A boundary you set once, on a good day.
Ward is a simple blocker for your computer and your phone. You choose what to block while your head is clear, and Ward holds that boundary on the days it isn't.
Free, for as long as you like. Premium from $10 a month.
Ward is a simple blocker that helps you set clear boundaries on your computer and your phone. You choose what to block: porn, gambling, social media, shopping, streaming, dating, and sites of your own. Ward creates the boundary and holds it, so you don't have to. It never shames you or lectures you. When you reach for something you've blocked, it gives you a minute to choose again.
Set your boundaries
Choose what to block. The Commitment Wizard walks you through it. Allow about ten minutes to get started.
Meet the wall
Reach for something you've blocked and Ward asks for a minute, and for the thing you'll do instead. Then 15 minutes in, or walk away.
Taking it down takes time
Setting a boundary is instant. Loosening one, allowing a site, or turning Ward off waits 24 hours, and then Ward asks if you're sure.
One quiet minute.
When you reach for something you've blocked, this is what you see: the reason you wrote when you set the boundary, your plan for the moment, and a minute. When it's up, the site opens for 15 minutes, then the wall comes back. Turning back is always there, right away.
Try it and click through. It's only a demo, so nothing is blocked. The wall is the same on Free and Premium.
This site is blocked · Social media
The Wall holds
Your reason
Instead I'll
Go for a ten-minute walk around the block
Gate opens in
seconds
Continuing counts as a slip.
Need to talk to someone? Hotlines ›The wall stays up.
The site stays blocked, and you're on your way.
The gate opens.
The site is open for 15 minutes. Then the wall comes back.
This site is blocked · Social media
The Wall holds
Your reason
Instead I'll
Go for a ten-minute walk around the block
Gate opens in
seconds
Continuing counts as a slip.
Need to talk to someone? Hotlines ›The wall stays up.
The site stays blocked, and you're on your way.
The gate opens.
The site is open for 15 minutes. Then the wall comes back.
A pause, and a way out.
In a six-week study of 280 people, a short wait with an easy way to turn back cut how often they opened the apps they'd chosen by 57%. The way out mattered most.
Grüning et al., PNAS, 2023Urges feel longer than they are.
In the middle of a craving, people expected the urge to keep building if they waited. For the people who actually waited, it didn't.
Sayette, Loewenstein et al., Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2005A plan for the minute helps.
Deciding ahead what you'll do instead (“if this, then that”) had a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals across 94 studies.
Gollwitzer & Sheeran, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 2006
Hard block.
Choose how long, up to seven days. No minute and no way through. It ends on its own, or you can end it early with the same 24-hour wait as any other change.
- Up to 7 days
- No minute
- Ending early waits 24h
Blocking schedule.
Set the times you want things blocked, daily or on the days you pick, and the times you want them open. Adding more blocking takes effect right away. Turning a schedule off, shortening a blocking window or adding a time that opens something waits 24 hours, like any other loosening. Where times overlap, blocking wins.
- Daily or set days
- Blocking always wins
- Opening up waits 24h
Always allowed.
Block social media but keep LinkedIn. An exception opens one site inside a category you've blocked. Adding one waits 24 hours, like any loosening; removing one is instant. Ward allows whole sites, so allowing youtube.com allows all of it.
- Free: 1 exception
- Premium: unlimited
- Removing is instant
Seen, not graded.
Your streak, and a ledger of the days you walked away. It keeps dates and counts only, never the site or the category.
- Streak
- Ledger
- Never a site
Free to start. Premium when you want more.
Free isn't a trial. It's the whole wall, on all your devices, for as long as you like.
