November 2017 update: We just released a brand-new version of our Covenant Eyes app for Apple’s mobile devices, which now provides enhanced accountability across the entire device. Many of you have been waiting patiently, and we’re thrilled to to share this new technology with you! Learn more about the new app.
Imagine trying to replicate the motion of the wax in a lava lamp by using modeling clay. It’s very difficult to make modeling clay move at all, let alone have it mimic motion. Holding someone accountable can feel a lot like that. With people jumping around between work computers and home computers, smartphones, and tablets, it can feel a little intimidating to try to figure out when and why a person may have stumbled online.
That’s why 2016 will be the most ambitious year yet for Covenant Eyes. We’re breaking new ground in research and technology, all to provide better service to our users.
Better Education
Battling pornography, whether as a parent, as an individual who is struggling, or as a leader equipping others, is challenging. This is why Covenant Eyes invests so much in providing you educational articles, blog posts, e-books and videos. In 2015, we released an updated version of Porn and Your Husband, and two new e-books, More than Single: Finding Purpose Beyond Porn, and Fight Porn in Your Church. Earlier this year, we released the highly anticipated Overcome Porn: The 40 Day Challenge App for the iPhone® and are excited to release updates to the app in the coming months.
Coming very soon, we will be providing a new e-book, Parenting the Internet Generation, which will include conversation sheets and accompanying videos. This resource is going to be big, and we can’t wait to share it! Be sure to sign up to be notified when it’s ready.
Better Reporting
Covenant Eyes uses proprietary techniques to classify website visit types such as “visited” or “secondary.” However, sometimes we don’t know how to classify something. Through improved techniques, we found a way to classify more websites than ever before, making your reports cleaner and easier to understand.
If you are a Covenant Eyes Accountability Partner, you are interested in the sites your partner visits, but you likely want to know what led them to that site, what they did there and what happened afterwards. We’re almost ready to add Incident Reports to the Accountability Report to show you what happened before Highly Mature content was accessed. Was the user searching for inappropriate content, or did they stumble on it accidentally? This information should help create better accountability conversations about intention as well as help identify common triggers that can be avoided in the future.
One of the biggest criticisms we’ve received for our accountability app for iPhone is that we don’t provide any accountability or filtering for the Safari browser. We’ve been working on a new, patent-pending way to expand our service to provide better coverage across your entire device, including Safari.
November 2017 update: Our enhanced iPhone Accountability is now here! Learn more about the new app.
Better Service
Covenant Eyes just opened a second location here in Owosso, MI. More than 100 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including media, local elected officials and leaders, and Covenant Eyes staff members. The location will house nearly 40 customer service representatives to provide you with shorter wait times and even more personalized service. We plan to use this site to work through some of the kinks in operating multiple locations so we can open offices across the country and possibly internationally.
Lastly, we have heard countless requests for improved reporting of photos and videos. Using a new process built off state-of-the-art technology, we are thrilled to announce that we have developed a new, patent-pending image recognition software. Short-term, this means better reporting of inappropriate images…and it has some long-term implications for video as well.
Want to see this in action? There is a demo that shows some of the capabilities of this new system in the video above. The moment of the kiss is flagged as possibly inappropriate (represented by the dip downward). Compare that to the analysis of a pornographic video, where the line stays at the bottom of the graph (“pornographic content”) until the very end, which is presumably when the clothing goes back on. Remember, this isn’t necessarily how it will appear on your Accountability Report…but it’s exciting, and we wanted you to share our excitement.
We are still researching this technology, and are in the process of deciding how to report it and integrate it into our software and apps, but we’re getting close. Look for an announcement with more details this summer.
We’re excited to offer you these exciting updates, and we’ve got even more planned. Leave us a comment to tell us what features you’re most excited about or what you’d like us to pursue.
I’m excited to hear about the new improvements. One thing that is majorly important is solving the google/youtube issue. This is an absolute deal breaker for me. It’s a wonderful filter and monitor, but I can access and youtube completely unrestricted and unmonitored! As your customer serivce people can testify, I’ve blocked all the suggested domains and it hasn’t helped. I’m thankful that my vimeo blocks have worked, but I know they haven’t work for a friend of mine who is also using CE. His youtube is blocked, but not his vimeo! Both of these sites are filled with explicit pornographic material. In my mind, there’s nothing that could be more important to improve on than this since your integrity as a filtering and accountability company depends on it. I’m looking forward!
YouTube is NOT filled with pornography…do you know how quick they take it down? Same with Vimeo, They are pretty hardcore on eliminating porn from their sites.
I’m praying you have all this capability with the Samsung android phones too.
I am still waiting for android version as well. I’m looking at canceling as my android is all I really use and obviously the service is not helping. I would think mobile security would be a high priority as so many people do everything on their phones now.
Hello Liz,
Thank you for your prayers, they are much appreciated! Currently on the Android phones we do have extended accountability where we can monitor apps like Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Search and many more. What appears to be left out of the article, on accident I believe, is that our developers are also working on filtering for Android. I do not have a release date yet, but you will definitely receive a notification once it becomes available. We appreciate your patience and we hope to have Android filtering available as soon as possible!
Best regards,
Annelise
Your video was restricted for me because my partner has certain youtube content blocked with her secret password. I am sure it was good and a welcome change.
Are able to monetor play books on tablet ,
How about safari on ipads ,
Hello Colin
With our newest update, mentioned in the article above, we will be able to extend our protection to Safari on all iOS devices. We thank you for your patience and we hope to be able to release this update as soon as possible!
Best regards,
Annelise
Has covenant eyes been able to work on monitoring content on apps like YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google, Twitter…..essentially any link to a browser in app?
Hi, Niko – the short answer is YES, and we hope to have a solution in place very soon. This solution will provide a safe browsing “lock” for these hidden browsers that you mention, and there are many.
Peace, Chris
Covenant Eyes
This is some amazing technology for sure. We have to stay up on the latest tools to combat those that are doing the same thing to find those holes to do the sneak attacks. Mainly though, there are many of us that have tried a variety of different things to get around those filters in our weak moments. I am very impressed to see the extra details that would show what led up to an incident. This may also aid in researching this type of addiction and give new insights in combating this prevailing problem in our present society.
Great job guys, God bless!!
The one improvement I would like to see is the Covenant Eyes iPhone app to be a 4+ rating. Other safe browsers like NetNanny and Mobicip are able to achieve this. It would be a great help so I can age restrict apps my kids use. As it is now, I have to open restrictions to 17+ apps due to the Covenant Eyes rating.
Very excited to hear about the full iPhone coverage. Mobile use has been such challenge, the one real remaining battle. My phone is entirely locked down because of it – I’m hopeful that this will give me the freedom to use my iPhone freely. Thanks!
I am really looking forward to the better integration of covenant eyes with the iPhone. I would like to se it work more flawlessly like the android phones!
Thank tou for continuing to stay current and keep up with technology! God bless you guys and what you are trying to accomplish!
PLEASE get the filtering capabilities on Android!! Why are we being left out and paying the same as those who get the ‘full’ benefits? Our families need and would appreciate it too.
Hello Chasidy,
Great news! Our developers are working diligently on filtering for Android! I think that specific announcement in the blog post got missed, but we do hope to have Android filtering available as soon as possible! We agree that the filtering would be beneficial for many families and we appreciate your patience. There will definitely be a big announcement once it’s available, so be on the lookout!
Best regards,
Annelise
Your recent blog stated: “One of the biggest criticisms we’ve received for our accountability app for iPhone is that we don’t provide any accountability or filtering for the Safari browser. We’ve been working on a new, patent-pending way to expand our service to provide better coverage across your entire device, including Safari. Look for expanded accountability for your iPhone and iPad® in May.”
One question I have is will this apply to apps with internet access? I had to currently delete my Bible App of all things because I found a loophole in it where you can access the internet. Once Google is located, then porn can be accessed. This is very frustrating due to the fact that the Bible App has been a source of encouragement to me in my fight against porn.
Any thoughts on that?
Jay Jenkins
I’ve had an iPhone for a few years now and currently CANNOT have access to the internet on it. Covenant eyes works through Safari, in order to use other apps I’ve had to block access to most websites, this also blocks access to the internet via Covenant Eyes browser. Although this has relieved a lot of temptation and stress it also creates some frustration. I hope that the updates in May will change this.
