Goodbye Gambling FAQ
Blocker not working (site not blocked)
If betaway.com is not blocked, 99% of the time it's related to external factors. Here's a quick checklist and remedies you can try:
Make sure your account is active, either on a non-expired free trial or an active subscription.
Make sure the VPN is on. Look for a "key" or "VPN" icon on your status bar. If you notice the VPN goes off sometimes, that means your device is being aggressive with battery optimization. Launch the app, turn the VPN on. Then configure your device, see App frequently stops working (VPN randomly disconnects, accessibility shuts off periodically)
Make sure you did not whitelist your browser. Whitelisting any app means bypassing the blocker.
Make sure you did not whitelist a domain you wish to block. Whitelisting any domain means bypassing the blocker.
Clear your browser's cache, close all tabs, restart the browser.
Restart the device.
Check if your ISP is hijacking your current network. See What does it mean to check for ISP compatibility? How do I do this?
What does it mean to check for ISP compatibility? How do I do this?
A quick check you can do to determine if your ISP is compatible is to visit a safe site like google.com. Then try a blacklisted site like betaway.com. Expect one to load just fine and the other to be blocked.
Try this with your most frequented networks like your home WiFi and your mobile data.
Be sure to rule our caching by clearing old tabs when testing for ISP compatibility between networks. You can also clear history and data from your browser to make sure. Clearing the browser from recent apps and restarting also helps.
If you notice that the sites are blocked on one network but not the other, then that means one of your ISP is hijacking your connection.
Your ISP is doing this so that they can continue to log your data for a profit. The reality is using blockers are not profitable to your ISP as you are pointing your DNS traffic away from them.
You can try to rectify this by turning on BURROW. See What is BURROW?
I've subscribed, but the app isn't working?
The app may be logged in to a different account than the one you just made a subscription on.
This happens when you create multiple accounts on your device before subscribing.
Perhaps, you need a longer trial to decide before subscribing, hence the many accounts.
Solution: Uninstall the app, then re-install. Use the login option and login with the email you subscribed with.
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If issues persists, email support at support@goodbyegambling.com for help.
I cannot uninstall the app
You can uninstall the app easily, and very quickly by launching the app and pressing the "Uninstall" button located at the top right corner.
Can I remove that annoying notification?
We are required by Android to show that notification all the time. But the user (you) can hide it! :)
Solution: Swipe right on the notification, then go into the settings and hide it.
That's it, you're all set! :)
I found a loophole, what do I do?
Email support directly at support@goodbyegambling.com! :)
If this is a new loophole that we have not heard of, then we would be happy to give your account an entire year off (refunds available)!
Please do not post anything on the public Play Store Review section as that may cause other people who do not know of the loophole yet to stumble.
And you don't want to be stumbling block now do you? :)
The VPN does not start when I press "OK"
It's a known bug in Android. This happens when you have another app that is overlaying over it like a Blue Light Filter app or a messenger chat head.
Solution: Exit any running overlay apps. Or, just restart your device then try again.
I can still uninstall the app even after assigning a pin
You must follow all 3 steps required when setting up pin-protect. Skipping even one step will cause pin-protect to not work.
If you have followed all 3 steps and you can still uninstall the app, please email support directly for further assistance at support@goodbygambling.com :)
Some of my apps no longer work
Contact support directly with the name of the app and a link to it on the Play Store.
We will add that app to our whitelist and you should be able to re-use it like normal.
App frequently stops working (VPN randomly disconnects, accessibility shuts off periodically)
That can happen due to the phone manufacturer being overly aggressive with battery management and app killing. This is common for phones like Xiaomi, Oppo, Huawei, etc.
Google search your phone type and see how to turn off optimization for apps. You can also review this resource and follow steps to configure your device correctly: https://dontkillmyapp.com
Most users report that it works well after following that resource.
Finally, you can turn on "Keep VPN Alive" under settings.
How much does it cost?
The app comes with a 3-day free trial. During this time, no credit card is needed.
After that, a subscription is required. See below for our pricing.
$5/month
$50/year
Why isn't it free?
Running Goodbye Gambling costs money. From infrastructure to human resources.
Most free apps (especially blockers) claims to be free but isn't truly "free". They harvest your browsing data then sell it to advertisers for a lucrative sum of money. They are even upfront about this practice if you look hard enough in their privacy policy.
