Sworn

Sworn for Chromebook

Your Chromebook,
under the same promise.

The same filter as your phone, the same partner, one alert stream. ChromeOS has a built-in setting that sends every lookup through Sworn. You paste one address into it, once.

Get it on Google Play Get the phone app

  • Uses the Sworn app from Google Play, on the Chromebook, to join your account and hand you the address
  • Covers Chrome, Android apps and the Linux container, not just one browser
  • No screenshots, no browsing history, no device names

Chromebooks with Google Play, on Android 11 or newer · Sworn 0.9.6 or newer (Play keeps it updated) · the Chromebook's DNS isn't changed until you paste the address. If you pay for Sworn through the App Store rather than Google Play, read the note below first.

Set up

One setting.

There's no Sworn installer for ChromeOS, because ChromeOS already has the one thing Sworn needs: a setting that sends every address lookup, from Chrome, from Android apps and from the Linux container, to a resolver you choose. You give it your Sworn address. That takes a few minutes, and from the next page you open the Chromebook is under the same rules as your phone.

  1. Install Sworn on the Chromebook. From Google Play, signed in with the Google account that pays for Sworn. Open it and tap through the welcome screen. It joins your account in the background and copies your categories and your partner across; nothing is emailed for adding a device. If your subscription is through the App Store, or the Chromebook signs in with a different Google account, tap Join with a code from your phone on the next screen instead: on your phone, open Sworn, go to Settings → Add a computer, and type the code it shows.
  2. Copy the address. The app knows it's on a Chromebook and shows the address ChromeOS needs, starting https://dns.snowleopard.dev/v1/. Tap Copy.
  3. Paste it into ChromeOS. Open Settings (click the clock, then the gear), choose Privacy and security, and turn on Use secure connections to look up sites. In the provider menu under it, choose Add custom DNS service provider and paste.
  4. Let the app check. Back in Sworn, the screen changes to Sworn is on by itself once ChromeOS starts using the setting, and Continue lights up. If it says the address isn't quite right, ChromeOS is holding a different Sworn address: copy and paste again. ChromeOS can't tell one address from another, so the app's check is the one that counts. On your phone, Settings → Your devices lists the Chromebook.

A Chromebook someone else manages — school, work — usually has this setting locked and Google Play switched off. If the setting is grayed out, that's why. Check with whoever manages it before going further.

What it does

The phone's rules, on the Chromebook.

Once the address is in, ChromeOS sends every lookup from Chrome, from Android apps and from Linux through your Sworn account. Same categories you chose on your phone, same personal block list, same partner. Blocked attempts count toward the same tally your partner already sees; the Chromebook is never named in an email.

The app keeps watch. As on a phone, Sworn on the Chromebook keeps checking that lookups still go through your account. Switch the setting off and it notices, and your partner is told the same way as when Private DNS is switched off on a phone. Your partner's silence-detection sees the quiet stretch as well. Manage categories and partners from either device.

If Sworn can't be reached, Chrome won't quietly fall back to an unfiltered lookup with a custom provider; you see a can't-be-reached page instead, which is the honest failure.

Worth knowing

Where it stops.

Guest mode and other accounts. The setting belongs to the Google account that's signed in. Guest mode and any other account on the Chromebook go around it. The owner account can turn off Guest browsing and turn on Limit who can sign in under Settings → Privacy and security → Manage other people. Do that before you rely on it.

An Android VPN app may take over. A VPN from Google Play that brings its own lookups can go around Sworn while it's connected, the same as on a phone. Your partner's silence-detection treats that like any other quiet stretch.

If you pay through the App Store, or the Chromebook uses a different Google account, use Join with a code from your phone on the app's setup screen. The code comes from Sworn on your phone under Settings → Add a computer; it's good for ten minutes and works once. The Chromebook joins that account: same categories, same partner, and it shows up under Your devices.

Older Chromebooks. This needs a Chromebook that runs Android apps on Android 11 or newer, which is most of those sold since 2020. Google Play tells you when it opens if yours doesn't. ChromeOS Flex on a PC doesn't run Android apps at all.

Other computers

Windows, Mac and Linux.

Sworn for Windows is a signed installer; once installed, Sworn is an icon next to the clock. Sworn for Mac is a Mac App Store app. Sworn for Linux installs with one line. All three pair with a code from your phone. Sworn for Chromebook is the newest; if something's off, tell us. The message is read by the person who wrote it.

Weighing this against Family Link or setting Secure DNS yourself? Read the honest guide to blocking porn on a Chromebook. It goes through every option, what each one covers, and where each one stops.