Hello Dillon,
I certainly believe that our update that’s coming will fix all of these issues you are experiencing and I apologize for all of these issues. I agree that they can be frustrating. Presently, our Covenant Eyes app can only monitor and filter activity inside of the Covenant Eyes browser. We do suggest disabling Safari through restrictions, as well as turning off Installing Apps to prevent the installation of other browsers. Due to the Covenant Eyes app being rated 17+ by apple, we do require that the App restriction be set to 17+, which is another reason why disabling the installation of apps is the better route to take. Safari does have filtering you can enable via the restrictions, but after testing it we’ve experienced a lot of inconsistency and because it covers EVERY app, the iOS filter does override our filter and can potentially block websites in the Covenant Eyes app that otherwise would probably be allowed through our filter.
I hope this better explains how our current app for iOS devices works. We appreciate your patience and we are looking forward to releasing our update for iOS soon!
Best regards,
Annelise
Hello Jay,
You asked a great question! It is our goal to provide more protection through the apps with internet access as well. So, yes our updated app for the iOS devices should include protection across those apps as well. Thank you for your patience and we hope to release our latest version as soon as possible. If you have any further questions feel free to call our Customer Service at 877.479.1119
Best regards,
Annelise
Hi there,
This all looks great, except that it still leaves non iPhone and iPad users as second class citizens, unable to use some of your features. Are there plans to provide a level – and just – playing field between iPhones and android phones? Otherwise, Android users are subsidising iPhone users, which does not seem right somehow.
Many thanks.
Hi David,
You bring up some great points and a great question! One announcement that was left out of the article, on accident, was that we are hoping to release android filtering in 2016 as well! It has been our goal to have our services available across all platforms and we are so close! Our developers have been working very hard to develop the android filtering and it’s currently in internal testing. I do not have a release date yet, but we will definitely notify our users as soon as it’s available. We appreciate your patience as we approach the finish line and we hope to have the filtering available as soon as possible. If you have any further questions please feel free to give our Customer Service a call at 877.479.1119.
Best regards,
Annelise
Hi Annelise,
I have been considering CE for my family, but I’m not sure of the value if Android is not taken seriously (Android app development lag, left out “on accident”, no release date).Does CE have anything of value for my android devices?
Thanks,
Rod
Hello Rod,
Great question! Covenant Eyes for android presently monitors and will report activity from any android tablet, phone, or kindle. The monitoring includes app activity from inside of the Facebook app, Youtube app, Google Search app and many more. All of the information about accountability for the android devices can be found HERE.
Currently we do have a beta version of Android app, that includes filtering, available. If you are interested in becoming a beta tester so you can begin using the Android app with filtering right now, you are more than welcome to call our Customer Service at 877.479.1119 to get set up. If not, we should have a full release of our Android app with filtering available very soon. Thank you again for your question!
Best regards,
Annelise
Will apps like YouTube be monitored through iOS when the updates occur?
Hello Melissa,
Thank you for your great question! It is our goal to be able to extend our protection to all apps on the iOS devices. So, in short yes, once we release the update we should be able to monitor apps like Youtube. Thank you for your patience and we hope to release the update for iOS as soon as possible!
Best regards,
Annelise
Hi there. Can someone from you team look into better monitoring of contents viewed by Team Viewer’s remote viewing? I think this is necessary and it’s pointless to have monitoring yet content viewed thru another computer can’t be monitored. And also to be able to monitor content from flash drives? Accountable to you seems to be able to monitor both. Thanks
Hello Joyce,
Thank you for your feedback! I can definitely pass it along to our developers to look into! If you have any other feedback or need assistance feel free to give our Customer Support a call at 877.479.1119.
Best regards,
Annelise
Hi, It’s May…an update on full iPhone protection? Very Eager to get this!
Hi Richard,
Thank you for your question! I spoke with some of our developers concerning the progress of our new iPhone app and this is their response:
“Most of the pieces of the product are now in place. We have had some success with a limited internal testing group and truthfully we really hope to have a public beta available soon. The app is “functional” at this point, in that all of the moving pieces are in place and are working. But we have yet to reach a level of polish where the app can provide long term service levels that we are happy with. As soon as we have a fix, we will spend probably a week doing testing internally, before providing it to external testers who are willing to try out the app.”
