Apps and websites are too fascinating that make you easy to distract while studying or working. It’s reasonable to expect that you may need to block them, no matter for stripping out time-wasting apps & sites, protecting your privacy or preventing dangerous or explicit contents.
There are many anti-social apps (Internet blocker) and app blocker tools out there, one of which is Freedom- a cluttered app, can effectively eliminate your concerns. How does freedom app work? Does freedom app cost money? In this Freedom app review, I’m going to share my personal takes on using the program.
- Freedom to be incredibly productive Freedom to do your best work from home Freedom to do what you love Freedom to work without distractions. Freedom is the app and website blocker for Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and Chrome, used by over 1,000,000 people to reclaim focus and productivity.
- ZoomText Magnifier/Reader. ZoomText Magnifier/Reader is a fully integrated magnification and reading program tailored for low-vision users. Magnifier/Reader enlarges and enhances everything on your computer screen, echoes your typing and essential program activity, and automatically reads documents, web pages, email.
- Getting Started. To install Freedom on your Mac computer, download our Freedom installer from our Freedom downloads page, or you can use this direct link to the installer. Installing Freedom. Once you've downloaded Freedom, you'll see the installer (FreedomInstall.dmg) in your Downloads folder. Next, double-click on FreedomInstall.dmg, this will bring up the installation.
Freedom is the world’s best app and website blocker. Our one-of-a-kind platform enables you to block distractions on all your devices – phone, tablet, and computer. If you work from home, want to study more efficiently, or want to focus on your writing – Freedom can help. With Freedom, you can be.
Quick Summary
Freedom app, available on multi-platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android), aims to block time-consuming websites & apps. With this app blocker or anti-social app, you can minimize the distraction and keep a good habit of using social media. It is marketed towards writers, editors, executives, students, researchers, etc. who desire a bit of assistance to get work done quickly.
Pros:
- Comfortable design for interface and logo
- Block apps, websites or the entire Internet
- Start sessions on-the-fly or schedule beforehand
- Create customized block lists without quantity limitation
- Sync blocks across all your device
Cons:
- Must work with the browser, not easy to operate
- Too expensive for long-term users
- Might be tired of the privacy issues around using its VPN and the price (Reddit feedback)
Freedom App Review
Download & Installation
Platform | Download From | How to Install | Supported OS |
---|---|---|---|
Mac | FreedomSetup.dmg | Drag Freedom to the app folder | 10.8 or higher |
Windows | FreedomSetup.exe | Follow installer instructions | Windows Vista, 7 or higher |
iOS | App Store | Follow instructions | 9 or higher |
Android | Google Play Store | Follow instructions | 5.1 or higher |
Freedom app is absolutely safe to download. You can get the download from https://freedom.to/downloads. After installation, you are supposed to create an account on Freedom.to for Mac and Windows. While for the iOS version, you can sign up a new account within the application directly. But to block contents from most browsers and apps, you need to allow the VPN configuration.
Feature & Capabilities
Schedule a session in advance
There are two options for you to schedule a session in advance, respectively are Start Later and Recurring Session. Start Later means scheduling a single session ahead. You only need to choose a start and end time for your session. As for Recurring Session, it means making a schedule for a recurring session which repeats on a specific day. You should pick a start, end time and the days you want the session to repeat.
Mac Freedom Basketball
Add a blocklist
To block annoying URLs, you need to open your dashboard and click “Add a blocklist” button to create Freedom app blocklist. The most distracting streaming sites and categories have been listed, like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Social, TV/Video, Games, News, Adult, Shopping, etc., or you can enter the domain that hasn’t been shown in the list.
Website exceptions
When you enable the website exceptions on Freedom app Mac, the sites added Freedom Exception List won’t be blocked. You can block all site sessions and sessions that merely use your customized blocklists. Both of them will be whitelisted.
But things to be noted are:
- Windows version doesn’t support website exceptions at the present;
- You are unable to add website exceptions during active sessions;
- Website exceptions only work on Chrome and Safari, and other browsers will be hidden during sessions.
Locked mode
The locked mode feature of the Freedom app makes it tough to quit an active block session. You can’t remove blocklists or devices from the list when the locked mode is enabled.
