Bramble vs Brainbuddy
If you want a structured recovery program, with a daily check-in, a community and a filter among its tools, and you are happy to pay for it, Brainbuddy is a serious option, and it runs on Android, which Bramble does not. If you want a blocker that is free, sends no one a list of what you looked at and carries no ads or advertising SDK, that is what Bramble is built to be.
Brainbuddy has been on the App Store since 2013. Every Brainbuddy fact below comes from its own site, privacy policy and store listings, read on October 20, 2026.
| Bramble | Brainbuddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, for good. No paid tier and no ads. | Free to download. Its App Store listing says all features need a paid Premium subscription after onboarding, with purchases from $2.99 to $99.99. Google Play lists $12.99 to $34.99 per item. |
| What it is | A blocker, with the recovery work alongside it. | A recovery program: a 100-day education course, a daily check-in, a recovery journal, craving control, personal and team challenges and a community, with a filter among its tools. |
| How it blocks on an iPhone | Four layers on the phone: a DNS proxy, a URL content filter, an app shield and an image check in Safari. | A filter that blocks adult websites, plus sites and web-address keywords you add, for one day to one year or behind a passcode. Its pages do not say how it works on an iPhone or who holds the passcode. |
| Devices | iPhone, Chrome (also Edge, Brave and ChromeOS) and Mac. | iPhone, iPad and Android, by its store listings. |
| What a partner receives | Your witnesses see only what you choose to share. A Keyholder is told when protection comes down. No one is told what you looked at. | Not stated. Its pages describe a community and team challenges, not an accountability partner or reports. |
| Ads and advertising SDKs | No ads and no advertising SDK. | No ads in the app; its privacy policy says it is subscription-only. The same policy names Meta and Google advertising SDKs and AppsFlyer, used to measure its own advertising. |
| What is kept | Site names, scrambled on the phone. Safari page addresses, with search terms stripped, to train the filter. No screenshots, and nothing shown to the people in your life. | Email, check-ins, streak data and how you use the app, while the account exists, and deleted within 30 days of a deletion request. It says it does not collect browsing history outside the app. |
| Day counting | None, by design. | Streak data, by its privacy policy, and “granular statistics from day 1.” |
| Faith | Christ-centered, informed by Patrick Carnes. | No faith language on its site or in its listings. |
Brainbuddy’s column was read on its own site, privacy policy and store listings on October 20, 2026. The pages read did not state a price, so prices are from its store listings, which differ. If something has moved, tell me at hello@getbramble.app and I will fix it the same day.
What Brainbuddy does well
It is long established and well liked. It has been on the App Store since 2013, and holds a 4.7 from about 26,000 ratings there and a 4.7 from about 31,000 on Google Play, where it has been downloaded more than 500,000 times. It gives a man a course to follow, a daily check-in, a recovery journal and other men doing the same thing. Its privacy policy is plain: it says it does not sell your data, shows no ads, lets you delete your account in the app, and does not collect browsing history outside the app. And it runs on Android, which Bramble does not.
How the blocking works
Brainbuddy’s own article describes its filter for iPhone and iPad. It blocks adult websites, lets you add individual sites and keywords in a web address, and can be set for a stretch of time from one day to one year, or behind a passcode that has to be entered to turn it off. Its Google Play listing says the web filter is optional on Android and, once you enable it, uses the Accessibility API to block the websites and keywords you choose. The listing adds: “No private data leaves your device.” Brainbuddy’s pages do not say how the filter works on an iPhone, or who holds the passcode, so this page does not say either.
One more line from its own pages is worth keeping. It tells you that you are in charge of your devices and passcodes, and so you have the ability to get rid of blocks if you are determined to. That is the plain truth about any blocker you can switch off, and it is why Bramble has a Keyholder mode, where deleting it needs the Screen Time passcode someone else holds. Bramble’s four layers on an iPhone are laid out on how it blocks.
What a partner receives
Brainbuddy’s pages describe a community and personal and team challenges. They do not describe an accountability partner who is sent anything, or a report, so this page does not compare what a partner would receive. If that is the feature you are choosing on, check inside the app before you pay.
Bramble does it differently. No one in your life gets a list of what you looked at, not your witnesses and not your Keyholder. Your witnesses see what you choose to tell them: that you are struggling, that you checked in, and good news. A Keyholder, if you ask someone to be one, holds your Screen Time passcode and is told when protection comes down, never why.
