FREE FILTERS AND ACCOUNTABILITY SOLUTIONS THAT WORK:
(These solutions by no means suffice as being your primary filter unless they are set to the whitelist setting. If you can't settle with your filter set to a whitelist, then your filter should be something A.I. based like gentech or nativusa. These are still necessary additions to paid A.I. based filters because they add priceless accountability features and because they will get rid of many loopholes which I personally came across with Netspark and Gentech, and any filters that use the same technology as Gentech will also have these loopholes present. I still urge all to please go to TAG even after implementing everything in the post because they are professionals and would be able to offer more advice and tips that I wouldn't be aware of) 

WebChaver (CovenantEyes) - Accountability features. It's free only if you follow the steps outlined here.

Heads up: You need to have someone as an “ally” so they can receive reports about your activity, but this service works without "allies" if they are not possible to have. See here if you think that this is the case for you because you can get partners though GYE: Partner program (guardyoureyes.com) or visit a local TAG office for some suggestions on how to deal with that if you are in a situation like this.

Tips: You have to block this website on all of the devices you have access to after you are approved for the group and after you installed covenanteyes on your device: https://webchaver.org/ both of the free filters below allow you to do this. Then you need to do the following: give one of your allies ownership over your webchaver account after you've been approved for the group and after you've installed covenanteyes on your computer. You do this by changing the email on the webchaver account to their email and resetting the password after changing the email or by giving them the password and asking them to change it after they login to the account. What will happen next is that you will be asked to log in to covenant eyes on your device with your new password (if you signed in to covenanteyes already, if not then you will simply have log in with the new password), so have your ally input the password in-person if it's possible. If that's not possible then ask him to set a pretty long and random password (which can be done by most browsers and smartphones automatically), something you won't be able to memorize by looking at, and ask him to message it to you and all you have to do is input the password and then delete the message, and then go into trash and delete it from there also if applicable. If you do this right then you won't know the password unless you have photographic memory and if you have this reach out to TAG and talk with them about giving them ownership of your account and to come to your house in person and input the new password. And after all this make it clear to the ally who is now in charge of your account that you can't have access to the account at any capacity, because if you do, you can generate an uninstall code and uninstall the program. Don't worry about your payment info being visible on the account, because even if you have ownership over the account, you are not able to see anything regarding it except if you would like to update the payment info which just allows you to enter a new payment method.

Things that should be considered: This service works across the entire device regardless of accounts. If you have access to the account information, then you can uninstall it relatively easily unless you follow the directions above. 

Compatible devices: Look into the official webchaver or covenanteyes website for the list of devices.

Microsoft Family Safety - Filter and accountability features. Must be used with WebChaver (CovenantEyes) which you can get for free.

Heads up: This requires you to set someone appropriate as a “family organizer”. The best way to use this filter is through the “allowed websites only” function (see second to last paragraph for a link to a list of websites you can add in addition to the ones you already know you need) and there is one less “stringent” way that blocks only p websites but if it's set to this setting then this can't suffice as your primary filter and you need to get an A.I. based filter like Gentech, or NativUSA.

Tips: You should make sure that the account you use to log into the device is a Microsoft Account, not a local one. You can see this in your device settings under "Accounts". You will also see there the different accounts you can use to sign into the device with, and you should add another Microsoft account, belonging to someone else, to the device if there aren't different accounts present already. You also have to set the age of your Microsoft account to less than 13, but only after you join the family group, this doesn't do anything other than making it impossible to leave the family group. When you do this you'll get a message saying you need to set an adult account to approve your account, and you should set the organizer of the family group as that. You also have to install Microsoft Defender Application Guard from Windows Security; it's found in the "App and Browser Control" category. Then go to the Microsoft store and install Microsoft Defender Application Guard Companion. You then have to block these apps through Microsoft family safety: Microsoft Store, Microsoft Photos, Paint 3D, Windows Features, Microsoft Defender Application Guard Manager, Microsoft Defender Application Guard manager rdp client, AND Microsoft Defender Application Guard Companion. Then uninstall only Microsoft Defender Application Guard Companion which you can do by right clicking the app on your app list. Then block these websites: https://webchaver.org/ , https://www.xbox.com/. You also have remove the xbox gamebar but this has to be done in unconventional ways. See this page here to do so. If "Windows Powershell" does not work then try "Windows Powershell ISE" and there are also 2 versions of each of those, a regular one and one followed by (x64), try both of those as well. You have to do this while logged into the account that you use to log into the computer, and it should be noted that even though the xbox gamebar will no longer be accessible while your account is logged in, the other accounts on the device will still have access to it when they are logged in, unless you do this process for those accounts as well. You also must have different accounts to sign into the device with (even if you are the sole user of the device). This will make it so that your account alone has the filters applied to it and that only your browsing will be filtered, so you can get this filter without the knowledge of the other users of the device and without the filter affecting those other users at all. This will also allow you to make it so that your account isn’t the administrator on the computer and this is absolutly required. See second to last paragraph for how to do this, it changes nothing other than the status of the accounts involved, nothing else. If you are the sole user of the device then add an account to the device nonetheless (you can make one up or use an existing one that belongs to you or someone else), then follow the directions in the second to last paragraph regarding changing the administrator status of your account and set that new account as the administrator, and then add that account to the family group and set a 15 minute time limit between 2:30 am through 3:00 am on that account for everyday (or another time that you won't have access to the device, and you have to do this because setting a 0 minute time limit does not work and locking the device only works for one day). You also have to change the age of this new account to less than 13 and set the family organizer to approve the account. This will make it so you can't access the administrator account even though you know the password for it, and you should know the password for the account (a safer route would be to have someone who lives with you to have the password for that account without you knowing) in case you need to give certain new applications approval to run on your computer which may come up. Then block this website: https://account.microsoft.com/family/ and you also should block the websites for youtube (you will still see videos on other websites that use youtube as their video player), facebook, twitter, reddit, instagram, and other problematic websites.