Our developers have been working very hard at providing our users with a stable and functional and we’re hoping this fix comes soon! If you have any further questions feel free to call our Customer Support at 877.479.1119
Best regards,
Annelise
Still waiting to see the new iPhone / iPad release with system wide monitoring. We are nearly at the end of May, and still no sign of the promised update :-(
Hello Matt – we are close. Thank you for sticking with us! We are definitely trying to get this functionality out to our customers this summer.
-Peace, Chris
Covenant Eyes
Is there an update on when the big IOS release is happening this month?
Hi Nate – we are close! Stay tuned….
It is now June. Will the iOS update be for monitoring across other apps be coming this month? Please let us know a timeline if you can! Thanks!
Hello Nick – we are very, very close. As with all significant updates, there are unanticipated bugs, and TMS has presented us with a few but I assure you it is coming, and we are all very, very excited. Thank you for hanging on! Look for it this summer.
Peace,
Chris
Will the iOS upgrade be available for all users or will it only be available in beta to test users? If so, how can a person be a beta test user?
Hello Jeff,
Great question! At some point, hopefully soon, we will have our app available for beta testing. We do have a group of beta testers who will use the app and report any bugs or hiccups to our developers. If you are interested you can become a beta tester, if not, the iOS upgrade will be available for ALL users once it’s put in the App Store. I’m sure we will also be sending out an email alert to let our user’s know that the new and improved all is going to be available. Feel free to contact our Customer Service if you have any further questions or are interested in becoming a beta tester, 877.479.1119.
Best regards,
Annelise
I understand that technology takes time to debug, but perhaps your staff writers should be more careful in promising dates for the release of new software, especially one that is as anticipated as the iOS update, without having the ability to produce it. The article above clearly states that we could expect the update during the month of May, and it was not followed through. Promises should have meaning. Now the promise is “this summer”. We’ll see.
Hi Matt, you’re right. We want you to be able to trust us when we make a promise. I’m sorry that we haven’t come through on this one. I hope you are so impressed with TMS when it is finally unveiled that you will forgive us :)
Peace, Chris
Hey guys. What’s the current status of the new iPhone app? I’m really looking forward to using it.
Hi Jalen – we are entering a Beta phase very soon (August). Once we see how that goes, we will be able to communicate a more firm timeframe for full roll-out. We are excited with the extended protection the new app will provide in Safari. You will see news about it through our various communication channels once it’s available! Thank you for being part of the Covenant Eyes family.
Peace, Chris
I have seen other iOS filtering solutions that use a VPN for filtering the entire device. Will your new solution be based on the same type of VPN methods?
Thanks.
Hello Janice,
Thank you for contacting us and your great question! Our solution for full device coverage on iOS does include VPN technology, but using it in a way that is different than traditional VPN usage. Our initial release will not include filtering, however our plan is to get filtering working in subsequent releases. I hope this helps! If you have any further questions feel free to contact our Customer Service at 877.479.1119.
Best regards,
Annelise
Is there any update on the new iOS app coming? I see above that you were hoping to get something in beta in August? Since September is around the corner, has there been any progress?
Hi Janice, yes, we are in beta right now! Yes, making progress.
Hello Janice,
Thank you for contacting us! At this time we do not have a release date for our new iOS app. We are currently internally testing a version of the new app but do not have a target release date. We are hoping to have it available in the near future. With this being a major release there will be plenty of communication with our users once it’s available, so be on the lookout for that!
If you have any further questions feel free to contact our Customer Service at 877.479.1119.
Best regards,
Annelise
I’m sure this a bit late, but is there still a chance to be a part of the Beta testing for the new update for iPhone?
Hi, Andrew – please follow this link to leave your name. Thanks for your interest! https://www.covenanteyes.com/coming-soon-full-device-accountability-for-iphone/
Chris
Is there any update on an ETA for this better iOS solution? I signed up for updates recently but hadn’t heard anything. Have an Android but would love to go back to iPhone but currently it is so limited in what is monitored I have to lock down the majority of features. This new update sounds like an excellent solution!
Hi, Evan – thanks for your patience. We have not been able to complete our work on this new technology as quickly as we had hoped. But, it should be before the end of the year. I’m hopeful! I’ll send you an email with a link to a video that will give you a short update from our CEO.
