moss vs Apple Screen Time
Free and built in. Limits you can dismiss unless someone else holds the passcode.
Checked 11 November 2026 against Apple's own pages. We make moss, so we have linked every source below.
What Apple Screen Time is
Screen Time is built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac, and it is free. It gives you usage reports, schedules and daily limits (called Downtime and App Limits up to iOS 26, and Screen Time Schedule and Time Allowances in iOS 27), and through Family Sharing a parent can manage a child's device. For your own phone its weak point is that you set the rules and you can lift them. Apple's iOS 26 guide says: "By default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached." A Screen Time passcode makes the block real, and it holds best when someone else sets the passcode.
What moss is
moss is an iPhone app that comes with a small physical stone. You choose the apps that distract you, tap your phone on the stone, and those apps stay locked until you tap the stone again. People who live together can link their phones to share schedules and put their phones down at the same time, while each person keeps control of their own phone. Locking is free in the app, the stone is a one-time purchase, and the household features are a paid add-on.
Side by side
| Feature | moss | Apple Screen Time |
|---|---|---|
| Price | US$49 stone, free app | Free |
| Subscription | None to lock your own phone. Household features are a paid add-on | None |
| Works on | iPhone only, iOS 17 or later | iPhone, iPad and Mac |
| How you lock | Tap the stone, or start from the app, a Shortcut, the lock screen or the Action Button. Schedules by day of week | Schedules and daily limits |
| How you unlock | Tap the stone, in the app | Dismiss the limit, or enter the Screen Time passcode if one is set |
| If you need back in | 3 emergency unlocks a month, refilled automatically | You can ignore the limit by default |
| Locking together as a household | Yes, as a paid add-on. Shared schedules, sessions others join in one tap, a view of whose phone is down, a streak. Nobody controls anyone else | Family Sharing: a parent manages a child's device and sees their activity |
| Whose key opens your phone | Only your household's own stone, card and sprigs unlock your phones | A 4-digit passcode, which the person who set it can recover |
Where Apple Screen Time is better
- It costs nothing and is already on your phone.
- It syncs across iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- Real parental controls through Family Sharing, including purchases and content.
- With a passcode held by someone you trust, it is a real block.
Where moss is better
- The off switch is an object in another room, not a button on the same screen.
- One tap locks a whole set of apps for as long as you like. No fiddling in Settings.
- Households take part as equals, with no one managing anyone.
Who should pick which
Pick Apple Screen Time if
You want usage reports, you want to try limits for free, or you are setting up a child's device.
Pick moss if
You have tapped past your own limits enough times to know they do not hold.
Sources
- Apple: Set up Screen Time on iPhone
- Apple: Set schedules with Screen Time (iOS 26)
- Apple: Use Screen Time to manage your child's iPhone or iPad
Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
moss is a stone that locks the apps you choose.
Tap to lock, tap to unlock. One price, and locking needs no subscription.