Things that should be considered: The other accounts used to sign into the computer won’t have the filters applied to them unless you add them to the family group but so long as you don’t know the password to their accounts, you won’t have to do this but it would be the best thing to do and it’s halacha for them to get filters in any case. This filter should pose no problem for anyone if you do go down this route because you can set the filter to only block explicit websites for them. This does the absolute bare minimum of filtering and blocks only p websites through the safe search setting, it just makes it so it can’t be turned off now. By default all browsers are set to safe search, so those people have most certainly browsed with it and without any issues at all. It should be noted also that the family organizer can’t put on filters on his/her own Microsoft account (the one that he/she uses to manage your family group) so he/she shouldn’t use that account to sign into your computer with. They can do this with a different Microsoft account instead, that account can then be added to the family group and can have filters put on it. 
Compatible devices: Any computer that runs Windows, any Microsoft devices, and android (but it may be preferable to use google family link for android, and you might be able to use both simultaneously, just try them both out before deciding on one).



Apple Screen Time - Filter and accountability features. Compatible with WebChaver (CovenantEyes) and Qustodio.

Heads up: This also requires you to set someone appropriate as a “family organizer”. The best way to use this filter is through the “allowed websites only” function (see second to last paragraph for a link to a list of websites you can add in addition to the ones you already know you need) and there is a less stringent way that only blocks p websites but if it's set to this setting then this can't suffice as your primary filter and you need to get an A.I. based filter like Gentech, or NativUSA. For iphones and ipads the best way to use this filter is by blocking all browsers or if certain websites are absolutely needed then you can use the "allowed websites only" setting. In this case you should use webchaver and get the covenanteyes browser on your phone and have other browsers blocked. Webchaver must be used for computers (which you can get for free as outlined above), but on iphone/ipad if should be used only if it's necessary to have a browser on it.

