HeyShield vs Threestrand
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HeyShield
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HeyValue Shield is an enterprise-grade DNS security solution designed for telecommunications providers, internet service providers, government agencies, educational institutions and businesses. It enables organizations to enforce network policies, protect users from online threats and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Whether you are a telco protecting subscribers, an ISP offering value-added security services, a government agency safeguarding public networks, a school protecting students or an enterprise securing employee devices, HeyValue Shield provides centralized, policy-driven internet protection at scale. Who uses HeyValue Shield • Telecommunications providers: offer subscribers built-in protection against malware, phishing and inappropriate content as a premium service. • Internet service providers: differentiate your offering with DNS-based security that protects households and businesses. • Government agencies: enforce acceptable use policies and protect public networks, libraries and community access points. • Educational institutions: create safe learning environments by filtering harmful and distracting content on school-managed devices. • Enterprises: protect corporate devices and enforce internet usage policies across your workforce. Key features • Policy-driven protection: configure filtering rules centrally and deploy across thousands of devices. • Threat prevention: block malware, phishing, botnets and other security threats at the DNS layer. • Content filtering: enforce acceptable use policies by category (e.g. adult content, gambling, social media, streaming). • Device-wide coverage: protection applies across all apps and browsers, not just a single application. • Lightweight and efficient: DNS-based filtering with minimal impact on device performance and battery life. • MDM compatible: deploy via enterprise mobility management solutions for seamless rollout. How HeyValue Shield works When a device looks up a website (a DNS query), HeyValue Shield checks the domain against your organization's security policies. Blocked domains are stopped before a connection is made, preventing threats and policy violations at the network layer. HeyValue Shield operates at the DNS level and does not inspect the content of web pages, messages or files. It controls which domains can be reached, providing a balance between security, privacy and performance. Use of VPN / Network Extension (required disclosure) HeyValue Shield uses Apple’s Network Extension framework to provide system-wide DNS filtering on iOS: • HeyValue Shield can create an on-device “VPN-like” configuration (e.g., DNS Proxy or Packet Tunnel Provider) to securely handle DNS queries from all apps and browsers. • Only DNS queries are processed for filtering and policy enforcement. Other internet traffic continues to use the normal network connection unless your deployment explicitly routes traffic through a tunnel. • HeyValue Shield is not a general-purpose VPN. It does not change the device’s public IP address, hide location, bypass geo-restrictions or provide anonymous browsing. • Network Extension permissions are required to apply DNS-based filtering consistently across the entire device. • DNS requests are encrypted between the device and the filtering service (where supported by your configuration), helping protect integrity and privacy. HeyValue Shield uses Network Extension solely as a technical mechanism to enable DNS-based security and policy enforcement across all applications.
Threestrand
This app helps you overcome phone addiction by pairing you with an accountability partner. Together, you can block distracting apps and require approval for access, fostering mutual support and focus.
- Pair with an accountability partner
- Block distracting apps
- Request partner approval for blocked apps
- Mutual accountability with shared visibility
- Set daily limits and schedules
- Self-set PIN for solo use
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Threestrand is about the people in your life, not your phone. Put phones away together, block what pulls at you every day, and when you need an app back, ask someone you trust instead of flipping a switch. THREE WAYS TO USE IT Phones away with people. Hold your phone to a Threestrand card on the table, or tap Phones away together, and everyone's apps go quiet until the timer ends. Calls still work. Family time. One tap puts the whole house down, and the phones come back on their own. A partner for every day. Pick the apps that stay open. Everything else waits, and your partner says yes when you need one. Your phone is designed to win. Threestrand changes the odds by giving you a person. Every focus app eventually loses to the same thing: a weak moment and an off switch. That isn't a you problem. Your phone was built by thousands of people engineering that exact moment, and nobody outlasts it alone. Threestrand pairs you with someone you trust, so you don't have to. Threestrand gives you accountability partners, one or several. You block the apps that pull you in, like social media, games, and endless browsers, and everything else stays open. When you genuinely need a blocked app, you don't just flip a switch. You send a request to your partner, and they answer. No secret overrides. No "just this once" at midnight. Real accountability, built into your phone. BUILT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW YOU BEST Threestrand works best between people already in each other's corner: couples reclaiming their evenings, friends keeping each other honest, anyone who's tired of fighting their phone alone. You're not outsourcing your willpower to an app. You're borrowing some from someone who loves you. NO WILLPOWER REQUIRED • Block by default: pick what stays, not what goes, so new distractions can't sneak in. • Partner-approved unlocks: temptation becomes a conversation, not a tap. • Web browsing that actually holds: block Safari behind the same accountability. • Daily limits and schedules: set boundaries and let Threestrand keep them. FAMILIES Teens 13 to 17 can use Threestrand inside a family with a parent. The teen joins from their own phone, and a parent confirms they are the parent or guardian and that the teen knows Threestrand is on the phone. The parent picks one of two ways Threestrand runs on the teen's phone, and can change it later. Family time only. The phone works as usual. During family time, notifications and apps go quiet for everyone in the family until it ends. The phone app always works. Threestrand for everything. The teen's phone runs Threestrand the way a partner's does. Blocked apps stay blocked until the teen asks a parent and the parent answers. Parents see what a partner sees and nothing more: no messages, no browsing, no list of apps used. When a teen leaves the family, their phone goes back to normal on its own. PRIVACY AND CONSENT FIRST Threestrand is not a monitoring or "spy" app. Pairing requires both people to opt in by exchanging a code. Either person can unpair at any time, and the other is always notified. Both partners see identical information; there is no one-way surveillance. Everything Threestrand does is disclosed in our Privacy Policy. YOU'RE NEVER LOCKED IN Threestrand is a commitment you choose, not a trap. • Need a blocked app? Ask. Your partner can say yes in seconds, for exactly as long as you both agree. • Done with a partnership? Unpair any time. The other person is simply notified. • Done with Threestrand? Delete it. Every block lifts immediately, and no one can stop you. The lock only works because you could walk away, and choose not to. GOING SOLO FOR NOW? You can start blocking immediately and add your partner when they're ready. A self-set PIN keeps you honest in the meantime. Threestrand. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://anchorph.one/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
HeyShield and Threestrand are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | HeyShield | Threestrand |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Konibit | Anchor Digital Limited Liability Company |
In-app purchases
HeyShield
No in-app purchases
Threestrand
No in-app purchases