What leaves your phone
Brainbuddy’s App Store label lists no data used to track you. It does list health, contact info, user content, identifiers, sensitive info and diagnostics as data that may be linked to your identity, and an email address among the data used for its own marketing. Its Google Play data safety section says no data is shared with third parties. Its privacy policy, updated May 4, 2026, names the companies it passes data to in order to run the service: Apple and Google, RevenueCat, Firebase, AppsFlyer, Meta, Google Ads, Mailchimp and OneSignal. It says it uses the Meta and Google advertising SDKs, and device advertising identifiers where you allow them, only to measure its own advertising. Those are all Brainbuddy’s own statements, and they are worth reading side by side.
Bramble has no ads and no advertising SDK. Site names are scrambled on the phone before they reach Bramble, and Safari page addresses are kept, with search terms stripped, to train the filter, and are deleted with your account. Brainbuddy says it collects no browsing history outside the app; that is one difference where it keeps less than Bramble does. Your witnesses and your Keyholder never see what you looked at, and your journal is yours alone, not visible to your witnesses and not visible to us.
The difference in price
Brainbuddy’s App Store listing says all features need a paid Premium subscription after onboarding, and lists purchases from $2.99 to $99.99. Its Google Play listing lists $12.99 to $34.99 per item. Bramble is free, and will stay free. Porn does not leave the internet the month a card expires.
Which one fits
- Choose Brainbuddy if you want a structured course with a daily check-in and a community, are happy to pay for it, or are on Android.
- Choose Bramble if you want real blocking on an iPhone, Chrome or a Mac, no ads or advertising SDK, nothing sent to anyone about what you looked at, nothing to pay, and a recovery that is openly Christ-centered.
Either way, a blocker only buys you time, and why blocking alone has never held is worth reading too.
If free, private and nothing sent to anyone is what you were looking for, you can stop comparing here.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bramble a Brainbuddy alternative?
Yes, on iPhone, Chrome and Mac. Bramble is a blocker first, with four layers on the phone. It has no ads or advertising SDK, sends no one a list of what you looked at, and is free. Brainbuddy is a recovery program with a built-in filter, needs a paid subscription for all features by its App Store listing, and also runs on Android.
Is Brainbuddy free?
It is free to download, but its App Store listing says all features require a paid Premium subscription after onboarding. Purchases listed there run from $2.99 to $99.99, and its Google Play listing lists $12.99 to $34.99 per item.
Does Brainbuddy block porn?
Yes, it has a filter. Its own pages say it blocks adult websites, plus sites and keywords in a web address that you add, for a time from one day to one year or behind a passcode. They do not say how it works on an iPhone. On Android the web filter is optional and uses the Accessibility API.
What does Brainbuddy do with my data?
Its privacy policy says it does not sell your data, shows no ads and does not collect browsing history outside the app. It collects an email address, check-ins, streak data and usage, and shares data with service providers including Firebase, RevenueCat, AppsFlyer, Meta and Google to run the app and measure its own advertising. You can delete your account in the app, and it says personal data is deleted within 30 days.
Sources
- Brainbuddy on the App Store (listed as “Brainbuddy: Quit PMO”): description, in-app purchases, privacy label, ratings, seller (AppStudio Australia Pty Ltd), read October 20, 2026. Apple’s lookup record: first release, November 2013.
- Brainbuddy on Google Play (listed as “Brainbuddy: Quit Porn Forever”): description, Accessibility note, in-app purchases, downloads, ratings; and its data safety section.
- Brainbuddy privacy policy, updated May 4, 2026: what it collects, who it shares with, retention, deletion.
- Brainbuddy homepage: its tools, “granular statistics from day 1.”
- Blocking Porn on Your Computer? Here’s How to Do It Right and Porn Blockers for Your Smartphone. Do Any Really Work?: the filter, one day to one year or a passcode, and the line on removing blocks.
- Brainbuddy’s website would not load directly from where this page was written, so its pages were read through a text reader. The store pages loaded directly.
Keep reading
- How Bramble compares The wider view, side by side.
- Bramble vs QUITTR Another paid recovery program, built on a day count, and what it knows about you.
- Bramble vs Fortify A recovery program that does not block, and a blocker that offers no therapy.
- The best free porn blockers, and the catch with each Only the ones that are really free, and what each one costs you another way.
- How Bramble blocks porn on iPhone The four layers, and what each one actually does.
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