Tips: First change the age of your apple ID account to less than 16 before joining a family group. If you choose to use apple screen time without a family group then you MUST turn off screen time if it has already been turned on and then turn it on again and choose "This is my child's iphone" before having someone set a pin. To verify this, go into your account, found at the top of the settings app on iphone when you first open the settings app, and scroll down to "sign out", if it's grayed out and says sign out not available due to restrictions under it, then you are good, but if the letters are red then you have to go back and do what's stated above. Then exit the screentime page in settings and go back to the starting page in settings (the page you get when you first open settings) and scroll down to "Siri and Search", click on it, and then scroll down until you see "Show in Lookup" and "Show in Spotlight" and disable both of them. For iphones you should not have access to any browsers, assuming it's set to allowed websites only, unless it's absolutely required and in such a case the only browser you should use is safari with the new covenanteyes extension which captures screenshots in the safari app, which you can get for free through webchaver. Then disable Siri, Apple News, and Safari if applicable through "Allowed Apps" in "Content and Privacy restrictions" and all of these must be blocked except for safari if you absolutely need it and if you are going to use it with "allowed websites only" and webchaver. Then set your filter to "Allowed websites only", and this is even if you disabled safari in the previous step. Then you should temporarily download all the apps you anticipate you might need on the iphone, basically as many productivity apps as possible that you use online. You should then open the app store and click on your account at the top right and then click purchases and you will see all the apps that you previously downloaded, and from here you should download any other kosher apps you think you might need in the future and also the problematic apps that you have already downloaded at some point, and this includes browsers. Don't get any problematic apps that you never downloaded before though as in they don't have the cloud icon next to them and instead "Get" on the app store. Then go into the "Always Allowed" category in screentime and add all of those kosher apps but make sure not to add any of problematic apps and the browsers. Then go into "App limits" and set a one minute time limit on all of the problematic apps that you now have on your phone, including the browsers, and you can do this in one go/attempt just make sure you thoroughly check to see that all of the problematic apps were added to the limit. Then (if you set up screen time through a family group) you should enable "Ask to buy" for your account which your family organizer has to do on his device by clicking on his account in settings, and then going to family sharing, and then scrolling down. You now have to delete those problematic apps. Then go open all of the kosher apps on your phone and play around with them to get webpages within the app that ask you to log in or that you would click on to get help, and you'll see that some get blocked since your filter is set to allowed websites only. Don't put the pin into the screen when you get that page, instead write down the general link (so if it's victory.covenanteyes.com the general link would just be covenanteyes.com) and type that manually into the allowed website list. See the second to last paragraph for a list of comprehensive list of links that should help you a lot in doing this, and you should search up the app on the internet and allow the website equivalent of the apps on your phone. You can then "offload" the kosher apps that you don't need to save storage and this way you don't have to have the app store re-allowed every time you need a new app and you do this by going into settings, then general, then iphone storage, then scroll down and click on all of the kosher apps individually that you don't need at the moment, and click "offload". This way you don't have to go to TAG or to your family organizer every time you need a new app, granted you anticipated that you needed that app and downloaded it and offloaded it as stated above. You then have to go into the default messaging app of iPhone and open a chat that you already have with someone or open a new one with yourself. When you do you’ll see that under the imessage box or the message box there are things called imessage apps and they appear as little icons. (When you text through imessage this is found in the area where auto correct suggestions are given) Click on the imessage icon there that has the 3 dots and remove the “#images” imessage app. You also have to disable it after removing it which you can do right there on that page. You then have to take away the ability to download apps and this will disable the app store. After that disable “Web Search Content” for Siri and deal with the rest of the settings there appropriately. Also turn Communication safety (if you're using apple screentime with family sharing) on which is a general category found after clicking Apple Screentime. On Apple computers/laptops you have make sure your account isn't the administrator. See the second to last paragraph for how to do this. And any filters set on your Apple ID account will only affect that account if you use that account to sign into an Apple computer or laptop.

Things that should be considered: Apple allows the family organizer to set filters and restrictions on their own Apple ID account so on Apple computers and laptops, the family organizer can sign in with the same Apple ID account he uses to edit your Apple screentime settings without any problems unlike Microsoft Family Safety. If you choose to filter the device in the less stringent way to only block p websites, you have to use WebChaver.

General Instructions for Computers:
Almost all computer operating systems allow for there to be different accounts that you can use to unlock the device with. This is done usually for the sake of privacy so multiple people that use the device won’t have access to each other’s personal data and in regards to filters, it means that filters set on one account are set only on that account and are in effect only when signed into the device with that account. You can add accounts through your device settings. To change the administrator status of an account, all you need to do is to add an account to the computer (or you can do this with an existing account on the computer) and set that account as the administrator through the device settings. Then you have to log into that new administrator account and change the status of your account to a "standard user". This changes nothing other than the status of the accounts that were involved in the status change, no files or anything else will be affected. The account you set as the administrator should belong to someone who lives with you and has access to the device because you may need him/her to grant certain permissions on it and things similar to that. If you are the sole user of the device then make sure you know the password for the administrator account. Here is a list of kosher websites that you can add to your "allowed websites list" as promised above: NativUSA - White List (usanativ.com) You should first add the websites you already know you will need or might need and then scroll through the list above to add websites you didn't think of. It's advisable that you do this after you monitor your search and web history for a week to 2 weeks with the filter(s) set to "block porn websites only" so you can thoroughly allow all of the websites you use to prevent yourself from feeling inconvenienced after you set the filter(s) to "allowed websites only". 

General Heads up:
Someone who is appropriate to be set as a "family organizer" is someone who can ideally understand the depth of this struggle and someone who would want you to quit. This is because if you ask them to turn off the filters or to let you change the filter settings around, and they agree, the filters will be useless. If you don't know anyone appropriate, webchaver is still good for you because the "allies" don't necessarily need to meet those criteria. And if this is the case I recommend getting NativUSA which you do have to pay for but it's well worth it for guarding you eyes and you may be able to split the bill with one other person who also wants to use NativUSA because they give 2 separate licenses for computers and they allow for them to be customized with different settings.

Other filtering options:

Google Family Link: See here for how to set it up: Family Link - tagflatbush.com.

Tips: This may be able to be used in conjunction with Microsoft Family Safety on Android, but it also may not so try both filters separately and see which one works better for you. Using them both in conjunction could cause problems, but could also help get features from one filter that the other may not offer to help filter the device more stricter, so try this at your own risk.
Compatible Devices: Android devices, chromebooks.

