From Freedom

Getting Started With Freedom

Freedom is a cross-platform blocker that works by creating a local firewall rule on your machine. You set up a blocklist of websites or apps, start a session, and it simply refuses to let you reach those destinations. The mechanism is straightforward but the implementation has some quirks worth knowing about before you install it. I spent about three weeks fighting with the macOS version before I figured out what was actually going on. The core problem most people hit is that the app needs Full Disk Access and a specific VPN profile installed during setup. Without those, it just silently fails and you end up wondering why you can still reach Twitter or Reddit. The installer will prompt you, but if you click through too fast you can miss the system dialog.

How From Freedom Actually Works

On desktop, Freedom installs a virtual network adapter. When you start a locked session, all DNS queries for blocked domains get rerouted through that adapter, which returns no results. That means it blocks at the DNS level, not by filtering browser traffic. This matters because some applications bypass standard DNS resolution and hardcode IP addresses directly, which Freedom won't catch. The mobile apps take a different approach. iOS uses the On-Demand VPN configuration built into the operating system, while Android relies on a local proxy. Both are more restrictive than the desktop version in terms of what they can monitor, but they're adequate for most browsing-level blockers. I learned this the hard way when I tried to block a specific app on Android that used a direct IP connection, and Freedom simply couldn't touch it.

Downloading and Installing

You can get the app from freedom.to. The free tier covers basic blocking across one device type at a time, which is actually enough for most people. The paid plans unlock synchronized sessions across all your devices and add the ability to schedule recurring blocks. I recommend starting with the free version and only upgrading if you find yourself hitting the device limit regularly. During installation on macOS or Windows, you will need to grant accessibility permissions and install the firmware profile when prompted. This is non-negotiable. If you skip the profile installation, the block will only apply to your browser, not to other applications. I ran into this exact issue on a fresh Ubuntu install where the system update had reset some of my permission settings, and Freedom reverted to browser-only mode without any warning message. The workaround was to re-run the installer with sudo and make sure the firmware profile dialog appeared in System Settings.

Setting Up Your First Block Session

Create a custom block list rather than relying on the presets. The presets are lazy approximations and include sites you probably don't want blocked. For example, the Social Media preset blocks Instagram but leaves LinkedIn open, which sounds fine until you realize LinkedIn is where most of my procrastination actually happens. Build your own list with the specific URLs and domains you struggle with. When you start a session, pick a duration and enable the strict mode option if you are serious about not breaking the lock. Strict mode disables the ability to add exceptions or change the blocklist mid-session. Without it, you can accidentally unlock yourself during a pause and then rationalize turning it back off entirely. I have a habit of doing this, so I keep strict mode on by default and only disable it when I genuinely need access to something I previously blocked.

Known Limitations and Workarounds

The biggest gap in Freedom is that it does not block system-level applications or prevent you from uninstalling the app mid-session. A determined user can simply uninstall Freedom, reinstall their browser, and continue browsing. The remote scheduling feature mitigates this somewhat, because it can trigger blocks even if the local app is removed. But it is not foolproof, and anyone who has struggled with severe distraction issues might need something heavier like a dedicated kiosk mode or a router-level blocklist. Another issue is that Freedom cannot distinguish between tabs within the same site. If you block Reddit, it blocks the entire domain including any legitimate research you might need to do there. The workaround is to use the allowlist selectively or to add subdomain exceptions where possible. I ended up creating two separate blocklists, one for entertainment sites and one for news and social media, and I toggle between them depending on what kind of work I am doing that day. Mobile syncing also has a quirk where the session status does not always reflect the desktop state in real time. I have had sessions that looked active on my laptop but were already expired on my phone, which led to me thinking I was blocked when I was actually unblocked. The fix is to manually refresh the app on mobile before starting a new session, or just start the session from whichever device you plan to use first.