Switch guide
4 min read · Checked September 28, 2026
Switching from Covenant Eyes
Install On Guard, invite your ally, and run both for a week before you cancel. Your ally stops reviewing a screenshot feed and gets a short text only when adult content is opened.
On this page
What changes when you switch
Covenant Eyes pioneered accountability software, and it does real good. The main difference is what leaves your device and what your ally has to look at.
Covenant Eyes
On Guard
- Your screen
- Covenant Eyes: Screenshots are taken, blurred, encrypted, and uploaded for reporting.
- On Guard: Detection runs on the device. No screenshot leaves it unless you send one to us after a false alarm.
- What your ally sees
- Covenant Eyes: Your ally reviews an activity feed of blurred screenshots.
- On Guard: Your ally gets a short text within seconds when adult content is opened, with the app, the device and the time.
- Your traffic
- Covenant Eyes: A VPN runs on iPhone for device-wide reporting and blocking.
- On Guard: No VPN. None of your traffic is routed anywhere.
Two ways to do accountability
Screenshot accountability
Your screen
Captured on a schedule.
Uploaded
Images leave the device.
A feed
Someone reviews your screens.
What travels: pictures of what you saw. What the other person carries: a review job.
Detection and check-in
Your screen
Classified on the device.
An event
App, device and time. Never the site.
A text
Your ally reaches out.
What travels: one short message. What your ally carries: a reason to call.
Three things that change
It works on the feed, not just the moment. When explicit content appears, On Guard puts up a gate, and Move on can do more than close it. On a supported feed (X, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube or TikTok, in your browser on Mac or Windows), it offers that platform’s own block or “not interested” in one tap, so the signal goes back to the algorithm that served it. Nothing happens on the platform unless you tap it.
Someone would know if you quit. Your ally gets a text if On Guard is uninstalled or signed out, or if a device goes quiet for 7 days. It is not parental control: you choose your ally, and they never see the site, a screenshot, or your browsing history.
It stays out of your way. No VPN, no locked-down phone, no schedules to live around. Clean content gets nothing. On Guard steps in only when explicit content is on your screen, and suggestive content gets a short nudge that retires on its own.
Covenant Eyes runs a VPN on iPhone for device-wide reporting and blocking. On Guard routes none of your traffic anywhere.
Before you switch
- Covenant Eyes sends your ally blurred screenshots of your activity, so your ally may see something that would have slipped past detection. On Guard texts your ally only when adult content is opened.
- Covenant Eyes has a free Victory tier with check-ins, courses, and community. On Guard offers a 30-day trial, not a free tier.
- Their recovery programs go deep. On Guard deliberately stays a defense system, so keep any program or group you rely on.
- Their plans are built for family use. On Guard is built for one man and his allies.
Switch without a gap
Do not cancel Covenant Eyes first. Run both for a week so there is never a night with nothing standing guard.
- Install On Guard on every device you own.
Mac, Windows, and Android get full detection. iPhone gets Apple’s adult-site filter plus app nudges.
Run the test run on each device.
It shows you what a gate looks like before you ever need one.
- Invite your ally.
It can be the same person who is your ally or partner today.
Keep Covenant Eyes running for a week alongside On Guard.
Once On Guard is standing guard on every device, cancel Covenant Eyes.
Cancel through the store or website where you subscribed to Covenant Eyes.
Tell your ally what changes
Your ally is used to one way of hearing from you. A short heads-up keeps the switch from feeling like you are quietly stepping back.
Heads up: I am moving from Covenant Eyes to On Guard. I am not stepping back, just changing tools. You will get an invite link from On Guard, and after that you may get a short text if adult content is opened on my devices, with the app, the device and the time. No screenshots and no browsing history. If one comes, just check in with me.
The promise
Your ally gets a check-in if an adult site is opened on your devices, with the app, the device and the time. No additional details.
Questions
Can my ally from Covenant Eyes be my On Guard ally?
Yes. Send them the On Guard invite link. They do not need the app to get texts, and they never see screenshots or a feed.
Will I be unprotected while I switch?
Not if you run both for a week. Install On Guard, run the test run, invite your ally, and only then cancel Covenant Eyes.
Does On Guard run a VPN?
No. None of your traffic is routed anywhere, and detection runs on the device.
Checked September 28, 2026 against the shipping app. If something here no longer matches what you see, email team@stayonguard.app.
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