Partner guide

Being a good accountability partner

Someone asked you to stand with them. You don't need to be a tech expert or a counselor. You need to be honest, steady, and quick to answer. This guide covers the app and the part that matters more: the conversations.

“Two are better than one… For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10

Your role

You're not a guard, and you're not there to catch him. ArmorKept does the blocking. Your job is to be the person he doesn't have to hide from. The software makes honesty the easy path; your response is what makes it worth taking.

• Be reachable. Answer requests quickly, especially at first. A slow “no” teaches him to stop asking.
• Be curious, not shocked. Questions open doors that anger closes.
• Be consistent. Check in on the good days too.

Getting started

1. Sign in to ArmorKept Reports on the web, or on the ArmorKept Reports iPhone app. Allow notifications so requests reach you.
2. Enter the 8-letter invite code from his phone.
3. Set the Screen Time passcode on his phone and keep it to yourself. See the setup guide.
4. Look through Rules together: age ratings, filters, and which apps start blocked. Agree on them out loud.

Handling requests

Everything starts blocked. When he needs an app or a website, he taps Ask partner and you get a notification.

• Approve for a time: 15 minutes, an hour, a day, an exact length, or until a set time.
• Approve a window: for example 3:00–4:30 PM for a planned task.
• Always: for apps that are clearly safe and needed, like banking or maps.
• Screen monitor: image-heavy apps can be set to open only while the screen monitor runs. Leave it on unless you have a reason.
• Deny with a note: a short reason (“let's talk tonight”) keeps it relational.

Running approvals can be extended or ended early from the Requests tab. When an approval runs out, the app is blocked again on its own.

What alerts mean

Alert	What happened	What to do
Explicit content detected	The filter or screen monitor saw something explicit. The phone locks down.	Reach out the same day. Ask what happened before you assume.
Screen monitor turned off	The monitor stopped. Protected apps stay locked until it's back on.	Often just a restart. Ask, and nudge him to turn it back on.
Phone stopped checking in	No contact for a long time: phone off, lost, or the app was tampered with.	Check in. A dead battery is common; a pattern is worth a talk.
Protection changed	Permissions revoked, device management removed, a new phone signed in.	Talk soon. These are the moments the setup exists for.

Each evening you also get a short summary of the day: how much of it was protected, any alerts, and requests. Look at the Reports tab now and then for websites visited and time spent in apps. Websites are kept for 90 days.

The conversation

• Lead with the relationship. “I saw an alert. How are you doing?” goes further than “What did you do?”
• Ask about the before. Tired, lonely, stressed, bored? Triggers are where change happens.
• Agree on a next step. Fewer apps, an earlier phone curfew, a weekly call.
• Pray together if that's part of your friendship. Restore gently (Galatians 6:1).
• Celebrate clean stretches. Noticing progress matters as much as noticing slips.

For parents of teens

Explain the why before the setup. Start stricter and loosen as trust grows, and say that out loud so he has something to work toward. Approve schoolwork quickly, and use time windows for homework or practice. Teen phones set up through Family Sharing can't revoke Screen Time access at all.

For wives

Many couples find it helps to have a second partner too: a trusted friend, mentor or pastor who can carry the day-to-day alerts while the marriage carries the healing. ArmorKept supports more than one partner, so you can both be linked.

Stepping back

If you can't keep going as his partner, say so and help him find someone else first. Then remove the phone in ArmorKept Reports. He'll see it in his history, and you can delete your account if you want.