Desktop Controls Explained

The Freedom desktop controls are divided into five main sections:

Each section allows you to manage different aspects of the Freedom app directly from your desktop.

Account

This section displays your user account email, device name, and session status.

User Information: Displays your account email, the device name, and current session status.
Sync Freedom: Manually syncs your blocklists and session data.
- Use this if:
  - You’ve made changes that aren’t taking effect.
  - Sessions aren't starting or ending as expected.
Launch Dashboard: use this option to launch your Freedom dashboard in the default browser for your device.

This section allows you to start a Freedom session directly from your desktop menu.

Select Devices: Choose which devices to include in the session.
Select Blocklists: Choose which blocklists to apply to the session.
Start a Session: Begin a session using your selected devices and blocklists.
Schedule a Session: Opens your browser dashboard to schedule or manage recurring sessions.

Enable Website Exceptions: Activates support for exceptions (only works when selected).
→ See: Windows Website Exceptions
Manage Website Exceptions: Add specific URLs for websites you want to allow during a session.

View and manage apps that can be blocked.
- Note: Apps may need to be running to appear in the list.

Use the Options section to configure how Freedom behaves on your desktop. Each option is explained below for clarity.

Options → Run on Startup: Automatically launches Freedom when your computer starts.
Options → System Details: Displays technical information useful for troubleshooting. When contacting support, you may be asked to send this information.
Options → Non-Proxy Mode: Enables Freedom's non-proxy blocking mode. For more information on this, please see Non-Proxy Mode for Windows.
Options → Legacy input blocking: Alternative blocking method used when Non-Proxy Mode or Website Exceptions are active.
- Only enable this if you’re experiencing issues with those features.

Options → Locked Mode: Makes it more difficult to quit or bypass an active session. For more information, see Locked Mode.
Options → Block Task Manager: Prevents access to Task Manager during sessions.
Options → Block System Settings: Restricts access to system settings during active sessions.
Options → Block Fullscreen Browsers: If selected, Freedom will block the entire browser window when it’s in fullscreen mode to prevent bypass attempts. On some browsers, websites won't be blocked if the browser is kept in fullscreen mode.

Options → Play sound on session start/end: Plays an alert sound when a session begins or ends.
Options → Show Session Notifications: Displays visual notifications when sessions start and end.

This section helps you manage updates and learn more about your version of Freedom.
- About Freedom: View the current app version number.
- Launch Tour: Opens the setup guide for new users.
- Update Freedom: Checks for and installs any available updates.