit to having watched it than women.

And according to Addiction Help, 11% of men and 3% of women in the United States reported having difficulty controlling their use of pornography.

But pornography doesn’t just affect adults—it’s also a huge problem for children and teens.

Sadly, 12 is the average age when children first consume pornography, and 56% of teens in this study say they were exposed to pornography accidentally.

If you, your partner, or your child is struggling with porn addiction, please know that you’re not alone and help is available.

7 Best Accountability Software Options | Summary

In a nutshell, here are the 7 accountability software tools that I’ll review in depth today:

Canopy
Trustablee
Truple
Relay
Fortify
Accountable2You
FamiSafe

7 Best Accountability Software Options | Full Features & Pricing

Let’s dive in.

1. Canopy

Canopy is the only accountability software on my list that blocks inappropriate content in real-time, so you can be truly free from temptations, while still being able to use the Internet as normal.

Most other accountability software either takes screenshots or blocks websites, but Canopy goes a step further by eliminating anything that is inappropriate completely from all your devices.

This means whether you have an accountability partner or not, you will never encounter anything explicit (even partial nudity) ever again no matter which websites you visit.

In a nutshell, here’s how Canopy works:

✅ Canopy is designed like a parental control app to keep kids safe—and in this case, to keep adults accountable.

The accountability partner, whether it’s a Sponsor, a guidance counselor, or a trusted friend, will be able to see which apps their partner is using, block explicit websites and apps, and even restrict access to the Internet.

✅ Using a Smart AI filter, Canopy scans all websites for explicit images in real-time and blocks it before you can see it. Any triggering content, from partial nudity to full (according to your settings), will not be shown on your devices. This means users can browse websites, free from temptation.

Because here’s the thing—trying to control the internet is an impossible job. Dangerous content can pop up anywhere, not just on the apps and websites where you know not to go.

The best way to maintain online purity is to filter out harmful content just before it comes into your line of sight—and that’s exactly what Canopy’s advanced technology does.

Here’s what users are saying:

But it’s not only Canopy’s advanced features that make it so good at its job. It’s also how comprehensive it is.

It tracks the internet usage of devices you have chosen to monitor, allows you to set screen time limits, and includes robust removal protection.

Feature 1: Real-time AI Filtering for Maximum Protection

What could be better than an accountability partner who removes all signs of temptation before they even get to the user?

With Canopy, you don’t need to ask an accountability partner to manually add websites or keywords to block, our AI will automatically do it for you.

It scans and understands the content of a page by itself and blocks out anything that is inappropriate, even partial nudity. Instead, these images will be replaced with harmless blank squares.

This means you are protected from anything impure on every website you visit, helping you stay accountable at all times.

See how the Smart Filter works in real-life in this review from Family Tech.

You can also try out Canopy for 7 days free.

Feature 2: Website and App Blocking

Want to block specific websites and apps that are more harmful than others? No problem, you can do that on Canopy.

Although Canopy automatically blocks all known explicit websites already, you can also manually block custom URLs. For instance, to block a specific website, you can just add the URL into your Canopy app and choose “Blocked”.

Or, you can also block all websites under a specific category like “Porn” or “Social Media”. This will block any installed app or websites underneath that category.

This is great not just for blocking porn websites but also for any and every app and website that are distracting to you, helping you stay accountable to the max.

If you want to get access to blocked apps or websites, you will need to send a request to your accountability partner with a reason why.

Feature 3: Sexting Prevention

This is a real perk when it comes to the Canopy app — and can be particularly useful if you have teens in your household.

Sexting can lead to disastrous consequences like cyberbullying, sextortion, and even being placed on the sex offender register. (Learn more about the dangers of sexting.)

Canopy prevents sexting by sending immediate alerts when the protected device receives a risky photo or when it tries to send one to another party.

Then, the accountability partner or the parent will need to approve that image before the protected person can see it or send it to someone else.

This is the ultimate approach to staying accountable as you won’t be able to receive any triggering images from anyone.

Try Canopy for free here.

This Sexting Prevention feature works differently on Android and iOS.

On Android, Canopy detects when an inappropriate image is taken. Then, a pop-up appears asking if the user wants to send this picture to their accountability partner to approve it, or just delete it. Canopy doesn’t wait until the picture is sent to somebody else; it takes action at the root before it’s too late.
On iPhone, the image will only be detected when the image is saved to the phone, although Canopy offers a workaround that parents can set up. This is because Apple has stricter restrictions on what third-party apps can do on the device.

