Buyer's guide
The best
porn blocker, honestly.
There's no single “best” porn blocker. The right one depends on whether it's for you or a child, whether you want someone else in the loop, and what you'll pay. Here's what actually matters, and how the real options compare. We make one of them, and we say so plainly.
Sworn is our app. More on that below. Free malware and ad/tracker blocking, always; the pornography filter and partner alerts are a 7-day free trial, then $7/month.
What to look for
What actually matters.
Most porn-blocker roundups rank apps by star ratings. That's the wrong question. These five things separate the tools that genuinely hold from the ones that just look reassuring. Read them first, then the specific app almost picks itself.
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01
System-wide, not just Safari
A lot of “blockers” only cover one browser. If the filter lives inside Safari, everything else — Chrome, in-app browsers, other apps — is still wide open. The most reliable approach filters at the DNS layer, where every app looks up addresses, so a blocked site simply stops loading everywhere on the phone.
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02
No VPN to break other apps
Some blockers route all of your traffic through an always-on VPN so they can filter it. That works, but a tunnel can slow your connection and occasionally trip up banking apps, Maps, or a work VPN you already use. A single encrypted-DNS setting does the same filtering job without putting a tunnel between you and the internet.
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03
A count, or your whole screen?
This is the big fork. Screenshot-based tools periodically capture what's on your screen and send it to a trusted ally to review. That's real visibility, and for some people it's exactly the point. A count-only tool instead tells a partner how many attempts were blocked, never what you looked at. Decide up front how much someone else should see; more surveillance isn't automatically more help.
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04
Can it be turned off silently?
No consumer app can truly bolt itself onto a phone you own — anything you can install, you can eventually remove. Treat “impossible to disable” claims with a raised eyebrow. The honest, durable version isn't a false lock; it's accountability: the moment protection goes off, someone you trust is told. That gap between “off, and on my own” and “off, and someone’s with me” is what actually keeps people honest.
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05
Price, and an honest free tier
Porn blockers run from free (the tools already built into your phone) to $200+ a year for screenshot-and-VPN suites. Look closely at what's genuinely free versus a trial that converts, and whether the price matches what you actually get. Sometimes a parent-locked built-in filter is all a situation needs.
Side by side
The main options, honestly.
Here's a fair read on the options people compare most, including our own (we've flagged it). We've kept each to what it's for, its main trade-off, and a rough price. Every one of these is a capable tool that's right for someone. Check each app's own site for current plans.
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Our app
Sworn
Our own app, so take this with the appropriate salt. A system-wide DNS filter that needs one encrypted-DNS setting and no VPN. There's an optional accountability partner who only ever sees a count of blocked attempts and the category, never a URL or your history, and is emailed if you loosen a boundary, turn it off, or it goes quiet. About $7/month (~$84/yr) after a 7-day trial; malware and ad/tracker blocking are free forever. iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook, worldwide.
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Screenshots + VPN
Covenant Eyes
A long-standing, widely loved accountability service, especially in faith communities. It pairs periodic screenshots that a trusted ally reviews with filtering through an always-on VPN. A lot of visibility, if that's what you want. Around $220 a year.
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Screenshots
Ever Accountable
Also screenshot-based accountability, sending an ally a picture of what's on your screen. On iPhone its coverage centers on Safari. A solid fit if screenshot-style visibility is exactly what you're after. Around $130 a year.
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Parental + VPN
Canopy
A parental-control suite that filters images in real time with AI, delivered through an always-on VPN. It's built for a parent protecting a child rather than an adult keeping their own promise, and it's strong at that job. Roughly $95–119 a year.
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Self-blocker
BlockSite
A flexible self-blocker that can block almost any site or app and protect the settings with a PIN you set. There's a free, ad-supported tier plus a paid subscription, on browsers and mobile. Because you hold the PIN yourself, it leans on your own discipline rather than outside accountability.
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Focus timer
Opal
A beloved focus and screen-time app built around time-boxed sessions that quiet distractions while you work. It's genuinely excellent at that — it just isn't built around staying away from one category for good or looping in a partner. $99.99 a year; iOS and Android.
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Free · built in
iOS Screen Time
Free and already on every iPhone: Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions → Content Restrictions → Web Content → “Limit Adult Websites.” For a young child whose parent holds the passcode, it can genuinely be enough. The filtering is inconsistent, the passcode is self-held, and no one is told if it's switched off.
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Free · built in
Android's built-ins
Android has no single built-in adult filter. You can point Private DNS at a filtering service (system-wide, for your own phone) or use Family Link to supervise a child's account (Chrome-centric). Both are free; neither includes accountability.
Compiled June 2026 from each app's public materials; plans and features change. Check their sites for the latest. We're not affiliated with any of them, and all names belong to their owners.
Our honest take
Our pick — and yes, we're biased.
Full disclosure: Sworn is our app, so of course we like it. Here's why we'd still reach for it to stay away from porn: it's system-wide, because one encrypted-DNS setting reaches every app, Safari included; there's no VPN, so banking, Maps and work apps keep working; it takes no screenshots and keeps no log of the sites you visit; and its accountability never names a site. A partner confirms by email, then sees a number of blocked attempts and the category they fell under, never a URL or your history, and is emailed if you turn the filter off or it goes quiet. The specifics stay on your own phone — a 7-day in-app view of blocked attempts the two of you can review together, if you choose. Setup is about three minutes, and you can cancel in two taps. On iPhone, Sworn asks iOS to add its DNS setting (one Allow tap), then walks you to the one Settings screen where you pick it. On Android, Sworn gives you an address to paste into Android's Private DNS setting and opens that screen for you.
And the honest limits, because a buyer's guide that hides them isn't worth much: Sworn covers iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux. Like any DNS filter it can't catch a browser running its own encrypted DNS — Brave or Firefox with DoH turned on send those lookups somewhere we never see. It's a filter plus accountability, not therapy and not a cure.
Here's when something else is the better call. For a young child, a parent-locked Screen Time passcode may be all you need. If you mostly want a focus timer for deep work, Opal is genuinely great. Sworn is for the specific job of staying away from a category for good, with a partner in the loop.
Someone in your corner —
on every app, not one browser.
Free to start. About three minutes to set up.
On a computer too? Set up the phone first, then add Windows, Mac, Linux or Chromebook to the same account.
This is general guidance, not a substitute for professional help.