Switch guide

6 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.

A feed to review, next to a single check-in.

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.
Remove it from each device first, then cancel. The steps are in Removing Covenant Eyes, below.

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.

A message you can send

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.

Removing Covenant Eyes

When the week is up and On Guard is standing guard on every device, take Covenant Eyes off. Its monitoring app is now called Victory Shield, and older installs still say Covenant Eyes. Each step links to Covenant Eyes’ own help page for it.

Your allies will hear about it

Covenant Eyes alerts your allies when Victory Shield is removed from a Mac, a Windows computer or an Android phone. It cannot see an iPhone uninstall. Send the message above before you start, so the alert is news they already have.

A Mac or Windows computer asks for an Uninstall Code, and the uninstaller can get one when you sign in with your Covenant Eyes username and password. If an Account Admin on your Covenant Eyes account turned off your Uninstall Permission, only they can get the code, so ask them for it.

On a Mac, run the uninstaller from Applications, then Utilities.
Open Uninstall Victory Shield (Uninstall Covenant Eyes on older versions). Enter your Uninstall Code, or click Get Code and sign in to get one. Then enter your Mac password twice, once for the app and once for its system extension, and restart if it asks.
On Windows, uninstall it from Installed apps.
Right-click the Windows icon, choose Installed apps, then Uninstall next to Victory Shield. Sign in with your Covenant Eyes username and password when it asks. That sign-in is what alerts your allies. Restart when it finishes.
On Android, uninstall it from inside the app.
Open Victory Shield, tap Settings, then Options, then Uninstall, and confirm twice. It removes itself.
On iPhone, delete it like any other app.
Press and hold Victory Shield, tap Remove App, then Delete App. If Delete App is missing, a Screen Time restriction is blocking app deletion. Allowing it again may need the Screen Time passcode.
Cancel your subscription last.
Removing the app does not cancel it. Contact Covenant Eyes Member Care to cancel, or cancel in the App Store or Google Play if you subscribed in the app.
Delete the Victory app if you have it.
Victory is Covenant Eyes’ separate app for check-ins and chat. It deletes like any other app.

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.

Will my Covenant Eyes allies know I removed it?

Yes, from a Mac, a Windows computer or an Android phone. Covenant Eyes records the uninstall and sends your allies a concerning-activity check-in. It cannot see an iPhone uninstall. Either way, tell them yourself before you start.

Does deleting Covenant Eyes cancel my subscription?

No. Covenant Eyes keeps billing until you cancel with their Member Care team, or in the App Store or Google Play if you subscribed in the app. Remove it from every device first, then cancel.

Can On Guard remove Covenant Eyes for me?

No. On Guard never removes another app, and it will not work around Covenant Eyes’ Uninstall Code or the alert it sends your allies. Each step above links to Covenant Eyes’ own instructions.

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.