How it works, explained
3 min read · Checked August 18, 2026
What your ally receives, and does not
One short text when explicit content is gated on your device. A text if defense is turned off or On Guard is uninstalled. A lapse alert if a device goes quiet. Never the site, the image, your history, or anything from the suggestive tier. Here it is, word for word.
On this page
The text, word for word
The text your ally receives
On Guard
Text message
On Guard: now's a good time to check in with your brother. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.
- No image
- No link
- No app name
- No category
Allies are only ever told that something happened — never what. No screens, no history, no content.
That is the entire message. It is composed on our servers from your display name and nothing else. It goes to each active ally the moment a gate fires on one of your devices, after the gate has rendered on your own screen.
The three times an ally hears from On Guard
The promise
Your ally gets a check-in if explicit content appears — no details, just a nudge to reach out.
- Explicit content is encountered — a check-in, never details or screenshots.
- Protection is turned off or On Guard is uninstalled on a device.
- Protection silently stops on a device — a lapse alert.
The first is the check-in text above. The second is a text that names you and the device: "{name} uninstalled On Guard from {device}." The app shows you that exact message before you confirm. The third is a lapse alert when a device has not checked in for three days or more, or defense was switched off; it reaches your ally in the On Guard app.
The honest line
Ceilings: at most three check-in texts a day, one per half-hour burst. A lapse alert repeats at most once a day per device. Nothing about billing ever reaches an ally: a payment problem is between you and the store.
What is never sent
Sent
- That a gate fired, and your name.
- That defense was turned off, or On Guard was uninstalled, and on which kind of device.
- That a device has gone quiet.
Never sent
- The site, app, image, or category.
- A screenshot or any picture of your screen.
- Your history, a list of events, or a count.
- Anything from the suggestive tier.
- Whether you proceeded past the gate.
- Your billing or subscription state.
The promise
Allies are only ever told that something happened — never what. No screens, no history, no content.
If your ally has the app
An ally does not need the app for the texts. If he installs On Guard and signs in with the same account he accepted the invite with, he also sees a small standing-guard view: your name, each of your devices, whether it is "On guard" or "Gone quiet", and when it was last seen. That view is liveness only. It has no history, no events, and no engine details.
How to be a good ally The page to send him.
Questions
Does the ally text say what site or app it was?
No. It says it is a good time to check in with you. There is no field in the message, or in the system behind it, for a site, app, image, or category.
Is the ally told when I proceed past the gate?
No. The text fires when the gate goes up. What happens after stays on your device.
How does the ally know a device is "Gone quiet"?
Each device sends a liveness heartbeat. When one has been silent for three days or more, or reports that defense was switched off, your ally gets a lapse alert. It repeats at most once a day per device.
Can I see exactly what my ally would get?
Yes. The message above is verbatim, and on builds that include it the Block test (Settings → Test your guard) sends the TEST version to your own phone. No ally is texted by a test.
Checked August 18, 2026 against the shipping app. If something here no longer matches what you see, email team@stayonguard.app.
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