![Online Accountability with Accountable2You [Review]](https://churchm.ag/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Accountable-2-you-image.png)
You don’t have to live on the Internet too long before you start seeing a lot of cons to go with all the pros of having the world at your fingertips. As Christians navigating the World Wild Web, vices lay all around us, and pornography is no stranger to the Internet.
There are tons of accountability software out there to help protect our wandering eyes on almost every device imaginable. EverAccountble is still my favorite Android accountability solution around, and there are plenty of iDevice options out there, but there was one device I couldn’t figure out how to protect: the Chromebook.
Google’s Chromebooks are extremely popular devices that run an unconventional OS, so traditional accountability software us unable to be installed on it, which left us with an extremely popular unprotected device. Well, it was unprotected…until the guys at Accountable2You came along.
Old Dog, New Tricks
Accountability software is nothing new, but it is to the Chromebook. So far as I can figure, Accountable2You is the first and only real contender to offer Chromebook protection out there, so it was well worth a look for me, as I’m an avid Chromebook user.
It installs as a Chrome App and, once installed, sits next to the URL box along with all your other apps. Setup is a fairly standard affair. You log in, choose your accountability partners and how frequently they get notified, and you’re in. There are a few things I should mention that make Accountable2You stand out from other software out there.
Firstly, you’ll need to enable the app to run in incognito mode in Chrome since, well, incognito mode is designed to keep prying eyes out. To do this, you simply click on the Chrome menu on the top right, More Tools, Extensions, then find Accountable2You in your list of installed Apps. Below the information for the app is a checkbox entitled “Allow in Incognito.” Check that box and you’re safe everywhere.
The second thing is reporting frequency. I’ve never seen so many options before! You choose the frequency of your regular reports, either weekly or daily (I have mine set to weekly), but you can also choose for your accountability partners to receive text alerts or hourly reports. I don’t need hourly reports, but I do have text alerts on so my partners know right away if something’s amiss and can follow up immediately!
The reports give the date range of coverage and a list of devices the user has Accountable2You installed and active on. Beyond that, it lists the amount of total sites visited, questionable sites, and highly questionable sites. There’s also a link to a full report where you can further breakdown the time frames and what types of sites were visited exactly when.
The Bottom Line
I know there are way too many Christians who would disagree that they need accountability software. Heck, I’ve encountered many Christians who don’t have a problem with pornography! That’s a conversation for another day, but the bottom line is that the more buffer between you and sin, the better, especially online.
If you or someone in your family has a Chromebook, or any other device definitely consider Accountable2You for protection. Seriously.
[Dog and Frisbee image via Mark Vitullo via Compfight cc]
Jesse Gruber
Jesse loves Jesus, his wife, Hannah, his little girls, Evie and Waverly, his little boys, Jameson and Teddy, and everything Android. He is an elder at Missio Dei, a church plant in Glassboro, NJ and oversees design and communication there. He loves using technology and media to tell as many people about Jesus as he can, and has promised to do so until the day he dies.
Great review, Jesse!
Hi Jesse, thanks for this review. I’m looking for some accountability software for ChromeOS, so Accountable2You seems promising. I’m wondering though — does the app block uninstalling without the asking permission from the accountability partner, or does it notify the accountability partner when you uninstall it?
Hey James, it sure does. Any changes to the status of the app will warrant an to your accountability partner. It will warn them of incognito and guest modes as well. It’s good stuff!!
Cool – thanks for the reply. Sounds like a good solution for ChromeOS. I’m currently using CovenantEyes (on multiple platforms), and it would be nice if CovenantEyes could offer something similar too so I don’t have to pay for another service.
No problem. I agree, one solution is best. A2U offers a pretty complete package though. Might be worth reaching out to them to get her some good data. Might help you make a switch if it’s warranted. Hit me up if you have some more questions!
Thanks for the review. I’m interested in what your take is on X3 Watch vs Accountable2You vs Ever Accountable. Those seem to be the big accountability app players. I have an Android device that I use almost exclusively, so I’m interested in seeing how each of those affect it.
Great review! Would love to see an update to this review and/or a comparison of the various accountability software options!
That’s not a bad idea!
Does this monitor content in apps? You tube? Fb?
Yes, it can monitor text in apps given the accessibility services that the user grants to it during setup!
Hi there, Thanks for your review! Question: why do you prefer EverAccountable to A2Y? We are comparing plans and appreciate your input. Thanks.
Hi Susan! Honestly, now that I’ve had more experience with A2Y, they are both very very similar. Unless something changed with EverAccountable, A2Y can handle more devices at this point I believe, which gives it a slight advantage. But both they’re tracking and reporting on Android (my primary system) and Windows are fantastic.
Hi!
Hope you can help me out
I have had covenant eyes for 3 years now, and it has had major, nearly constant issues.
Firstly, the accessibility simply has to be turned off, and you can do whatever you want…undetected. Even if it tells you to turn it back on before you can use it, you just have to keep at it…on, off, on, off…and it’ll quit asking.
App block is completely unreliable. You can block settings so accessibility can’t be touched, but the blocker doesn’t actually work until you reset it – every day – each time you want it to work – so it’s rather pointless. I even turned my own accessibility off for a week to see what would report *no persistent button pressing required* and it just showed ‘no activity’. No mention that the accessibility had actually been purposely turned off…which they will tell you, is supposed to be on the report. Though, it does turn itself off pretty often. We find that out when no activity is reported at a time that we were all together as a family using the internet for something, so clearly, it would show it was being used.
And the most recent…covenant spontaneously removed itself from my computer! Quite literally, it just wasn’t there! When we searched around for it, and the remnants of the program were located, it said
‘Does not exist’. Of course, that was an occasion for some raised eyebrows. I’m the only one who has access to uninstall. So we called them.
No, it had not been uninstalled – just suddenly not there. They couldn’t explain it, but said they’ve had similar complaints. Said it must have been caused by that “big microsoft update”…
The one that we ended up getting 3 days later.
My husband and I are physical therapists, not computer programmers. We’re both at a loss. We have more tension caused by covenant than is relieved by it. I’m not sure if it causes more problems than it solves.
If it’s as easy as turning off accessibility, what good is it?
Are the others any better? Or different? Something has got to give. I understand that the user has to make a choice, and it’s not spyware…Yada yada…but if the accessibility is simply shut off to avoid being tracked, than it’s not keeping anyone accountable.
Are the others that you mentioned this difficult to manage?
I love the covenant reports and the user interface, but I can’t trust it.
Can you chime in on this? Are these common issues among accountability software? Can you explain to me how yours is different? I really want to replace covenant, but not with more of the same problems.
Sorry about the rant!
Thanks for any info you can give =)