Why is there a difference between what Moment and Apple’s Screen Time are reporting for my phone usage?

Moment and Apple’s Screen Time track your phone usage in a slightly different way. Apple counts your raw screen time. If your screen is on, Apple is counting that. Moment sometimes ignores the time when your screen is on.

For example, if you’re in another room and you get a notification, your screen will light up for 15 seconds. That 15 seconds counts in Apple’s Screen Time, but doesn’t count in Moment. The average person gets 150 notifications per day, so that adds up to a lot of screen time, even if you weren’t actively looking at your phone.

Also, Moment lets you exclude some apps from counting in your total screen time. The most common example is navigation apps (Maps, Google Maps, Waze, etc). By default, Moment doesn’t count screen time while your phone is charging, so your 2-hour drive using Maps doesn’t count for an entire 2 hours worth of screen time. Your eyes were hopefully on the road, not your screen.

Because of those reasons, Moment will usually be a bit lower than Apple’s Screen Time.

On iOS, Moment is measuring my screen time, but the numbers seem inaccurate. What can I do to make sure my screen time is super accurate?

Sometimes Moment isn’t perfect at detecting your screen time, especially in the first few days of using it.

If you want Moment to be super accurate (and save a ton of battery), the best thing to do would be to set up a passcode or Face ID to unlock your device. You can do that from your Settings app > Face ID & Passcode. That will make Moment 100% accurate in measuring all of the time your phone is unlocked, and skip the entire calibration process Moment goes through at the beginning of using the app.

If you have a passcode or Face ID set up and Moment still doesn’t seem correct, check out your Settings app > Face ID & Passcode, and look at the Require Passcode setting. If that’s anything other than Immediately, your phone remains unlocked even after you turn the screen off with the power button. Moment counts all of the time your phone is unlocked, so it adds 5 (or so) minutes onto every time you unlock your phone. That setting needs to be set to Immediately in order for Moment to measure your screen time accurately.

On iOS, I’m using Sleep Cycle and Moment is counting screen time in the middle of the night while I’m sleeping. What’s going on?

Moment counts all of the time your phone is unlocked. There are a few sleep tracking and alarm clock apps that trick your phone into staying unlocked. The most popular example is Sleep Cycle.

There’s a few things you can do to use Moment with Sleep Cycle:

  1. Set Moment to stop counting screen time while you’re phone is charging. Do that from Moment’s settings > Screen Time Detection > Exclude Charging Time.

  2. Set up your Track Only Certain Hours to have Moment ignore certain hours of the day. In your case, it might be something like telling Moment to track only between 7 AM and 11 PM, essentially ignoring your Sleep Cycle app while you’re using it.

  3. You can simply lock your phone after you start up Sleep Cycle. The app will work just fine with your phone locked, and Moment won’t count any of that time.

Right now, there is no way to delete that incorrect tracking of your screen time overnight.

How do I turn off Moment Mode?

Turning off Moment Mode is easy to do, but it’s not obvious. Once you commit to being offline, you should do your best to live up to that commitment.

But things change. We get it! To turn off Moment Mode:

  1. Open Moment's Settings tab

  2. Tap into the Screen Time Detection section

  3. Turn the big switch near the top to off, then on again

What is a pickup?

A pickup is each separate time you turn on your phone screen. If you pull your phone out of your pocket, respond to a text, then put it back, that counts as “1 pickup” inside Moment. If you spend 2 hours watching a movie without putting your phone down, that also counts as “1 pickup.”

What is a Moment account?

A Moment account is used to start or join a Moment Family. To sign up for a Moment account, you’ll need an email address and to choose a password. From the Family tab, you can invite your other family members to join you.

You can sign up for a Moment account from the Settings tab at the bottom > My Account, or you will be asked to sign up for one when you start your Moment Family.

I use my GPS app while I’m driving and I don’t want that to count. How do I make that happen?

The best — and safest — solution is to use Maps, Waze, or Google Maps with the voiceover navigation while your phone is locked.

  1. Start up your directions before you start driving.
  2. Press the power button to lock your phone.
  3. Put your phone upside down in the cupholder with the screen facing away from you.
  4. Listen to the voice directions from Siri.

Moment won’t log any of that time and your eyes will remain safely on the road.

Also on iOS, you can set up Moment to stop counting screen time while you’re phone is charging. Do that from Moment’s settings > