CONTENTS:
Windows
The Freedom Windows app has built-in uninstall protection as long as the app is active. To ensure the app stays active at all times, we recommend selecting the following on the Freedom menu:
Options > Locked mode to prevent quitting the app among other things. See Locked Mode for more information.
Options > Block Task Manager to prevent force quitting through Task Manager
Options > Block System Settings to prevent uninstalling through settings
Options > Run on Startup to ensure Freedom automatically launches after the computer has been restarted or logged out
As long as the app remains active with the help of these settings, it won’t be possible to uninstall the app on Windows. Once selected, these options can’t be deselected as long as a session is running.
Mac
There are different options to prevent uninstallation of the Mac app, depending on how you are attempting to uninstall.
To prevent use of Freedom’s Mac uninstaller, we recommend blocking the uninstaller as an app. To do this, you’ll just need to add it to your blocked apps list, and make sure to include ‘Block Apps’ in your sessions. You can learn more about app blocking on Mac here: How to block apps on Mac. Note: The uninstaller program may have to be running when you go to add it to the list for the first time.
To prevent uninstallation by moving the Freedom app to the trash, you’ll need to ensure the Freedom app is running. The app cannot be placed in the trash if it is open.
To ensure the Freedom Mac app stays active, we recommend the following settings:
Options > Locked Mode to prevent quitting the app
Options > Start at Login to ensure Freedom automatically launches after the computer has been restarted or logged out
Once selected, these options can’t be deselected as long as a session is running.
Note: We do not recommend uninstalling the Mac app by moving it to the trash, as this will result in an incomplete uninstall, and won’t actually stop Freedom from running. For information on how to properly uninstall the Mac app, please see How to Uninstall Freedom from your Mac.
Android
You can prevent uninstallation of Freedom on Android devices by enabling device admin permissions. To do this, tap Enable next to Device Admin in the permissions section of the Freedom app settings.:
Note: this will prevent you from uninstalling Freedom via your home screen. To prevent uninstalling through settings, we recommend blocking the settings app. For more information on Android app blocking, see How to block apps on Android.
iOS
To make it more difficult to uninstall of the Freedom iOS app, we recommend the following:
Hide the Freedom app from your home screen (iOS 14+)
To hide the app, long press on the Freedom app icon, and choose ‘Remove app.’ You will then get an alert asking if you would like to delete the app, or remove it from your home screen. Choose the second option.
Note: this will only remove the app from your home screen, but it will still be available in your app library. This will make it more difficult (but not impossible) to uninstall.
Prevent app deletion using Apple’s Screen Time Controls
While Apple won’t allow us to fully stop app uninstall, you can do so using your iOS device’s built-in Screen Time options. We have instructions for this here: How to stop yourself from deleting the iOS app.
Having trouble?
If you're having any difficulty, please feel free to contact us. We're happy to help!