There is no way to make any app for free. It's either selling your data or charging a small fee to maintain the service.
Goodbye Gambling is one of the most affordable apps out there, others charge upward of $15/mo per device. We think that's ridiculous, and so Goodbye Gambling was created.
Our goal is to make safe Internet experience affordable and accessible to everyone. Our commitment to all our users is no logging, no harvesting, no tampering, and no seeing any data.
Consider this: Invest $5 in yourself, save hundreds if not thousands of dollars per month. It's good math!
This app isn't like that fancy cup of coffee from Starbucks. It isn't your weekly one-time hit of sugary high. It's a consistent protection for you, 24/7, so that your life is positioned for freedom and success. And that, to us, is priceless!
Will I be charged automatically every month/year?
Yes, think of it like a Netflix or Spotify subscription.
You can cancel anytime here http://user.goodbyegambling.com.
Can I pay with Paypal or Google Pay?
We do not accept payments over Paypal or Google Pay. This is partly due to their hefty fees.
We use Stripe, which is the world's most popular online payment gateway for software businesses.
They process everything, so we don't have to. We don't even see your credit card details, it's all processed by Stripe securely and safely.
Stripe is used by many big brands like Spotify, Uber, and Target.
Read more about Stripe here https://stripe.com/us/customers
What will the payment look like on my bank statement?
It will say "Family First Technology" and that's it. :) It's our parent company.
Why am I charged even after uninstalling the app?
Uninstalling the app does not mean your subscription is cancelled.
You can cancel your subscription here http://user.goodbyegambling.com.
Why does the app restart when I reboot my phone?
Goodbye Gambling restarts when you reboot your phone so that you stay protected! No loopholes :)
When you phone restarts, Android OS is doing a million mathematical calculations to bring your system back to life. The order in which apps restarts is up to your device depending on what apps you have installed, how much ram and storage you have available, etc.
My internet is not working
Some internet service providers do not allow blockers (third party DNS). In such rare cases, your device will not be able to connect to the internet at all.
This is not a bug in the app but your ISP hijacking your connection.
Your ISP is doing this so that they can continue to log your data for a profit by forcing you to turn off the blocker and point back to their DNS. The reality is using blockers are not profitable to your ISP as you are pointing your DNS traffic away from them.
This typically happens in public networks like offices, libraries, schools, cafes. We recommend sticking to your mobile data instead.
Solution: Turn on BURROW under settings.
Does Goodbye Gambling slow down my internet?
Nope! :) Don't believe us? Go ahead and run a speed test, you'll be amazed. :)
Does Goodbye Gambling use battery?
Of course, every app uses some amount of battery to run. :)
Expecting a 0% battery usage is illogical. Rest assured the app is super optimized.
Expect < 1% of battery usage per day.
Does Goodbye Gambling slow down my device?
Nope! :)
What is Panic Mode?
Panic Mode locks the use out of their device for a period of time. The goal is to create a barrier between the user and technology, creating a "time out" effect. Before turning on Panic Mode, the user is asked to set a duration for the session. After the duration is over, Panic Mode will automatically be deactivated and the user can now resume device usage as usual.
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What is BURROW?
Since day 1, your privacy and security has been on the forefront of every update we make to GGG. While we are extremely passionate to deliver a gambling-free Internet experience to all our users, we are also technologists at heart with a passion for Internet security and privacy.
We believe in a secure and private service for all our users. This is why we have been extremely vocal against free apps. As we all know, free apps are not truly free at all. There are servers to pay, talent costs to cover, etc. Facebook for example is well known for selling user data to advertisers that then re-target you with their ads. "Free" apps come at the expense of your privacy and security. This is a fact we must all face.
If you have used GGG in it's "regular" state and found the blocker not working, then you probably already know what's happening. Your ISP is hijacking your connection. We outline this clearly here. We recommend all Internet users to familiarize themselves with ISP hijacking.
BURROW goes after the big boys (ISPs) and shows them who's boss by encrypting DNS traffic over modern and progressive protocol. Privacy-conscious tech giants like Mozilla have been a huge advocate for encrypted protocol and have led the effort in the past year. GGG by Family First Technology joins this very same progressive effort by implementing BURROW as part of our core offering.
With BURROW, all your device's DNS traffic is obfuscated. This means enhanced security, privacy, and very little to no chance (extremely hard) for any third party (including your ISP) to sniff, eavesdrop, and/or hijack your connection which can sometimes result in the blocker not working.
