moss vs A friend holding your Screen Time passcode
Someone you trust sets your Screen Time passcode, so you cannot lift your own limits.
Checked 11 November 2026 against Apple's own pages. We make moss, so we have linked every source below.
What A friend holding your Screen Time passcode is
Screen Time limits on an iPhone can be locked behind a 4-digit passcode. If a friend or partner chooses that passcode and keeps it from you, you cannot extend your own limits without asking them. It is free and it puts another person between you and the apps. The costs are that you have to ask every time you have a real need, and that the person who set a passcode can recover it. We found no study of this trick.
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 | A friend holding your Screen Time passcode |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 | Screen Time limits that need a passcode to change |
| How you unlock | Tap the stone, in the app | Ask the person who holds the passcode |
| If you need back in | 3 emergency unlocks a month, refilled automatically | Ask them |
| 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 | Two people by design: one holds the code for the other |
| Whose key opens your phone | Only your household's own stone, card and sprigs unlock your phones | A 4-digit passcode that someone else knows |
Where A friend holding your Screen Time passcode is better
- It is free and uses what is already on your iPhone.
- You answer to another person, which a stone on a shelf does not ask of you.
- Limits can be daily time allowances, not only locked or unlocked.
Where moss is better
- You do not need to bother anyone. The key is a stone you walk to.
- 3 emergency unlocks a month for the times you need back in.
- In a household nobody controls anyone else: nobody can lock or see another person's phone.
Who should pick which
Pick A friend holding your Screen Time passcode if
You have someone willing to hold the code, and answering to them is what keeps you honest.
Pick moss if
You would rather not hand a person the key to your phone, or ask for it back.
Sources
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.
