Online Purity
Hi everyone. I'm a Roman Catholic, but I consider all Christians who love the Lord to be my brothers and sisters in Christ. I wanted to share my experience so far using the SHIFT content filter for online purity. I'm not part of the company, I am just a new user of the app. I've struggled with avoiding adult content online and i've tried a ton of apps, browsers, etc. to help me, but none have really worked. This app is from the Retvrn team (see Matt Fradd's interview with Nicholas Stumphauzer for more information on the company's vision). I just installed the desktop app on my Macbook and went through the set up process for my iPhone. In the desktop app there is a 'content filter' tab that you can turn on/off (or permanently enable). This blocks any explicit images/content by blocking known URLs and browser searches that contain flagged keywords. It also has some built in AI which blocks questionable images on otherwise safe sites. It will ruthlessly restrict your access to apps that their team considers to be unedifying/unuseful for productivity and it blocks direct safari access. You can continue to use platforms like reddit, Youtube, etc., but you have to add a web shortcut to your home screen using SHIFT's browser which means any content you view on these kinds of sites will be filtered through SHIFT. You can also add additional apps to the 'block' list on the desktop app. So far, it seems to be working VERY well. I am of course a bit nervous having device management on my phone which is partially controlled by a small company, but for me, it is worth the potential risk. The content filter is free, but the rest of the SHIFT features are fee-based. As of this post, paying the fee gives you lifetime access to those features for whatever number of devices you pay for. You're paying for a 'slot' so if you change you iPhone/iPad or Android device you can de-register the old device and register the new without having to pay again. You'll need a Mac or Windows PC to get SHIFT installed on your phone. I tried it first on Linux but its not supported. I would recommend the software, based on my experience so far. I would also encourage donating some amount if you use the free content filter; I'm sure they have overhead and I am sure it would support new features (like a desktop version of the content filter and SHIFT features).