BURROW is cutting edge technology that is so new most devices are not ready to optimally support it. You may (or may not) experience some battery use depending on your phone model, OS version, etc. This is out of our (and your) control and a small price to pay for Internet security / privacy temporarily until the operating system catches up.
Only use BURROW if the blocker does not work.
How to turn on BURROW:
BURROW can be toggled on under settings.
Windows app will not start
This can happen sometimes when you computer faces a hiccup and corrupts certain files.
Please do the following:
Download the latest installer from our website.
Run the installer and use the "Repair" option.
Once step 2 is completed, right click on the app and run as administrator.
Windows app is not blocking even when it says "ON"
Firstly, please make sure you have ruled out caching. Clear your browser's cache under browser settings. Close all tabs and restart your browser.
Secondly, please disable iPV6 under network settings. Here's how:
Open Settings > Network and Internet > Change Adapter Options
Right-click the connection for which you want to disable IPv6, and select Properties.
Uncheck Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and click OK.
Blocker not longer working after Samsung OS update
Samsung broke their VPN module in some of their recent update to Android 10. Check your OS security patch under Settings and if you are running a security patch between Jan - Apri 2020, then you may be affected. Samsung has since fixed it with the May 2020 security and later.
This happens not just to GGG but to other popular VPN app like NordVPN and ExpressVPN. See below for complaints by forum members:
https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-S20/VPNs-not-connecting-anymore/m-p/1207251
https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Other-Mobile-Devices/Vpn-not-connecting/td-p/1154952
Please be advised this is a Samsung issue and not a GGG issue. The only party that can fix this is Samsung.
Troubleshooting steps:
Update your OS, Samsung may have already rolled out a fix depending on where you are in the world
Update GGG in the Play Store and restart your phone, see if that helps
If all of the above does not work, back up your phone and do a factory reset. This will roll back the faulty OS update by Samsung.
Finally, please pester Samsung to fix this. Complain directly to Samsung via forum, email or call support just like how others have done in the link shared above. This is a Samsung issue and as a paying Samsung user, you deserve to enjoy a phone that works.
Do not 1 star us as this is not an issue with the GGG app but with Samsung.
What is the new Streak system, how do I use it to help me succeed?
The goal of our new Streak system is to let users have a better understanding of their journey, specifically through detailed trigger logging. Users are encouraged to use the app to log their urges and relapse. The app will then display an easy-to-understand summary of where they stand in their journey.
Here's a few key things you need to know about the new Streak system:
Users can log two types of incidents, Urge and Relapse
Accountability alerts are sent to your buddy when you log an incident as part of the accountability process
Users can view a count of their Urges and Relapses with insights
Users can view their top 3 incidents, giving them quick insights into their key triggers
We hope that with this new Streak system, users can get to know themselves better through detailed logging of their triggers.
How do I customize pin protect?
The pin protect feature in our app detects specific keywords in the Settings menu, and if deemed dangerous, will intercept to make the app hard to uninstall.
The problem is not all devices are equal. Just because something behaves the way it does on device A, does not mean it works the exact same way on device B. This is both a blessing and a curse for the Android ecosystem. A blessing because consumers have more choices when it comes to deciding which device suits them best, and a curse because it causes inconsistencies which makes it impossible for developers to build apps that work across all devices. This inconsistency in the Android ecosystem is not unique to our apps, it's a common issue across all Android apps.
For example, say our app deems "Force stop" as a keyword to be intercepted, it will work well if your device use those exact words "Force stop". It doesn't work if your device is using a different version of it like "Quit app" or "Kill app". As you can see, this variation is out of our control and is something phone manufacturers do to differentiate themselves from stock Android.
We try to cover all devices out there, however there are many types of devices out there running different OS versions (for example, Android 10 vs Android 10.1 may have different permutations even when on the same device, compound that with different manufacturers and different regions, etc).
Hence, we now allow users to customize pin protect for their own device. You can now add specific keywords you wish for pin protect to intercept when clicked on.
So, if you find pin protect does not intercept when you tap on "Quit app" out the box, please add it to your list of customized pin protect keywords.
If you are unsure what keywords to add, contact support@goodbyegambling.com a screenshot of the particular settings page and we'll be happy to suggest what keywords to add.