Fortify vs Covenant Eyes vs Relay vs Victory: Which Fits a Catholic?

Covenant Eyes (its App Store app is called Victory Shield) blocks explicit content and reports to an ally, Victory is Covenant Eyes' free companion app for check-ins, courses and community, Relay is a recovery program built on small anonymous groups, and Fortify is a structured, secular-toned recovery course with coaching and teletherapy. For a Catholic, the right one depends on what's missing: a wall (Covenant Eyes), a group (Relay), a course (Fortify) or a free place to start (Victory), and each works best alongside Confession, not in place of it.

We make Holier, one of the apps below. We've tried to be fair, including where another app is the better pick.

How much do Fortify, Covenant Eyes, Relay and Victory cost?

All four are free to download and sell in-app purchases. These are the prices on each US App Store listing (October 2026):

• Covenant Eyes (Victory Shield): purchases named "Covenant Eyes Plan" at $19.99, $22.49, $23.99 and $219.99.
• Victory by Covenant Eyes: free to use; a paid plan (listed as "Covenant Eyes Plan", $19.99 or $219.99) unlocks the activity feed, an ally and blocking settings. Two more purchases are listed: "Walking Lessons with Nate Larkin" ($19.99) and "Uncrushed with Matt Wenger" ($7.99).
• Relay: monthly subscriptions at $7.99, $11.99 and $22.99; three-month plans at $48.99 and $49; a six-month plan at $44.99; annual plans at $149 and $299.
• Fortify: $12 a month, $89.99 a year, or $199.99 for Forever Access.

Several of these listings show more than one price for similar plans, so check the price inside the app before you subscribe.

What does each one do?

Covenant Eyes (Victory Shield)

Covenant Eyes, Inc. publishes Victory Shield, subtitled "Accountability & Blocker". Its Screen Accountability feature takes screenshots from Safari and shares them with an ally you choose. It also reports explicit domains visited from any app, and blocks sites with block and allow lists, SafeSearch and YouTube Restricted Mode. It requires a Victory account. It is the most widely rated of the four, with over 59,000 App Store ratings.

Victory by Covenant Eyes

Victory is the free home app for the program: you make commitments, check in daily, take counselor-reviewed mini-courses, and join a community where members share and pray for one another. The paid plan adds the activity feed, connecting to an ally and blocking settings. Covenant Eyes also hosts STRIVE, Matt Fradd's free 21-day porn detox for men, on its website.

Relay

Relay, subtitled "#1 Trusted by Therapists", is built around small, private, gender-separated accountability groups with a secure group chat and optional Zoom meetings. You can stay anonymous within your team. It adds video lessons, check-ins, pattern tracking, and a personalized plan reviewed in a 15-minute phone call in your first week.

Fortify

Fortify, subtitled "Overcome Sexual Compulsivity", starts with a personalized assessment, then gives you videos, challenges, tracking and analytics, lifestyle coaching, teletherapy and a community. It's on iPhone and iPad; we found no Google Play listing.

Which one is faith-based or Catholic?

None of the four is built around Catholic practice. Covenant Eyes' Victory app has a Christian frame: its App Store listing presents it as a solution for Christians, and its community lets members pray for one another. Fortify is secular in tone, and Relay presents itself as therapist-designed; neither listing describes a faith element. That doesn't make them unsuitable. A Catholic can use any of them with a clear conscience; the faith comes from how you live alongside them.

If you want the tool itself to be Christian or Catholic, look at Mend: Quit Porn with Christ (a Christ-centered program by a Christian therapist), Exodus 90 (a Catholic men's program of discipline and fraternity), Little Way (a Catholic prayer app whose Premium Prayer Shield asks for a Hail Mary before you open apps you choose) or Holier. We compare those in Catholic apps for porn addiction.

Fortify vs Covenant Eyes vs Relay vs Victory, side by side

From each App Store listing (October 2026). Privacy labels are the developer's own report; Apple doesn't verify them.

Which should a Catholic choose?

• If easy access is the problem: Covenant Eyes (Victory Shield). Let your ally hold the password.
• If isolation is the problem: Relay, for a small group that knows your struggle.
• If you want to understand the habit: Fortify, for a course with coaching and therapy options, on iPhone.
• If money is tight: start with the free Victory app, or STRIVE's free 21 days.
• If you want the help itself to be Catholic: pair any of the above with Exodus 90 or Holier.

Where does Holier fit?

Holier: Catholic Confession is a new iPhone app from Reconciled Software (iOS 17.6 or later; there's no Android version). When temptation hits, it offers a chat with encouragement and a prayer. Each night it guides a short examination of conscience as a chat in the Ignatian examen tradition, and what you name goes onto a numbered confessional list that opens with "Bless me, Father". It tracks the days since your last Confession and examen, and has a passcode lock. Your sin list is encrypted on your iPhone with a key that never leaves it; conversations are processed to power the AI, then discarded. You sign in with Apple. It's a free download; full use requires a subscription of $7.99 a week, $79.99 a year, or $149.99 once, according to its App Store listing (October 2026), with no free trial. Version 1.3 (October 2026) added a daily reminder time. It prepares you for Confession; only a priest absolves.

Holier is not a replacement for any of the four. It doesn't filter or block, it doesn't monitor your browsing, and it has no accountability partner or group. It's also the wrong choice for Android users, anyone who wants free, children, anyone who doesn't want AI involved, and anyone who wants audio prayers.

Can I use one of these alongside Confession?

Yes, and that's the strongest combination. Software and groups make falls less likely; Confession gives the grace to keep fighting and lifts what you carry. A few things help:

1. Go soon after a fall, not after a "clean" stretch. Confession is where you get strength, not a reward for having it. If you fall right after, read relapsed right after Confession.
2. Leave the verdict to your confessor. The Church teaches that pornography is grave matter (CCC 2354). A sin is mortal only when there is also full knowledge and deliberate consent (CCC 1857 to 1859), and habit can lessen responsibility (CCC 1735). Tell the priest honestly and let him guide you.
3. Keep it short. The kind of sin and roughly how often is enough (can. 988 §1; CCC 1456). See how much detail to give when confessing porn and what to say in Confession.
4. Examine your conscience each night. Your app's check-ins show patterns; a daily examen brings them to God.

For the practical and spiritual plan as a whole, read how to quit porn as a Catholic. If you're weighing other accountability tools, see Covenant Eyes alternatives for Catholics.