A Different Kind of Accountability
Why Be Candid?
Accountability that respects your dignity, your battery, and your privacy.
No VPN Required
Most accountability apps route ALL your internet traffic through a VPN. This causes real problems:
Battery Drain
VPN processes every packet 24/7 -- expect 10-25% battery loss daily.
Speed Reduction
All traffic goes through an extra hop. Streaming buffers. Pages load slower.
Connection Drops
VPN reconnects constantly, breaking video calls, banking apps, and downloads.
Work Conflicts
Can't run alongside your company VPN. Choose between accountability and your job.
iOS Issues
Apple restricts VPN apps aggressively, causing frequent disconnects and crashes.
App Breakage
TLS inspection breaks banking, healthcare, and enterprise apps that pin certificates.
Be Candid's Lightweight Approach
Instead of routing all traffic through a VPN tunnel, Be Candid uses DNS queries for domain awareness plus small periodic screenshots for accountability. No full VPN. No speed hit. No battery drain.
- check_circleDNS-level monitoring detects which domains and apps you access -- without touching your actual traffic
- check_circlePeriodic screenshots are small, encrypted, and only shared with your accountability partner -- never stored on our servers long-term
- check_circleYour partner sees the category and timing of a flag -- never the full URL, never raw browsing history
How We Compare
A fair, honest comparison. We built what we wished existed.
| Feature | Be Candid | Covenant Eyes | Ever Accountable | Bark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPN required | cancelNo | check_circleYes | check_circleYes | cancelNo |
| Battery impact | Minimal | Heavy | Heavy | Moderate |
| Constant screenshots | cancelNo | check_circleYes | check_circleYes | cancelNo |
| Periodic encrypted screenshots | check_circleYes | cancelNo | cancelNo | cancelNo |
| Browsing history logged | cancelNo | check_circleYes | check_circleYes | cancelNo |
| Conversation guides | check_circleYes | cancelNo | cancelNo | cancelNo |
| Therapist portal | check_circleYes | cancelNo | cancelNo | cancelNo |
| 25 rival categories | check_circleYes | cancelNo | cancelNo | remove_circlePartial |
| Dark mode | check_circleYes | cancelNo | cancelNo | check_circleYes |
| Group accountability | check_circleYes | cancelNo | cancelNo | cancelNo |
| Journaling framework | check_circleYes | cancelNo | cancelNo | cancelNo |
| Free tier | check_circleYes | cancelNo | cancelNo | check_circleYes |
| Price | $9.99/mo | $16.99/mo | $6.99/mo | $14/mo |
Accountability,
Not Surveillance
Covenant Eyes captures screenshots of your screen every few seconds and logs every URL. Your partner sees your actual browsing in full detail. That is surveillance.
Be Candid takes a different approach. We use small periodic screenshots that are encrypted and shared only with your accountability partner -- plus DNS-based domain awareness for flagging. Your partner sees the category, timing, and context without raw URLs or a constant stream of screen captures.
Because accountability is about honesty, not surveillance.
What Covenant Eyes shows your partner
screenshot_monitorScreenshot of your browser tab
linkFull URL: https://www.example.com/page/...
schedule11:32 PM -- 11:47 PM (duration)
What Be Candid shows your partner
categoryCategory: Pornography
scheduleFlagged at 11:32 PM
photo_cameraSmall encrypted screenshot (partner only)
chatConversation guide unlocked
Built for More Than Just Porn
Gambling. Social media. AI chatbots. Isolation. Overworking. Self-harm recovery. 25 categories and growing.
Most accountability apps only cover pornography. We cover every rival your users actually face.
Try Be Candid Free
No credit card. No VPN. No surveillance. Just accountability.
Free tier includes 1 partner, 3 conversation guides/month, and core tracking across 16 categories.