Getting started

1. Install and open#

On first launch Haven asks whether you want an account.

You do not need one. "Continue without an account" is a real option, and choosing it costs you nothing in protection — the entire gambling block, the PIN, the cooldown and delete protection all work without ever signing in.

An account adds three things: your streak survives a new phone, a subscription follows you across devices, and you can recover a forgotten password.

2. Onboarding#

A short introduction, and two optional questions:

• What is your main goal? This only tints the gentle daily suggestion on the home screen. It never changes what is blocked and is never sent anywhere.
• Where would you like to start? Three ready-made bundles:

You can skip this entirely and turn things on yourself later.

3. Switching protection on#

Haven explains what it is about to ask for, in its own words, and then hands over to Android's own VPN consent dialog.

That dialog says "VPN", which is a fair thing to be cautious about, so it is worth knowing what you are agreeing to: Haven does not route your traffic anywhere and has no VPN servers. It uses the VPN interface only so it can answer the phone's DNS lookups and refuse the gambling ones. Everything else on your phone goes out exactly as it did before.

Full detail: VPN service.

Once you approve, filtering is live immediately — including offline, using the blocklist built into the app.

4. Finish the protection#

Haven then offers three short steps. The filter is already running, so none of them is holding anything up.

Accessibility permission — skippable#

This one carries the most. Without it Haven blocks gambling websites; with it, Haven also blocks gambling apps, replaces the cold browser error page with a calm moment, and can catch gambling sites that are not on any list yet.

You grant it in Android's own accessibility settings. What it reads, and what happens to what it reads, is spelled out in Accessibility service.

Worth knowing: Android silently switches this permission off every time an app updates. If Haven asks again after an update, that is why — nothing went wrong.

Delete protection — skippable#

Stops Haven being uninstalled on impulse. It requests zero administrator powers; the protected status itself is the whole feature. See Device admin.

A PIN — not skippable#

This one keeps coming back until it is done, and deliberately so.

Without a PIN, switching protection off is four taps and no pause. Protection that is on but unlocked looks safe while it is not — which is worse than being honestly off. The PIN is what gives the cooldown its meaning.

You can add biometric unlock afterwards to make entering it faster.

5. Run App-check#

Guard → App-check scans the apps already on your phone and shows any gambling apps it finds, with the reason each one was flagged.

For each you can leave it flagged (it will not open while protection and the accessibility service are both on), hand it to Android's uninstall dialog, or release it if Haven got it wrong.

Doing this once at the start is worth it. See App-check.

6. Optional next steps#

A note on what to expect#

The first days are the hard ones, and a blocker is a tool, not a cure. Haven's cooldowns exist because the plan you make today is better than the decision you will make in a craving — that is the whole design.

If you are struggling, please also reach out to a real support service. Haven is not a substitute for one.