Peace, Chris
Covenant Eyes
I recently upgraded to the IOS 10 operating system on my iPhone and every time I try using my covenant eyes browser it freezes my phone and I have to power off my phone and restart it. Has anyone else experienced this issue and is their an updated version of the browser that I may have missed? I would appreciate anyone’s feedback. I love having covenant eyes but I also need my phone to work for me as I use it a ton for work.
Hi, Mark – I bet it’s something our Customer Support Team can help with. Have you tried giving them a call? 877.479.1119
Have there been any updates on this new iOS product? Any idea on the release date yet? We are excited about this app!
Thanks.
Shelly
Hello Shelly!
We’re happy to hear you’re excited because we are excited too! We do not have a release date yet, but it is our goal to hopefully have it available by the end of the year. With that being said there could always be bugs or minor hiccups with the new app that will delay a release date, which is also why we haven’t given a specific date yet. Just be on the lookout for an email from us announcing any news about our new iOS app! We look forward to providing you with a quality app that will expand the protection on iOS devices!
Best regards,
Annelise
I wonder if CE is so severely understaffed/underfunded that they are unable to complete basic programming and beta testing, or if there are issues with Apple approving the app update? It just seems quite odd that we started this year expecting the app by summer, and here we are at the end of the year with a weak promise that the end of the year is our expected release date, but could possibly be next year. I have a hard time believing that CE has been “working so hard” on this update, yet we still have no evidence that any progress is being made. I wish for more transparency from a company that touts (rightfully so) accountability as a hallmark of virtue.
Hello, Matt – I wonder if you would be interested in discussing the situation in person? I’d be happy to do so. You can call me directly at 616-450-6719. We’ve tried to be transparent, even sending out a video from our CEO explaining where we are. iOS is a monster. Every door we knock down shows us 3 more we hadn’t considered. The motivation behind your comment is understandable (we are not happy with how long this is taking us!). But, your words could have been more constructive. Please call me if you would like to discuss further.
Chris
Covenant Eyes
Setbacks happen. I’m very much looking forward to this update and hope it even reaches public beta testing before the end of the year, but I’m also quite aware of how unfriendly iOS can be for developers in some scenarios like this. I appreciate CE doing their best to keep us updated (and they have) and I don’t feel like more is needed. At least there is a solution like this in the works, as that’s more than you can say for competitors to my knowledge. Keep up the good work CE team and please continue to keep us posted!
How do we see this video from the CEO on the current iOS update? Is it coming anytime soon or is the project being abandoned? Thanks for all the work you do.
Hi, Tim! I just emailed you a link to a video with an update from Ron. We continue to work hard! iOS is a complex puzzle – more complex at every turn, but we’re pressing on.
Chris
Chris, could I also have that emailed to me? Been wanting this for a while, and honestly need it. Thanks
Hi, Matt, I’d like to help. Can you clarify what I can email to you? Thanks!
Chris
Can we have another update? I signed up for the beta, but I haven’t received anything. I also never received a video from the CEO. Thank you!
Hi, Richard – I’ll send your email to the team managing the Beta. I’m sorry that you haven’t received anything.
Chris
Same here, if the public is being allowed to test the beta, please feel free to let me help as well! I’m signed up but haven’t heard anything.
Thanks!
Hello, Lance – I checked with the product development manager just yesterday, and he said that we don’t need additional testers at the moment. Thank you for offering!
Peace, Chris
Chris, just wanting what you offered to Tim. Is there any update? Is the project being scrapped or is it going to happen?
Your message to Tim:
“Hi, Tim! I just emailed you a link to a video with an update from Ron. We continue to work hard! iOS is a complex puzzle – more complex at every turn, but we’re pressing on.
Chris”
Hello, Matt – you bet. Man, we are getting close. We are in our second Beta test round with TMS right now. I’ll send you a link to the video update I sent Tim, through your email. Please look for it and reply with any questions.
Peace, Chris
Hi,
I was wondering if you had any ETA on the public update for iPhone or other details. I’m really looking forward to seeing the new app.
Thanks!
