Covenant Eyes removed from Google Play Store

Bob Jones V

Bob Jones V

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What is your opinion on Covenant Eyes. Mine is that it is a fantastic program. I have used it for years. I struggled with these issues and it has helped me put them to death.

"What's the difference between accountability and shaming?
A recent WIRED article reviewing pornography accountability apps like Covenant Eyes and Accountable2You found some troubling privacy issues while suggesting such apps might have a long-term negative impact on their users.
The piece, titled "The Ungodly Surveillance of Anti-Porn 'Shameware' Apps," tells the story of Grant Hao-Wei Lin, a member of Gracepoint, a Southern Baptist network of collegiate churches and parachurch ministries, who installed Covenant Eyes at the recommendation of a church leader.
Using an image of a stained-glass cross projected onto a dark floor, the article takes an unflattering view of what reporter Dhruv Mehrotra called Covenant Eyes' "omniscience" due to its near-unblinking digital eye that monitors all of a user's online activity.
With an ability to screen capture images on any device before partially concealing and then sending them to a server, one member of Gracepoint claimed that Covenant Eyes and similar apps can be considered more "shameware" than spyware.
But in a statement shared with The Christian Post, Covenant Eyes spokesperson Dan Armstrong said the company shares "many of the concerns raised" in the WIRED article and that "spying on people is damaging and counterproductive."......
After being contacted by WIRED, Google suspended the Covenant Eyes and Accountable2You apps from the Google Play store.

“Google Play permits the use of the Accessibility API for a wide range of applications,” Google spokesperson Danielle Cohen said in a statement to WIRED. “However, only services that are designed to help people with disabilities access their device or otherwise overcome challenges stemming from their disabilities are eligible to declare that they are accessibility tools.”
Both apps are still available to download in the Apple Store.

www.christianpost.com

Covenant Eyes acknowledges privacy concerns, warns churches not to use software for 'spying'

After an unflattering article in WIRED on the use of accountability software to monitor the internet activity of churchgoers, Covenant Eyes acknowledged it has many of the same concerns and says
www.christianpost.com www.christianpost.com
 
I like the idea and think it’s great, but honestly, I think if someone wants to view inappropriate websites, they’ll just find a way to bypass it. Isn’t that what Josh Duggar did?
 
Huk said:
I like the idea and think it’s great, but honestly, I think if someone wants to view inappropriate websites, they’ll just find a way to bypass it. Isn’t that what Josh Duggar did?
Click to expand...
Why go through the trouble of installing accountability software, then finding ways to bypass it? Don't install anything, then you can just view the inappropriate websites and not tell anyone. No one's putting this on phones by force.

I allow there might a few people who might install Covenant Eyes or similar apps to put on a show of outward accountability while still skirting it in secret; but I imagine the vast majority of users want the accountability.
 
Ransom said:
Why go through the trouble of installing accountability software, then finding ways to bypass it? Don't install anything, then you can just view the inappropriate websites and not tell anyone. No one's putting this on phones by force.

I allow there might a few people who might install Covenant Eyes or similar apps to put on a show of outward accountability while still skirting it in secret; but I imagine the vast majority of users want the accountability.
Click to expand...
That is why I put it on my computer. I wanted the accountability. For a that period of time, it was helpful in reigning in inappropriate actions. But the real change has to happen in the heart.
 
Ransom said:
Why go through the trouble of installing accountability software, then finding ways to bypass it?
Click to expand...
Perhaps to appease a spouse, particularly if there’s a historical precedent.
 
Huk said:
Perhaps to appease a spouse, particularly if there’s a historical precedent.
Click to expand...
That's what I meant by a show of outward accountability. I can envision that kind of deception. I just question if the proportion of Covenant Eyes users doing it is all that significant.
 
Ransom said:
That's what I meant by a show of outward accountability. I can envision that kind of deception. I just question if the proportion of Covenant Eyes users doing it is all that significant.
Click to expand...
No, I wouldn’t think a significant amount. I’m sure most are justifiably placing a safeguard for their own sake or their family. I just meant someone can get around it quite easily if that’s what the aim is.
 
Bob Jones V said:
What is your opinion on Covenant Eyes. Mine is that it is a fantastic program. I have used it for years. I struggled with these issues and it has helped me put them to death.