Mac/Windows: go to dashboard > check the Locked mode under Options
iOS: tap the Settings tab > toggle Locked Mode
How Does Freedom App Work on Mac and Windows?
Scenario one: block apps on Mac/Windows
- Run the Freedom app and log in your account.
- Click the Freedom app icon in the menu bar.
- From the pull-down menu, choose “Manage Blocked Desktop Apps” option.
- A new dialog was brought up, just select the apps you intend to block.
Scenario two: block websites with Internet blocker
- Navigate to Freedom dashboard and log in.
- Add a site to block by entering the URL, or find the site from the list below. If you want to block all websites, choose “All Websites” when creating a session.
- Customize the session and start it.
How Does Freedom App Work on iOS?
- Navigate to Blocklists tab on the bottom.
- Edit one of your blocklists or create a new one by choosing “Add a blocklist”.
- Toggle the pre-made filters to add the sites and apps, or tap “Add Block” option to add other items that you would like to block.
- Tap “Save” at the top-right corner to temporarily block apps/websites on iPhone/iPad.
To know how to block apps/sites on Android, you can check https://support.freedom.to/getting-started/set-up-installation/installing-freedom-on-your-android-device. I won’t explain it in detail here.
FAQ about Freedom App
Does freedom app cost money?
Yes, it needs to cost money. Although Freedom app offers a free trial version, it has some limits. You can’t active the functions, like:
- Locked Mode
- Recurring Scheduling
- Advance Scheduling
- Freedom Perks
- Unlimited blocking sessions
How to Delete Freedom App Account?
- Visit billing management page: https://freedom.to/profile.
- Click “Delete Account” under Account Type: Trial.
- It will jump to a new page. Click “Delete Freedom Account”.
If you have purchased your subscription through the App Store, you will follow the same procedure, but the “Manage Billing” link will take you directly to Apple’s site where you can manage your subscriptions.
If you purchased your subscription through the App Store, the “Manage Billing” link will take you to Apple’s website straightway.
Top 6 Apps Like Freedom(Free Included)
#1. Cisdem AppCrypt (The most effective, easy to use for Mac)
Price: $29.99/lifetime
Cisdem AppCrypt is a remarkable, dedicated Freedom app alternative for Mac to block apps and websites. On the one hand, it can password protect your Mac privacy, no one having the ability to access your Mac apps without your permission. On the other hand, it will improve the productivity of your employees by blocking attractive websites and social software. More importantly, if you are a parent, Cisdem Freedom app alternative will help you prevent the kids from pornography, gambling sites, inappropriate games, and violent material
You can develop a long-term schedule to limit time spent online. If somebody else tries to open the locked apps or websites (with the wrong password), your Mac front camera will take a photo of the intruder.
#2. FocusMe (Mac and Windows)
Price: £4.9/month, £29.99/year, £119.99/lifetime
FocusMe is a feature-rich app like Freedom that blocks an unlimited number of websites and apps so you can concentrate on working. As same as Cisdem Appcrypt, it enables you to whitelist part of sites but block the rest. You can set a variety of schedules, such as morning routine, working routine and more. It has built-in Pomodoro technique which lets you stay focused and productive.
When it comes to FocusMe vs Freedom app, I would recommend FocusMe for desktop users. But for Mac-only users, Cisdem AppCrypt is more affordable with powerful functions.
#3. RescueTime (Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android)
Price: $9/month, $72/year
Mac Freedom Conference Soccer
RescueTime is a piece of time management software mixed with a website blocker, cutting off your visiting to time-sucking websites. This Freedom app alternative runs in the background, monitoring all the apps and websites you have used during various times of the day and generating detailed reports. Although RescueTime has the ability to block websites on different platforms, it’s not as robust as some of other Freedom app alternatives, which still asks for a certain amount of self-restraint.
#4. FocalFilter (Windows)
Price: Free
FocalFilter is a free, simple app like Freedom that empowers you to tentatively block unproductive websites. It supports almost all the web browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE. You can add websites to the block list and configure a time interval, up to 12 hours. Once blocked, you will have no chance to access the websites. This Freedom app alternative works with hosts file, which means the blocks are system-wide.
#5. StayFocusd (Chrome)
Price: Free
StayFocusd is an extension alternative to Freedom app, making it incredibly easy to install and uninstall. It helps you boost productivity by restricting the time wasted on distracting websites.
