Accountability software

Accountability software, or Internet accountability software, is software which monitors and reports Internet usage, in order to incentivize the avoidance of any content deemed objectionable. Accountability software may monitor all Internet use on a personal computer, or Internet use by a specific user on a computer. These software applications then generate reports of Internet use viewable by a third party, sometimes called an accountability partner. They sometimes also double as content-control software. 
"Internet accountability" is a term used to describe a commitment to refrain from using Internet pornography. To try to avoid pornography use, some individuals install accountability software and filtering software on their own computers, smartphones, and tablets. Others install these services on their children's computers and devices. 
The largest users of accountability software are religious groups and families. Conservative American states like Utah have more paying pornography subscribers per capita than do blue states, and their residents are more likely to self-diagnose as "addicts". Best-selling Christian anti-masturbation books encourage Evangelical men to stop using pornography and focus sexual attention on their wives; however, Sarah Diefendorf, a sociologist at the University of Washington, found that Evangelical men who took an abstinence pledge before marriage "still struggle with issues like excessive pornography viewing [and] masturbation" when married.
Most accountability software costs money to use, but there are free options, including Net Responsibility (for Mac OS and Linux) and the free version of X3watch (for Windows and Mac OS). A 2011 Swinburne University report discusses some commercial options for computers, including Safe Eyes and Covenant Eyes. Covenant Eyes, one of the largest for-profit companies marketing accountability software, made roughly US $4 million in 2008, from around 56,000 subscriptions. Ever Accountable, Accountable2You, and Lion are other popular for-profit companies that have designed accountability software for various platforms. Each company uses a slightly different approach to providing protective internet experiences. Smartphone and tablet users, if they do not want to pay for accountability software, may still be able to obtain no-cost filtering software.