Hi, Daniel – I do not have an ETA. I’ve tried providing one based on what I’ve been told, but to be honest, we just keep having delays. Everyone is away for break now, and so I can’t check with anyone today to see where we’re at. Thank you for your patience. I don’t like being elusive. I can tell that you are someone who would love to have greater iPhone coverage (as would I). I’ve tested a Beta version of it, and its ability to force a Google safe search and also to force some YouTube control is so helpful. I’m hoping we can provide a more detailed update during Q1 2017. Hang tight!
Chris
As I’ve read through the comments I have seen that many people have come across the same problem I have. There’s a major loophole that can allow you to access an in-app-browser, even on apps that have no need for a browser. If you run across an app that allows to to access a browser, thus accessing Google, you can then freely search anything you want. To solve this, even if you have “install apps” and Safari disabled, follow these steps.
Settings>restrictions>websites. Then you need to check mark “limit adult content”, then for even more security, click “add website” under “NEVER ALLOW” and add http://www.google.com, etc…
This will prevent access to mature rated sites and google globally across the phone.
Look at this article for more info
http://www.imore.com/how-block-specific-websites-being-accessed-safari-iphone-and-ipad
Checking in for an update on the iOS expansion development. Any news?
Hello, Trent – thank you for your patience. You should expect to see a more formal announcement about the iOS Accountability Extension soon (within weeks, I hope).
Peace, Chris
Chris,
Above you mentioned a possible formal update to this iOS app in the coming weeks; anything yet or any hints you could give up? :-)
Thanks.
Hi, Matt – in Marketing we have all of our articles and posts ready for when we’re told it’s finally released, so we’re close! Deeper app monitoring, forced safe search, more – it’s going to be good.
I’m trying to be patient. It’s been almost a year. I’m really looking forward to this new iOS capability!
Hi, David – I know. It’s been too long! Trust me, you’ll know when it happens. Thank you for your patience.
It’s halfway through March – any news on this update?
Hello, Matt – I just added this update to the top of the blog post: “March 2017 Update: It has been over a year since we first mentioned our new technology for the iPhone that will provide enhanced accountability. We have been in Beta testing for over six months on the technology and we have discovered a few difficult issues that we are diligently trying to resolve. We cannot put a timeframe on when the issues will be fixed, but we are working hard toward that end. We sincerely apologize for the delay. We know that it has been frustrating for our customers who are patiently waiting. We too are frustrated. But we are not giving up and hope to find a resolution soon.”
Thank you for your patience,
Chris
Any more news on the upcoming release. Very interested in getting it implemented in my network and devices.
Hello, Chad – thank you for your patience and I just added this update to the blog post: “March 2017 Update: It has been over a year since we first mentioned our new technology for the iPhone that will provide enhanced accountability. We have been in Beta testing for over six months on the technology and we have discovered a few difficult issues that we are diligently trying to resolve. We cannot put a timeframe on when the issues will be fixed, but we are working hard toward that end. We sincerely apologize for the delay. We know that it has been frustrating for our customers who are patiently waiting. We too are frustrated. But we are not giving up and hope to find a resolution soon.”
Peace, Chris
It would be nice if management would do another blog post for this topic since this one is a year old and maybe provide an “official update” since it has so much interest?
I know our family has been waiting for CE to launch this solution but we are considering other options since no one knows if this project is even still active (since no one from CE makes any mention unless through this 1 year old blog post).
Sometimes a little snippet of information once a month goes a long way in helping customers know you’re working hard on something that you promised but couldn’t deliver on?
Thanks.
Hello, Matt – thank you for your patience. I just added this to the top of the blog post: “March 2017 Update: It has been over a year since we first mentioned our new technology for the iPhone that will provide enhanced accountability. We have been in Beta testing for over six months on the technology and we have discovered a few difficult issues that we are diligently trying to resolve. We cannot put a timeframe on when the issues will be fixed, but we are working hard toward that end. We sincerely apologize for the delay. We know that it has been frustrating for our customers who are patiently waiting. We too are frustrated. But we are not giving up and hope to find a resolution soon.”