Not only can this Freedom app alternative block specific subdomains and entire websites, but also control how long you can view certain sites.
#6. LeechBlock (Firefox)
Price: Free
LeechBlock is similar to StayFocusd, in that it’s an extension, but a Firefox extension. It’s also a good Freedom app alternative that forces you to focus on studying or working and keep away from addictive sites. Just limit the access by setting the amount of time on a given site.
Conclusion
I really appreciate Freedom app for its combination of multi-platform, power and elegant design. It enables you to fulfill the task efficiently with its basic functions- block websites and apps. These are also other Freedom app alternatives for you to keep focused. Some of them are more useful or affordable. You can try them out if you tend to find the most appropriate one for yourself. In short, productivity is a key factor in how much time and effort you applied to your works.
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Having issues getting Freedom to work on your desktop? We've created this document to provide some troubleshooting tips to make sure you're able to get Freedom up and running on your computer!
1. Make sure the Freedom app is installed and logged in
Fleetwood Mac Freedom
The first step to troubleshoot is to make sure that the Freedom app is installed and logged in on your computer. If it isn't, you can install from our Freedom downloads page.
Next, sign in to our website and make sure that you see that your computer has shown up in your devices list. Once you see that, you should be good to go.
If you need help getting Freedom installed and logged in our computer, we've got detailed instructions:
If it still isn't working, you might want to try quitting and restarting the client, or even doing the old faithful computer restart. If you're seeing some delay in sessions getting started, this document can help.
2. Make sure your security software isn't blocking Freedom
Unfortunately, over-zealous security software may prevent Freedom from running.
To fix this, you can add Freedom to the allowed list on any security software you're running. Here's instructions on how to add programs to various allowed lists:
Note: this list isn't comprehensive. A simple Google query will generally return instructions for how to add programs to the 'allowed list' for your security software of choice.
3. Check to see if you're using Hola, or another Tunnel/VPN
Here are some VPNs you might be running:
- Hola
- Ghostery
- Tunnelbear
- ZenMate
- Hotspot Shield
- Browsec
- Corporate/Work VPN (Cisco, etc.)
If you would like to run a VPN alongside Freedom but you're having trouble, it should help to run Freedom in non-proxy mode. Find information on how to do that here: Non-Proxy Mode for Mac and Windows.
To ensure that Freedom works with your browser-based VPN, you can install our browser extensions.
To ensure that Freedom works with your browser-based VPN, you can install our browser extensions.
4. Check that the Windows proxy settings aren't being changed
Freedom Fighters For Mac
If a session is running but sites aren't being blocked, check that the Windows proxy settings haven't been unset by something else in your system. Here is how to do that: /troubleshooting/general-troubleshooting/how-to-check-windows-proxy-settings
Browser Specific Troubleshooting
If Freedom doesn't work on Chrome:
If Freedom doesn't work on Chrome, we've found the most common cause is a VPN service like Hola. To test if that's the case, you can try running Chrome in incognito mode (which generally disables all plugins). If Freedom works properly in incognito mode, then we know the issue is due to a Chrome extension. To help us troubleshoot, please open chrome://extensions/ ( instructions here) and send us the list of your enabled Chrome extensions.
Additionally, we've just released our browser extensions for Chrome, so installing the extension can help solve many issues!
If Freedom doesn't work on Firefox:
If you run into any trouble getting blocks to work on Firefox, please make the following configuration change: Open up Firefox Preferences, and then go to Advanced -> Network -> Connection -> Settings and choose 'Use System Proxy Settings.' Once these changes are complete, restart Firefox. If Firefox continues to give you troubles, ensure that you're not running a Tunnel or VPN such as Hola or Ghostery (see above).
Additionally, we've just released our browser extensions for Firefox as well, so installing the extension can help solve many Firefox specific issues.
If Freedom doesn't work on Safari:
Please ensure that you're not running a Tunnel or VPN such as Hola or Ghostery (see above).
Known Limitations of Freedom for desktop:
Here are the known limitations of the desktop apps.
Still having trouble?
If you're having any difficulty, please feel free to send us an email at [email protected] or chat with us via the green chat bubble in the bottom right corner of the page. We're happy to help!