Questions and answers

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.

You pick the apps that pull you in, then tap your iPhone on the stone. Those apps lock right away and stay locked until you tap the stone again. You can also start a lock from the app, a Shortcut, the lock screen or the Action Button. Unlocking always happens in the app, with the stone.

No. The stone has no battery and nothing to charge. Your iPhone reads it the same way it reads a contactless card.

Not today. moss is for iPhone only and needs iOS 17 or later.

Yes. Each mode either locks the apps you choose or locks everything except the apps you choose. You can keep up to 10 modes, for example one for work, one for dinner and one for bedtime.

Yes. Schedules start a mode at a set time on the days of the week you pick. A locked phone still needs the stone to unlock.

You get three emergency unlocks a month, and they refill on their own. Phone calls and anything you did not choose to lock keep working the whole time. In a household, an emergency unlock is shown to the others, so it stays an exception.

Use an emergency unlock to get back in, then write to us and we will sort out a replacement.

If you are determined, yes, and we would rather say so. Like every app of this kind, including Brick, moss relies on Apple's Screen Time. Switching Screen Time off for the app in iPhone Settings removes the lock. (On iOS 26.4 or later you can close that door by having someone you trust set a Screen Time passcode.) Strict Mode stops you deleting apps while locked, and in a household anyone who switches it off shows as "Not protected" to the others. moss is built to make the easy slip hard. It is not a safe.

During a shared household session you can take a 5 or 15 minute break. Outside of that, tap the stone to unlock.

No. Each person locks their own phone and chooses their own apps. The others see only whether your phone is down, and when someone leaves a session early or uses an emergency unlock. Your app list never leaves your phone.

Yes. Most people will. You sign in with Apple and set up your own phone first. moss works fully on one phone with one stone, and inviting a household is an optional last step you can skip or come back to.

Under Together. That is where you invite people, start a session and see whose phone is down. Household features are a paid add-on.

From the app, by text, email, the share sheet or a code. They install the app, sign in with Apple and join. Each person then picks their own apps on their own phone.

No. One stone can serve everyone in a household. A moss sprig gives you a second place to tap in another room, and the moss bed gives everyone's phones one place to go down together.

No. Only the stones, cards and sprigs that belong to your household unlock your household's phones.

No. Nobody can lock or monitor another person's phone with moss. It suits households where each person agrees to take part. If you need to control a child's device, Apple's Screen Time with Family Sharing or a parental control app is the right tool. See our comparisons.

Not for locking. Locking your own phone is free in the app and the stone is a one-time purchase. Locking will never sit behind a subscription. The household features under Together (shared schedules, seeing who is in, and a visible note when someone leaves early) are a paid add-on, shown in the app before you pay.

The moss stone is US$49, in US dollars. You pay once and locking is free. Extras are optional: the moss card is US$19, moss sprigs are US$19 for two, the moss keychain is US$15, the moss gym tag is US$19, the moss car is US$29, the moss mount is US$15 and the moss bed is US$39.

It is free on the App Store and needs an iPhone with iOS 17 or later. Buy the stone from the shop. Orders ship from Toronto to Canada and the United States.

Very little. Which apps you lock and how you use your phone never leave your phone. Our server stores your name, your email, which household you belong to, and the times of your locks and sessions. You sign in with Apple. Read the privacy page for the details.