Haven — Gambling Blocker
Haven is an Android app that helps people who want to stop gambling. It blocks gambling websites and gambling apps on the device, adds deliberate friction in front of money apps, and gives the user calmer things to do instead.
Package: com.appblock.guard · Platform: Android 8.0 (API 26) and higher · Languages: English, Dutch
Two principles run through the whole product and through this documentation:
- The core gambling block is free. Nobody is priced out of the protection itself.
- Honest friction, never a cage. Everything Haven does is built on documented Android APIs that the user grants explicitly and can revoke. Haven does not use root, does not hide from the user, does not intercept encrypted traffic, and does not fight the operating system.
Table of contents#
Features#
- Blocking mechanisms — how sites and apps are actually blocked
- Detection layers — how Haven decides something is gambling
- Self-learning and personal filters — your own rules, and the ones Haven learns
- App-check — finding gambling apps already on the phone
- Locks and cooldowns — the time-based commitment tools
- Tamper protection — PIN, restart-on-boot, delete protection
- Financial protection — a pause in front of bank and payment apps
- Accountability partner — letting someone you trust see the changes
- Budget and spending — monthly plan, weekly balance, expense log
- Rest library — breathing, grounding, body scan, wind-down, soundscapes
- Buddy and streaks — Sam, treats, growth and cosmetics
- Home-screen widget — the quietest surface Haven has
- Subscription and Pro — what is free and what is paid
Architecture#
- Overview — layering and data flow
- Tech stack — libraries and why each one is there
- Detection engine — the matcher and the multi-signal risk engine
- Blocklist distribution — signed updates without an app update
- Backend and sync — what runs off-device, and what does not
- Accounts and entitlements — optional accounts, server-owned Pro
- Data storage — the on-device database and preference stores
Privacy and permissions#
- Permissions explained — every permission, and the exact feature that needs it
- VPN service
- Accessibility service
- Device admin
- Package visibility
- DNS resolution — what reaches the upstream resolver
- Data handling — every external service and what leaves the device
User guide#
Google Play review#
Reference#
What Haven does not do#
Stated up front, because for an app in this category the absences matter as much as the features:
| Haven does not | Verified by |
|---|---|
| Contain analytics, crash reporting, advertising or attribution SDKs | The app's full dependency list |
| Send push notifications | No messaging SDK and no notification code beyond the ongoing protection notification |
| Read, decrypt or modify network traffic | The VPN handles DNS lookups only; nothing else enters the tunnel |
| Upload browsing history, page content, or the list of installed apps | Those never leave the device |
| Require an account | Accounts are optional, and signing out never turns protection off |
| Take a device-admin power beyond blocking its own removal | The device-admin policy file requests zero policies |