Do I need an account?
No. There is no Redirect account, no sign-in, and no email address to give. Every feature works without one, and nothing is synced to a cloud.
What leaves my phone?
Your journal, check-ins, urge history, plans, and settings don't. Redirect has no analytics, no ads, no crash-reporting service, and no server of its own. Only three things can leave the phone, and each one is your choice:
- While site blocking is on, DNS questions that aren't blocked go to Android's own resolver, so they reach your network's DNS or your Private DNS provider, as they would without Redirect.
- If you tap Update now, the blocklist is downloaded from the OISD host.
- Files you export or share yourself, such as a JSON export.
The privacy policy has the full detail.
What does the VPN see?
The VPN runs on your phone and only looks at DNS questions: the names of sites your phone is trying to reach. It compares each name with the blocklist on the phone. It does not carry or read page content, images, or video, and it sends nothing to Redirect. Android shows a VPN indicator while it is on. How blocking works
Can my partner, or anyone else, see what I do?
No. Redirect sends no reports, has no dashboard, and gives no one else a login. Nobody is told when you change a setting or remove the app. The only way anything reaches another person is if you send it: an export you choose to share. An optional app lock uses your phone's own screen lock to keep the journal, progress, and plans private on a shared or borrowed phone; the pause is never locked.
Does it work with Private DNS or Secure DNS?
No, and it's better to know that up front. Android's Private DNS (DNS-over-HTTPS or DNS-over-TLS) and a custom Secure DNS provider in a browser send lookups around Redirect, so site blocking can't see them. In Chrome, keep Use secure DNS on "current service provider". Apps with their own resolver, IPv6 DNS, DNS-over-TCP, and other VPNs bypass it too.
Can I turn it off?
Yes. Every protection is off until you turn it on. On the default level it turns off straight away; a stricter level waits for the delay you chose. Uninstalling always removes it. Redirect is not tamper-proof, by design: it's friction you choose for yourself.
Will it block everything?
No. It blocks known adult domains, using the community-maintained OISD list, while your phone's DNS questions go through it. New or unlisted sites, content inside other apps, and the bypasses above can all get through. Redirect is one door among the ones you choose, not a complete filter.
Does Redirect look at my screen or my photos?
It never looks at photos, images, or video, and it never takes screenshots. The optional app pause sees only which app is open. Redirect doesn't ask for camera, microphone, location, contacts, photos, or SMS access.
Is it free?
Yes. Redirect is free, with no account and nothing to buy in the app. That covers the pause and breathing, your plans inside the pause, check-ins, the journal, progress, the lessons and toolbox, site blocking with the standard list and protection levels, app pauses, app lock, export, and delete. More features will come in updates.
I lost my phone. Is everything gone?
Everything lives only on the phone, and Android's own app backup is switched off on purpose, so a lost or wiped phone can't be recovered. That is the price of having nothing stored anywhere else. A JSON export is a readable copy you can make at any time and keep somewhere safe; it can't be restored into the app.
Is this treatment?
No. Redirect is a self-support tool for the adult using it. It isn't medical treatment, therapy, or crisis support, and it can work alongside them. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please contact your local emergency number or a crisis line where you live.
Another question? Email support@hikmasolutions.co.za.