Peace, Chris
Is there any chance that the Covenant Eyes’ current IOS browser can get an update? It is frustrating that the browser will say that there’s a connection problem, when in reality the browser crashed trying to load a website. Version 3.1.4, and iOS 10.2.1
Also, after praying on it for a couple of months, I’m returning to the Android phones. While I do believe that there will be better iOS coverage in the future, I feel like with all the walls you guys continue to hit, it may be still in the long term future that it’ll be released. It was after reading on the notes for Android, that accountability is far more greater now than it used to be. It’s going to be expensive for me to break my iPhone lease ($200.00) but it’ll be worth it.
Hi, Kenneth – thanks for your note. We’re working on a nasty bug that is preventing us from releasing our iOS enhanced accountability service after about 6 months of Beta testing. I sure hope we can get that out soon. For your specific questions about the current browser crashing, that shouldn’t be happening. Have you talked to Customer Service? That’s not “normal.”
As for your conclusions about Android, that’s your call, but now that filtering has been added, the Android platform is better than ever for staying clear of the filth.
Peace, Chris
Any updates on the software? It’s now been over a year since announced. I would have thought beta testing would have started by now.
Hi, Al – thanks for your note. We have been beta testing for about 6 months now and are dealing with a really nasty bug that has been discovered. That’s really the only item standing between us and launch. I know it’s been a while. We aren’t happy with how long it has taken either, but we don’t want to release junk to our people either. Hang tight!
Peace, Chris
Hey Covenant Eyes,
It’s now April and you’ve been on the cusp of a release for ages now – any further update? And I second the notion of having a more recent new blog post with more regular updates :)
Thanks so much!
Hi, Jim – we are equally frustrated by the bugs we keep running in to with the release of our iPhone enhanced accountability. I recently added a blanket statement to the top of the blog to try and convey our current position. Thank you.
Chris
Hi there,
Just looking for an update: Has the nasty bug been fixed yet? It is now June.
Sending out an email to a group of hopefully final beta testers this week. Thanks, Bob.
Would like to be added as a beta tester, if it’s not too late. Thanks!
Hi, Jon – I’ll let the development team know. Thanks for being willing.
I’ve used it for a few days now and all works great except VPN wont allow phone to connect to wifi. Just stays on cellular connection. Only way to get it to switch to wifi is to toggle VPN off in settings manually which then quickly turns right back on and allows phone to connect to wifi. Additionally this then shows up in reports as if you’ve uninstalled filter on phone which isn’t actually true. Otherwise once fixed this is an incredible piece of engineering.
Hi, Curtis – can I ask you to send an email of your question directly to one of the developers? His name is Ryan, and you can reach him at ryan.sherrett@covenanteyes.com.
Thanks! Chris
I noticed that the VPN blocks the internal browsers when using cellular network, but when connected to wifi the internal browsers load up. Are they monitored for accountability reports?
Hi, Jack – can I ask you to send an email of your question directly to one of the developers? His name is Ryan, and you can reach him at ryan.sherrett@covenanteyes.com.
Thanks! Chris
Any updates on the status of the system wide coverage? I noticed the latest update didn’t include that.
Hi, Dustin – a large, final testing group is using our most recent build. I truly hope we’re close! Believe me, we will let everyone know when we get there.
Chris
Seriously, at this point I think most of us would rather have a buggy full iPhone accountability than this. The current method has SO many loopholes it’s pretty much not worth having at all. Is there any way to know more or get in on this sooner? Thanks.
Hi, Beau – it’s not ideal, I know. We can do better and we truly are trying. We released an enhanced version of our iPhone browser 2 weeks ago and it did not receive great reviews. We are now releasing a fix for those bugs in the hope that things improve greatly. That’s an honest answer. If we can get those bugs remedied, there’s hope.
Chris
Thanks Chris, could you explain the full device accountability in more detail? I’m starting to worry that hopes are up for something that won’t actually solve the problem of the glaring loopholes and limitations with iOS. Thanks!
Hi, Beau – to be honest, I’ve run out of “it’s almost here” statements because of all of the technical issues we just keep running into. iOS is a conspiracy wrapped in an enigma (insert other statements of complexity). I’m not trying to make light of it. We made promises that we clearly haven’t fulfilled, which really bothers us internally, so for that I apologize. Are we close? As of Monday this week (my last update), the answer is “yes.” I was told 2 weeks, depending on our final approval for the app from Apple. That’s as open and honest as I can be. Once released, it will provide domain level visibility across the device (e.g., if I use the Twitter app, it will show that I accessed “twitter.com” for the initial “call” to Twitter from my phone, but the rest of the communication is secured, but, it’s at least a conversation starter between accountability partner and member). It will also rate anything that’s clicked on through Safari. The key there is “clicked on.” Not “searched for” items, which can still be problematic for image searches. All of these features and limitations will be explained in a blog post I wrote that is scheduled for release once we are Apple-approved. I hope that helps!
