Q: How does Freedom work, and is it safe?

A: Freedom works by disabling your internet connections for the time period you specify. When you run Freedom, you’re not able to get online, so you’re forced to get work done. Freedom is completely safe because it makes no permanent changes to your computer. If you need to get back online, just reboot.

Q: How do I run Freedom?

A: Freedom is easy to use because it only does one thing: it blocks your internet. To run Freedom, double-click the Freedom icon, enter the number of minutes you’d like to run the program, and hit submit. That’s it!

Q: What are the terms of the license?

A: Freedom comes with a within-OS per-user license. This means if you have two Macs, you can install Freedom on both of your Macs. If you have both Mac and Windows computers, you’ll need to purchase the Mac and Windows versions, but a discount is offered. Each license also offers free updates within the major version cycle.

Q: Do you offer volume or enterprise discounts?

A: Yes, volume discounts are available. Please request a quote. Freedom can also be customized for your organization’s needs (longer time periods, etc.).

Q: Freedom sounds great, but I need to be online to do research!

A: If you’re looking to simply block distracting sites while you work, you might want to take a look at Anti-Social. Anti-social works just like Freedom, except that it only blocks distracting social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Q: I’ve got questions about Freedom for Windows.

For Windows support, see the Freedom for Windows Support Page.

Q: Any tips on using Freedom?

A: Freedom is as much a psychological block as it is a technical block. You’ll notice how your computing actually feels different when Freedom is running. I suggest that your first few Freedom sessions be short: 20-45 minutes. Josh Kaufman, author of “The Personal MBA“, suggests using Freedom with concert with the Pomodoro Technique.

As you get a feel for working with Freedom, you’ll adapt some of your existing strategies. Instead of researching while I write, I now pre-research and store my materials in DevonThink (Evernote or Yojimbo also work), allowing search of my primary sources while I’m offline. For more inspiration, check out Steven Berlin Johnson’s strategies.

Finally, a technique I use when I am in a rut is multiple short bursts of Freedom. By chaining small Freedom sessions together, I find that it is easier to move from endless surfing to real productivity.

Q: I can get on the internet during Freedom!

A: Make sure you’re running Freedom with admin priviliges!  See the Freedom for Windows support page for more information.

Q: How does Freedom count down time?

A: Freedom only counts down “active minutes.”  That is, if you set Freedom for 20 minutes, put your computer to sleep 10 minutes into Freedom, you’ll have 10 minutes of Freedom left when you come back.  Try the following useful tip: Set Freedom before you put your computer to sleep for the night.  When you begin work in the morning, you won’t be able to check email, Twitter, Facebook until your Freedom session ends.

Q: I love Freedom, but I need to access email/Google Scholar/etc. for work.

A: Freedom’s design philosophy centers around the “total block,” but if you need access to a specific set of resources, Freedom can be customized to your needs.

Q: I’m having problems with Microsoft Office.

A: From TheXLab.com:

Certain Microsoft® applications, such as those in Office, employ an anti-piracy approach whereby, before quitting, the application uses the Internet to “phone home” and validate its software registration. If you are connected to the Internet and have the Mac OS X firewall enabled, the default firewall settings block this outbound transmission. In such cases, the SBBOD will go on for up to two minutes before the application abandons its attempt to “phone home.”

Q: What new features are coming?

A: See the developer roadmap.

Other Questions

Please contact me with your questions – I’ll add them to this thread!