Porn blocker apps vs recovery apps: do you need both?
Most people who want to quit porn need both a blocker and recovery help, and Escape is built to be both in one private app for iPhone, iPad and Mac. The blocker is the door: it stops porn loading, so it is not one tap away. Recovery is the pull: it helps with why you keep reaching for the door. Escape shuts the door and helps with the pull, with no account and nothing sent to anyone.
Two jobs: the door and the pull
The door's job is to take porn off the table in the few seconds when willpower is weakest, so the choice is made before the moment arrives. The pull's job is slower. It helps you get through an urge without acting on it, see your progress add up, and understand what sets you off. The door buys you time, and the pull is what you do with it. That is why blocking buys you a better decision rather than making it for you.
How Escape keeps the door shut
The Safari blocker is free. It blocks 40,000+ known adult sites in Safari on iPhone, iPad and Mac the moment you turn it on, including mirror and variant addresses of big sites. Premium closes the side doors:
- Every browser. Deep Block covers every browser on iPhone and iPad, and private tabs. It holds through Safari's "Reload Without Content Blockers", and while it is on, iOS locks the Safari extension toggles.
- Apps. Pick the apps that pull you in. Apple's picker keeps your choices private, so Escape never learns which apps you chose.
- The hard hours. Blocking windows switch app blocking on by themselves: The Late-Night Window (10 PM to 6 AM), The After-Work Lull (5 PM to 8 PM) and The Quiet Morning (5 AM to 8 AM).
- Searches. With Blocked Words, a Safari search for a word you choose does not load.
- A wait. Strict Mode puts 30, 60 or 120 minutes between you and turning blocking off.
How Escape helps with the pull
An urge rises, peaks and fades, and knowing how long urges last can make them easier to sit through. When one hits, Escape's panic button and 90-second urge tool (Premium) give you something to do in that moment instead of arguing with yourself. The free streak counter keeps your days on your phone and, as a widget, on your Home Screen. And 28 short courses help with the why, one short lesson at a time. The first day of each course is free in the app, and you can read every lesson free on this website.
Where the door and the pull meet
The two halves work best when they talk to each other. When you open an app you have blocked, Escape shows its block screen: "You have currently Escaped.", a line about your streak, and a "Back to yourself" button. The moment the door holds is also a reminder of how far you have come, which is the pull doing its work at exactly the right time.
Starting free
You can start today without paying: the Safari blocker shuts the main door, and the streak counter and the first day of each course start on the pull. You can read every lesson free on this website too. Add Premium when you want the door shut in every browser and help in the moment an urge hits. For many people that moment comes at night, so it helps to plan for the late hours.
Set up both halves
- Shut the main door. Turn on the free Safari blocker.
- Start your count. Put the free streak widget on your Home Screen.
- Cover the hard hours. With Premium, block the apps that pull you in and pick a blocking window.
- Know your first move. Decide now that an urge means opening the panic button, not a browser.
Common questions
What is the difference between a porn blocker and a recovery app?
A blocker stops porn loading, so it is not one tap away in a weak moment. Recovery help works on why you keep going back. Escape does both. Its free Safari blocker covers 40,000+ adult sites, and on the recovery side it has a free private streak counter, 28 short courses you can read free on this website and, with Premium, a 90-second urge tool.
Do I need both a blocker and a recovery app?
Most people do better with both jobs covered, and with Escape that is one app. The same app that blocks porn also counts your days, teaches short lessons and, with Premium, helps you through an urge with the panic button.
Is Escape a blocker or a recovery app?
Both. Escape blocks porn in Safari for free, and with Premium it also covers every browser and private tab on iPhone and iPad, and the apps you pick. Around the blocking sit short courses, a free private streak counter and, with Premium, the panic button and the 90-second urge tool.
What does Escape block for free?
Its Safari blocker covers 40,000+ known adult sites in Safari on iPhone, iPad and Mac, the moment you turn it on, including mirror and variant addresses of big sites. Deep Block, which extends blocking to every browser and private tabs on iPhone and iPad, is part of Premium.
Escape blocks porn in Safari for free, extends to every browser with Deep Block, and adds a 90-second urge ritual, practice games that retrain how you meet an urge, and 28 short courses on identity and the long arc of recovery. No account, no personal tracking.
More on this topic in Choosing a blocker: where Escape fits, or go deeper with the Who you became in private course.