Chris
Been two months since the last reply, seven months since the update at the top of this post, and almost two years since the iOS accountability was promised. ANY update? Does it even look promising at this point? Would love some transparency. Thanks!
Hi, Joel – I’m sorry that it took me a while to accept this. Here’s my response to multiple people today: “to be honest, I’ve run out of “it’s almost here” statements because of all of the technical issues we just keep running into. iOS is a conspiracy wrapped in an enigma (insert other statements of complexity). I’m not trying to make light of it. We made promises that we clearly haven’t fulfilled, which really bothers us internally, so for that I apologize. Are we close? As of Monday this week (my last update), the answer is “yes.” I was told 2 weeks, depending on our final approval for the app from Apple. That’s as open and honest as I can be. Once released, it will provide domain level visibility across the device (e.g., if I use the Twitter app, it will show that I accessed “twitter.com” for the initial “call” to Twitter from my phone, but the rest of the communication is secured, but, it’s at least a conversation starter between accountability partner and member). It will also rate anything that’s clicked on through Safari. The key there is “clicked on.” Not “searched for” items, which can still be problematic for image searches. All of these features and limitations will be explained in a blog post I wrote that is scheduled for release once we are Apple-approved. I hope that helps!”
Chris
Any news? I’m now at a point where I’m exploring other companies who are doing something similar but I REALLY don’t want to leave CE…
Hi, Scott – I’ll cut and paste the response I’ve given to a handful of people today – “to be honest, I’ve run out of “it’s almost here” statements because of all of the technical issues we just keep running into. iOS is a conspiracy wrapped in an enigma (insert other statements of complexity). I’m not trying to make light of it. We made promises that we clearly haven’t fulfilled, which really bothers us internally, so for that I apologize. Are we close? As of Monday this week (my last update), the answer is “yes.” I was told 2 weeks, depending on our final approval for the app from Apple. That’s as open and honest as I can be. Once released, it will provide domain level visibility across the device (e.g., if I use the Twitter app, it will show that I accessed “twitter.com” for the initial “call” to Twitter from my phone, but the rest of the communication is secured, but, it’s at least a conversation starter between accountability partner and member). It will also rate anything that’s clicked on through Safari. The key there is “clicked on.” Not “searched for” items, which can still be problematic for image searches. All of these features and limitations will be explained in a blog post I wrote that is scheduled for release once we are Apple-approved. I hope that helps!”
Chris
So, did you not like my last comment? All I asked was for an update? I’ve paid for your service for the last two years on the promise that you would develop iphone accountability. So, one would think I was at least entitled to an update. Wouldn’t you? If not, what am I paying for? Plenty of other accountability software options; plenty cheaper options too…
Hi, Joel – again, I was out and fell behind on comments. I responded to your previous post with as much as I know right now. I apologize for the delay.
Chris
I just want to apologize for harsh tone in the last comment. As a therapist specializing in addictions and who works with many men in the church, my frustrations just boiled over. So often we encourage an addict to avoid or run from their places of temptation, but that advice is simply impractical in this area of compulsion. The only option, then, is to at least provide accountability. I pray you are able to complete your mission and am confident your work will bless many. Please forgive my frustrations. Godspeed!
Hi, we are at 2 weeks? Is there a status update on the app?
Hi, Al – the new iOS app is released in the App Store.
Hi, according to your above comments Chris it has been over two weeks at this point. Are ya’ll still awaiting approval from Apple? I think it would be helpful to create another statement or newsletter on the status of the project as we are all eagerly awaiting this new app. Please read this in an inquisitive tone and not a frustrated one. Thank you!
Hi, Bob – the app has been released! Thank you for your patience.
Chris
thanks covenant eyes for working on this new update. It’s been more than 2 weeks since the October 19, 2017 replies and I was wondering if Apple was getting close to approving this app.
Approved!
Chris