Believe it or not, this techie post has a spiritual theme….so stick with me.

I am a HUGE fan of Apple products!  My MacBook Pro is the best computer I have ever owned.  We have another Mac at home, an iPad and various other Apple products that work flawlessly.  I am still a huge fan of the iPhone even though I don’t use one anymore.  So why did I ditch my iPhone…?

Transparency.

The iOS operating system that runs on the iPhone is fairly controlling.  Only one app at a time can be running and no app is allowed to have access to all of the activities of the phone.  This makes effective accountability software an impossibility on the iPhone.

What is accountability?  It is giving an account or record of the various things I do.  In a word, it is transparency.  In a world where temptation is just a click or a tap away, it gives me comfort to know that someone who I love and trust is helping me to remain accountable for the things I look at and how I spend my time.

I asked my wife to be my accountability partner.  Every day she is emailed a record of the things I do on my phone and laptops.  I use Accountable2You software because it allows multiple installations across various platforms.  She may or may not give the email report a glance.  When she does open the report she will find my activity broken down by category with any questionable material highlighted at the beginning of the report.  The software isn’t perfect, since it has thrown out a few false alarms when I was building a website, but overall it runs quietly and effectively in the background.

Accountability software won’t work for someone who has a problem with inappropriate online activity or does not desire to be accountable.  I am sure there is a way to get around this software, but I’m not interested in doing that.  (By the way, if you disable the software it sends an alert to your partner.)  Accountability software simply allows a spouse or friend to encourage you to use technology wisely.  Something we could probably all use a hand with…

When I ditched my iPhone 5S I went to the HTC One M8 which is an Android phone.  The Android operating system is pretty easy to understand and overall I have enjoyed the transition.  I had to pay for a few apps that I had purchased for my iOS devices, but that was a minimal expense.  All of my music from iTunes, contacts, and other data were quickly imported to the new phone by the software that came pre-installed on the phone.  The Android operating system allows software like Accountable2You to have access to all the activity of the phone with user approval.  The M8 is a thin, sleek phone that feels good in the hand.

Some might ask, “But what about security?”  Accountable2You doesn’t record passwords, banking information, SSN, and the like.  I have always considered anything I do online, especially on a mobile device, to be an easy subject for data breach.  There is ‘tracking’ software available for iOS devices if they have been ‘jailbroken’ (hacked) but I believe this software compromises the security and reliability of the iOS device.

Transparency and accountability are not for everyone.  In fact, I believe it has to be something that must be self-initiated.  I don’t feel it is burdensome or invasive since it is something I have asked my wife to help me with.  If a spouse asked their partner to install the software I think it would be met with suspicion and could raise tensions.  In a world of constant temptation it is nice to know that my spouse is there to help!

If you’re looking for further resources for helping your spouse or children use technology wisely, you might check out a post that my friend John wrote about internet content filtering using OpenDNS and K9 Web Protection.

Finally, each Tuesday I publish a Dinnertime Devotional series for individuals or families to use.  We continue this week with Dinnertime Devotionals 21