Free
- Porn, gambling, social media, shopping, streaming and dating
- One site of your own
- One exception: a site you allow inside a blocked category
- The wall, with its 60-second wait
- A 24-hour wait to turn anything off
- Streak and ledger
- Your streak, in sync on all your devices
- One child profile, set up by a parent
Premium
- Everything in Free, plus
- Unlimited sites of your own
- Unlimited exceptions
- Blocking schedule
- Hard block, up to 7 days
- More than one child profile
- Ward gives to a charity you choose
Everything, side by side.
| feature | Free$0 | Premium$10 / month$85 / year · $295 once |
|---|---|---|
| Porn, gambling, social media, shopping, streaming, dating | Included | Included |
| Sites of your own | 1 site | Unlimited |
| The wall: your reason, your plan, a minute | Included | Included |
| A 24-hour wait before anything turns off | Included | Included |
| Exceptions: sites you allow inside a blocked category | 1 exception | Unlimited |
| Blocking schedule: set times blocked and open | Not included | Included |
| Hard block, up to 7 days | Not included | Included |
| Child profiles, set up by a parent | 1 child | More than one |
| Streak and ledger | Included | Included |
| Your streak, in sync on all your devices | Included | Included |
| Price | $0 | $10 / month · $85 / year · $295 once |
| Ward gives to a charity you choose | Not included | $2 a month · $15 a year · $50 lifetime |
| Hotlines, from any wall | Included | Included |
Same price whether you give or not. You can turn giving off any time.
If you stop Premium, Free keeps protecting you on all your devices. Your sites are removed, then you can add one again. An active hard block runs to its end.
- No loosening on impulse. Every change that lowers a boundary waits 24 hours, then asks if you're sure.
- Ward doesn't read the content of unblocked websites or keep a history of those visits.
- No ads, and your data is never sold.
- No Premium trial. Free is the real thing, and every charge, including renewals, comes with a 14-day refund guarantee.
- No lectures. Ward never shames you for reaching.
Get Ward on your devices.
Start with the computer you're on, then add the rest. Free or Premium, your streak stays in sync.
macOSEvery download · versions, requirements and checksums
| Download | Version | Size | Requirements | SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| macOS | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet |
| Windows | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet |
| Fedora (.rpm) | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet |
| Debian / Ubuntu (.deb) | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet |
| Arch | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet | Not yet |
To check a download, compare its SHA-256 with the one above. macOS: shasum -a 256 <file> · Windows: certutil -hashfile <file> SHA256 · Linux: sha256sum <file>
Only the boundaries you set.
To protect you from the sites you've chosen, Ward creates a security certificate on your computer. That's how it shows you the wall and blocks only what you picked. Ward doesn't read the content of unblocked websites or keep a history of those visits.
You're the customer, not the product. No ads, and your data is never sold. Your streak syncs across your devices using secure cloud storage.
A charity you choose.
Ward gives $2 of every Premium month, $15 of a Yearly plan, or $50 once for Lifetime to a registered charity you pick when you start, like St. Jude, the Against Malaria Foundation and seven others. Change it any time, or turn giving off. Same price whether you give or not. You can turn giving off any time. Gifts are made quarterly on every plan; the $15 from Yearly and the $50 from Lifetime are given in the next quarterly round after you buy.
What people ask first.
Why does Ward install a certificate?
It's how Ward can show you the wall instead of a broken page, and block only the sites you choose. Uninstalling Ward removes it.
Can Ward see the rest of my browsing?
No. Ward doesn't read the content of unblocked websites or keep a history of those visits.
Can I schedule when Ward blocks?
Yes, with Premium. A blocking schedule sets the times, daily or on days you pick, when things are blocked and when they're open. When you save one, Ward asks "Are you sure you want to set this schedule?" first. Anything that adds blocking takes effect at once. Turning the schedule off, shortening a blocking window, lengthening an open window or adding a time that opens something waits 24 hours, then Ward asks if you're sure. Where two times overlap, blocking wins.
Can I allow one site in a blocked category?
Yes. An exception opens one site inside a category you've blocked: block social media, for example, but allow LinkedIn. Free includes 1 exception and Premium has unlimited. Adding one waits 24 hours, then Ward asks if you're sure; removing one is instant. Ward allows whole sites, so if you type youtube.com/@channel, Ward tells you it will allow all of youtube.com. Exceptions keep working during a hard block.