Qustodio - See the website for how to set this up, for iOS it needs to be used in conjunction with apple screentime. It's free to use for one account/device, but if you have more devices, just make more accounts.

Heads up - This does not have uninstall protection, but does offer accountability and does notify if you uninstalled it.

Compatible devices - Most devices out there, see the list on their website.

Bilaam Harasha to Yosef Hatzaddik wrote on 05 Apr 2022 00:02:

Very helpful! Additionally, you have a big zchus for helping so many with such awesome insight and tools! 

Then you for this!

I would just add a disclaimer to remember that in this world you usually get what you pay for...

For those who are interested or got these filters already, I did some major updating to the initial post in this thread so you should look it over for some of the new directions because I came across a few more loopholes. I use gentech and webchaver's filtering in addition to these filters at this point but I think that these free filters are still 100% necessary even if you use AI based filters because I found many loopholes with such paid filters and I was able to plug them up using these free filters. There's also loopholes that these filters have that the paid filters plug up also so they compliment each other very nice. It's worth the effort to set them up especially if you find that you get temptations mostly when you're behind a screen or if you're behind a screen for a long time, because they offer many accountability features that'll decrease the temptations to "test" the filter. And it won't take that long, these filters were created by the same companies that created the devices in question and their respective operating software. In any case this is part of how I personally strategize to bring myself up after I fall and I'd love it if it could help others also.

Question about Apple screen time, can the Family organizer set up filtering for themselves, or just for other family members? Can they protect their settings with a password other than their Apple ID?

Thanks

The screen time password can be a different password than the Apple ID. In terms of setting it up for yourself, you can but if you know the code you can always undo it and that kind of defeats the whole purpose.

I don't mind giving the code to someone, I was having a hard time finding where to put in the code as the family organizer.

I think I may have misunderstood. Your trying to set up screen time for a bunch of devices with one code?

Lchaim Tovim wrote on 20 Jul 2022 16:28:

My computer has a regular filter. My wife has a Mac that I don't touch she asked me how to set up a free filter that wont slow down her computer. She tried Apple screen time, but could not figure out how to set it up without being able to disable it easily. She want's this for herself, this has nothing to do with me. 

She is trying to set up filtering for explicit content for her macbook, that's it. 

So why don't you set it up and each of you will have half the code, this way neither of you can disable it on your own.

Lchaim Tovim wrote on 21 Jul 2022 18:47:

I will try but I couldn't figure out how to put on a code.

This should hopefully help support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/set-change-remove-a-screen-time-passcode-mac-mchl336af525/mac">support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/set-change-remove-a-screen-time-passcode-mac-mchl336af525/mac

Sorry for the late reply, but I do think you're able to set filtering on yourself, as the family organizer, through apple screentime. The problem I think you're talking about it is that the family organizer can reset the 4 digit code set on screentime through their apple id by having a "forgot password" request sent to the email. I'm not sure how it looks on mac because I don't have one, but I know that when I set a screentime pin on a friend's phone, I was told to put in an apple id that I can use to reset the pin if it was forgotten, and I put in my apple id information so any such requests would go to my email. I did this without having to set up a family group with him, one can set up screentime without it. What you may need to do is set screentime on your devices individually without a family group, meaning instead of setting screentime on them through family sharing, you go to the devices in question and turn on screentime manually on each of them with a pin and afterwards you will see that it asks to input someone's apple id information just in case the pin is forgotten. Here you would have to input the apple id information of someone you know or that your wife knows, and all such password reset requests will be sent to them and the pin can't be turned off or changed without them approving the request.  

Also, just a heads up, on iphone when you do what's stated above, you'll get an option asking if this is "your phone" or the "phone of a child/your child", and you have to pick the option of this is "my child's phone" because you will only be able to put in someone else's apple id if you choose that option, otherwise by default apple will send password reset requests to your apple id email. You may have to do the same thing for your wife's Mac also.

If you guys set up Apple screentime using this or by going to TAG, I made a little but crucial addition to the directions regarding Siri. I highlighted it above, but for convenience here's the change: 

Open settings, scroll down to "Siri and Search" on that page, scroll down to "Show in Lookup" and "Show in Spotlight" and disable both of them. Then go into screentime, go to allowed apps, and disable Siri. It would also be good idea to go into content restrictions and disable web search content for Siri and to disable explicit language. 

If you took your device to TAG and had it set it up this setting may not be applied to your device and the way you check to see if it has been applied by them without having to go to them, is simply by opening up settings and scrolling down and looking for a tab called "Siri and Search". This will be on the first page of settings you get after you freshly open it and after you do some scrolling, and if you don't see it then you have nothing to worry about. But you do see it, take it to TAG immediately or to whoever is in charge of your settings and make the change asap. 

is there any filter for free that closes only browsing capabilities?