"What's the difference between accountability and shaming?
A recent WIRED article reviewing pornography accountability apps like Covenant Eyes and Accountable2You found some troubling privacy issues while suggesting such apps might have a long-term negative impact on their users.
The piece, titled "The Ungodly Surveillance of Anti-Porn 'Shameware' Apps," tells the story of Grant Hao-Wei Lin, a member of Gracepoint, a Southern Baptist network of collegiate churches and parachurch ministries, who installed Covenant Eyes at the recommendation of a church leader.
Using an image of a stained-glass cross projected onto a dark floor, the article takes an unflattering view of what reporter Dhruv Mehrotra called Covenant Eyes' "omniscience" due to its near-unblinking digital eye that monitors all of a user's online activity.
With an ability to screen capture images on any device before partially concealing and then sending them to a server, one member of Gracepoint claimed that Covenant Eyes and similar apps can be considered more "shameware" than spyware.
But in a statement shared with The Christian Post, Covenant Eyes spokesperson Dan Armstrong said the company shares "many of the concerns raised" in the WIRED article and that "spying on people is damaging and counterproductive."......
After being contacted by WIRED, Google suspended the Covenant Eyes and Accountable2You apps from the Google Play store.

“Google Play permits the use of the Accessibility API for a wide range of applications,” Google spokesperson Danielle Cohen said in a statement to WIRED. “However, only services that are designed to help people with disabilities access their device or otherwise overcome challenges stemming from their disabilities are eligible to declare that they are accessibility tools.”
Both apps are still available to download in the Apple Store.

www.christianpost.com

Covenant Eyes acknowledges privacy concerns, warns churches not to use software for 'spying'

After an unflattering article in WIRED on the use of accountability software to monitor the internet activity of churchgoers, Covenant Eyes acknowledged it has many of the same concerns and says
www.christianpost.com www.christianpost.com
Click to expand...
I've never heard of Covenant Eyes till now. I've installed filters before which work quite well. They just block stuff without telling the world about it.

But there's no better help with temptations such as these than a good marriage.

And, like Jones said, it's just a manipulation on the surface. The heart must change.
 
Ransom said:
Why go through the trouble of installing accountability software, then finding ways to bypass it? Don't install anything, then you can just view the inappropriate websites and not tell anyone. No one's putting this on phones by force.

I allow there might a few people who might install Covenant Eyes or similar apps to put on a show of outward accountability while still skirting it in secret; but I imagine the vast majority of users want the accountability.
Click to expand...
This is how a recent pastor from the church I grew up in was caught. It was on the church computers, but, not on his phone. When he was caught, the deacons asked to see the phone...this man still had porn on his phone. UGH....He was removed, and when he candidated for another church, the deacons notified them immediately about his indiscretion. There have been several other churches where this has been used that I know of where it was instrumental in their pastors, youth pastors, and even a church secretary was removed. Women aren't immune to porn.
 
Huk said:
No, I wouldn’t think a significant amount. I’m sure most are justifiably placing a safeguard for their own sake or their family. I just meant someone can get around it quite easily if that’s what the aim is.
Click to expand...
Some people, if this is installed on their cell phone will go and buy a "burner" phone. It's nothing new, and nothing I haven't seen done.
 
AverageJoe said:
Some people, if this is installed on their cell phone will go and buy a "burner" phone. It's nothing new, and nothing I haven't seen done.
Click to expand...
That would be really sad to go to that amount of trouble to view some raunchy stuff
 
Huk said:
That would be really sad to go to that amount of trouble to view some raunchy stuff
Click to expand...
Some people will go to no ends to get that kind of stuff. They're called addicts.
 
Huk said:
That would be really sad to go to that amount of trouble to view some raunchy stuff
Click to expand...
I totally agree...but, people who are addicted to something don't always possess the best reasoning skills. I'm so thankful that the pastors I knew who were involved in these things were exposed and booted from their churches. Often times, though, this program isn't needed as the actions become all too apparent through other means. A church I went to in the Peoria area had their pastor caught through direct contact with a prostitute. This pastor tried to say that he was "witnessing" to this prostitute, but that proved to be totally untrue. Then, in the church where I went to college the first two years, their current pastors son was arrested after it was revealed through one of the victims...the pastors son, who was the youth pastor at that time, had groomed and then assaulted a young man over a period of three years. He's serving time in prison right now, and the youth pastors father is still the pastor of the church. Personally, I don't believe he should be, but, I'm not a member there any longer...so, it's not my call.
 
Huk said:
I like the idea and think it’s great, but honestly, I think if someone wants to view inappropriate websites, they’ll just find a way to bypass it. Isn’t that what Josh Duggar did?
Click to expand...

Secret tablet, "burner" smartphone, access from work. Don't ask how I know this. LOL.
 
Bob Jones V said:
That is why I put it on my computer. I wanted the accountability. For a that period of time, it was helpful in reigning in inappropriate actions. But the real change has to happen in the heart.
Click to expand...

Truth!!
 
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