Can I use Ward for my child?
Yes. A parent sets Ward up on the child's device from the parent's own account. The child needs no email or password, and we don't ask the child's age. Free includes 1 child profile; Premium covers more than one.
Only the parent can loosen anything on a child's profile. If your child needs a blocked site, they use "Ask a parent" on the wall and write why, and you approve or say not now from your Ward Dashboard or the email we send you. You see your child's streak and dates only, never the sites they visit.
Can I get around it?
Ward works underneath your browsers, so a private window or a different browser on the same computer won't get around it. Ward protects the device it's installed on, so put it on each of your devices.
Someone with administrator access who is set on getting around it can. Ward isn't a lock no one can pick. It's a boundary that makes the hard moment slower, and a minute is usually enough.
Why not just use Screen Time?
Screen Time is easy to switch off in a weak moment. With Ward, turning anything off waits 24 hours, and when the wait is over Ward asks if you're sure. It also has the wall, your streak and the hotlines built in.
Do I need an account?
Yes, even on Free. Ward needs a Ward account (your email address and a password). It's how your streak syncs across your devices, how we email you a PIN reset, and how Premium and giving work. We hold your email and your streak, and nothing else on Free.
What does Premium cost?
Monthly is $10. Yearly is $85, about $7.08 a month and 29% less than paying monthly. Lifetime is $295, paid once. Every plan has the same Premium features: a blocking schedule, a hard block of up to 7 days, unlimited sites of your own, unlimited exceptions, more than one child profile, and Ward giving to a charity you choose.
Ward gives $2 of every month, $15 of a Yearly plan, or $50 once for Lifetime to the charity you choose. The price is the same whether you give or not, and you can turn giving off at any time. Gifts are made quarterly on every plan; the $15 from Yearly and the $50 from Lifetime are given in the next quarterly round after you buy.
What does lifetime mean?
Lifetime is a one-time payment for Premium, with no renewals. It lasts for the life of the product: for as long as Ward is offered and supported. If Ward is ever discontinued, the plan ends.
Can I switch plans?
Yes. A switch between Premium plans takes effect at your next renewal. Switching to Lifetime starts right away, and unused time on your old plan isn't credited.
What if Premium isn't for me?
Cancel anytime, and Premium stays on until the end of the period you've paid for. Lifetime is a one-time payment with nothing to renew. Every charge has a 14-day refund guarantee, the first purchase and renewals: ask within 14 days of the charge for a full refund. During our Kickstarter, Premium comes with your pledge, and Kickstarter's own terms apply to pledges.
What happens if I stop Premium?
Free keeps protecting you on all your devices. Every category you chose stays blocked, and your streak keeps syncing. All the sites you added are removed, and then you can add one site of your own again, as on Free. Premium's schedule, extra exceptions and giving stop. An active hard block runs to its end.
How do I delete my data or my account?
In Settings, "Delete my account" removes your email, your synced streak and any Premium plan. Like every loosening, it waits 24 hours, then Ward asks "Are you sure?". "Wipe everything" is separate: it erases what Ward keeps on your computer (your record, reason, plan and settings) and doesn't delete your account.
Which charities can I choose?
St. Jude, CURE Childhood Cancer, NCOSE, Fight the New Drug, International Justice Mission, AFSP, the Alzheimer's Association, Wikimedia and the Against Malaria Foundation. You can also turn giving off at any time. The price is the same whether you give or not.
Does it work outside the US?
Ward blocks the same way anywhere. The hotline numbers it shows are US numbers for now.
How do I uninstall it?
Turn Ward off first. That waits 24 hours, and Ward keeps protecting you until it's over. If a hard block is running, you can't turn Ward off until you end the block, and ending it early waits 24 hours too. Then remove Ward like any other app, and its certificate goes with it.
Is there help if I'm struggling right now?
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, any hour
- National Problem Gambling Helpline: call or text 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738)
- SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357
Start on a good day.
Download WardStruggling right now? Our hotlines page lists people you can talk to, any hour.