Feature 4: Screen Time Limits

Canopy isn’t just for blocking porn but also for managing your screen time.

You or your accountability partner can set Internet Down Times at specific time periods, such as during dinner or 1 hour before bed.

During this Down Time, you won’t be able to access the internet on your protected devices. But calls and texts will still work like normal.

You can name these downtimes anything you want, select the days of the week it will take place and set whatever start and end time you want.

These Down Times help you spend quality time with your family and stick to your recovery journey.

If you’re looking for specific strategies or apps to limit screen time, check out our guides:

Feature 5: Removal Prevention

With other accountability software, users can easily delete the app itself or find work-arounds to access blocked content.

But Canopy is tamper-proof and comes with built-in settings on Android and iPhone that prevent this from happening:

On Android, you can’t remove Canopy without your accountability partner’s removal. Canopy will send a request to them, and they’ll need to approve it.
On an iPhone, you can remove the app, but your accountability partner will be notified whenever this happens. But, Canopy offers a workaround for this that you can set up.

This Removal Prevention feature is incredibly important to make sure there are no loopholes in your recovery journey.

Feature 6: Easy Usage Monitoring

There are two ways to use Canopy:

With an accountability partner to help you on your journey to safer internet usage.
On your own, where the app itself becomes your accountability partner.

Whichever option you choose, Canopy monitors all Internet browsing (including images, text, videos, and URLs), all photos taken on or downloaded on your Android, and most photos taken on or downloaded on your iPhone.

Canopy also tracks the apps you use and how long you used it for. You or your accountability partner can see this Screen Time Report right on the main dashboard.

This is not only great for keeping you accountable, but also for tracking where your screen time is going and how you can reduce it.

If you’re using Canopy for a child, make sure to closely track which app they’re spending the most time on.

For instance, if they’re spending a lot of time on a “calculator” or a “note” app, you might want to dig a little deeper into what exactly they’re doing in there. It might be a front for something malicious underneath.

Want to try Canopy out? We offer a 7 day free trial.

How to Install Canopy

If you’re ready to try out Canopy, here’s how the installation process works:

Create an account and start a 7-day free trial.
Download the Canopy App on your accountability partner’s device where they’ll set controls. This is fairly easy and they can do it in a minute.
Install the Canopy Shield App on the device you want to protect. This is where it can get a bit complicated depending on what kind of device you have and how many devices you want to install it on. Here are some instruction guidelines to help:

Sarah from Family Tech also talks about the installation process in depth here.

Device Compatibility

Canopy is compatible with all modern devices, including:

Android devices (smartphones and tablets) running Android 5.0 or higher
iPhones and iPads running iOS 12 or higher
Apple computers running a recent version of MacOS
Any computer running a recent version of Windows OS
Chromebooks running Chrome OS

You can use any combination of devices with Canopy as long as they both meet those specifications.

For example, if you have an Android but your accountability partner has an iPhone, that’s totally fine!

Pros and Cons

Pros:

7 days free trial.
Real-time content monitoring and blocking means you stay accountable, 24/7.
Compatible with all devices, and cross-devices.

Cons:

May take a while to set things up due to the granular level of protection Canopy offers.

Pricing

7-day free trial
$9.99/month for 3 devices (billed monthly)
$11.9/month for 5 devices (billed monthly)
$15.99/month for 10 devices (billed monthly)

Annual plans with over 38% savings available.

Try Canopy for 7 days free here. Or download from Google Play or App Store.

2. Trustablee

Play Store Rating: 4.7 out of 5

App Store Rating: Not available

Trustablee is an accountability software that helps individuals struggling with porn addiction by monitoring their online activity and reporting it to a trusted buddy. This includes:

Links monitoring: Trustable monitors all the website links that you visit and reports them to your buddy.
On-screen text monitoring: Keywords that appear on your screen is scanned for suspicious content
Screenshot monitoring: The app takes screenshots of conversations or anything that you’re looking at on your screen.

The buddy will be able to view these activity reports on Trustablee’s Buddy Dashboard.

I like that these reports are so simple and the dashboard is easy to navigate. Being an accountability partner can be a big challenge and getting concise information in an easy-to-read format is invaluable. The buddy will also be notified whenever something suspicious is detected.

For privacy reasons, Trustable only shares these reports on their dashboard, rather than through emails.

Another cool thing Trustablee does is remind users of why they are changing their behavior and what they can do to crush urges when they arise.

However, Trustablee is merely a monitoring tool—it doesn’t allow you to block explicit websites or apps or filter out inappropriate content in real-time, like Canopy does.