Scout - Online Accountability Autor: Scout

Scout – Online Accountability turns online activity into communication with the people you trust.

Scout is an extension that allows users to add specific websites and keywords to a monitoring list. When detected in the user's URL, Scout automatically sends a screenshot of the website (along with the URL, page title, and timestamp) directly to the inbox of an accountability partner set up by the user.

There’s no dashboard to manage, no external apps, and no stored history. Everything happens directly within the browser, and the screenshots go straight from the user's screen to the partner's email.

Most tools in the accountability space are built around shame or "gotcha" moments, and are designed to control people by tracking every last thing they do online. Scout is designed to be a communication tool, not a control system.

How it works:

Anyone can use scout, but only registered emails can receive alerts. For example, when a person registers an email, that means their spouse, all of their kids, and anyone in their extended family can use the software by entering that persons email into the accountability partner section. Each user can have their own list, and alerts from each user come with their name in the email title. To register an email it only costs $2.

With Scout:
• A parent can receive an email notification when their child logs in to do homework
• A person can be notified when bills were paid by their spouse or roommate, so nothing slips through the cracks
• When kids agree to screen time limits, parents can verify if they were respected or not

Scout’s monitoring can be turned on and off intentionally. So if YouTube or other sites are off limits after 9pm, a child can enable monitoring at that time each night.

It’s designed to be:
• Private
• Lowest cost available
• Simple (just add a registered email and a website/keyword list)
• Shareable (a registered email can be used by multiple people, on multiple different browsers at the same time)

Scout's goal isn’t to shame or spy on every last thing a person does online, but to hopefully be used to support healthy habits, communication, and transparency, unlike other options that strip away privacy in the hope to expose or incriminate a person.

While Scout can monitor every site a user visits by entering “www.” or “.com” into the monitored list, this is always the user’s choice. Users retain full control over enabling, disabling, or changing Scout’s settings at any time. When settings are changed, the accountability partner receives an email showing both the previous and current monitored lists, as well as notifications when monitoring is enabled or disabled. Accountability only works when it’s voluntary — Scout is built around that principle.

For most people, they don't need a nuclear option when they want accountability, and Scout hopes to serve these people in an inexpensive, lightweight, and flexible way. If you’re trying to build better habits or add an extra layer of transparency to your relationships, Scout can help.

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Scout has official builds for Chrome and Firefox, and the Chrome build is compatible with most Chromium-based browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, Arc, and Vivaldi, which allow installation of extensions from the Chrome Web Store.