moss vs Timily
Children earn coins from chores and focus timers and spend them on 30 minutes of an app.
Checked 11 November 2026 against Dangran World Limited's own pages. We make moss, so we have linked every source below.
What Timily is
Timily is a newer parental control app for iPhone and iPad with a gentler design. The parent sets baseline rules and approves chores. The child earns coins through focus timers, chores and challenges, and spends them on a 30-minute unlock of an app. Its site suggests a phone-free dinner as a daily task. A paid subscription is required: the App Store lists $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year.
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 | Timily |
|---|---|---|
| Price | US$49 stone, free app | $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year (App Store) |
| Subscription | None to lock your own phone. Household features are a paid add-on | Yes, required |
| Works on | iPhone only, iOS 17 or later | iPhone and iPad (iOS 16.6+) |
| 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 | The parent sets baseline rules |
| How you unlock | Tap the stone, in the app | The child spends earned coins for 30 minutes of an app |
| If you need back in | 3 emergency unlocks a month, refilled automatically | Up to the parent |
| 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 | The parent sets rules and approves chores. The child earns access |
| Whose key opens your phone | Only your household's own stone, card and sprigs unlock your phones | Coins the child earns, under the parent's rules |
Where Timily is better
- A reward loop designed for ages 8 to 17.
- It ties screen access to chores and focus sessions.
- No hardware to buy.
Where moss is better
- The adults take part too. Nobody earns access from anybody.
- Locking needs no subscription. A year of Timily costs more than a US$49 stone.
- Nobody sets rules for anyone else's phone.
Who should pick which
Pick Timily if
You want a child to earn screen time through chores and focus.
Pick moss if
You want the whole household to put phones down at the same time, with no points and no one in charge.
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.
