A starting point instead of many individual decisions
Four intensity levels adjust several areas at once. Every individual setting still stays changeable afterward, a level is a suggestion, not a lock-in.
🌱 Gentle
Restrained, barely noticeable. For anyone just getting to know Noise Guard.
⚖️ Balanced
Fits most people. The recommended default.
🎯 Focus
Less distraction, tighter filters. For focused work or studying.
🧘 Deep Calm
As calm as possible, across every area.
Intervention intensity (Gentle/Balanced/Strict) can additionally be fine-tuned independently of the chosen level, a second dial for fine adjustment.
Why not just default to "maximum strict"?
Filtering too aggressively can wrongly affect real content and quickly feels condescending. Noise Guard assumes different people have different requirements for intervention depth, depending on situation, platform, and mood. The levels are therefore suggestions for a sensible starting point, not paternalism.
What each level actually changes
A level sets seven individual settings at once, here are the actual values:
🌱 Gentle
Ad blocking balanced, comments lightly filtered, Clean Page light, autoplay and motion stay untouched.
⚖️ Balanced
Same as Gentle, plus autoplay muted. Comment filter on the middle level.
🎯 Focus
Ad blocking aggressive, comments strict, Clean Page focused, motion reduced, infinite scroll slowed.
🧘 Deep Calm
Same as Focus, plus Clean Page set to minimal and Calm Web switched on.
A level writes these values once, like a form filling itself out automatically. If you then change a single setting manually, it stays that way, the level doesn't remember anything and won't re-apply itself automatically. One exception: Calm Web isn't a one-time preset but its own, continuously active toggle, re-applied every time rules are checked.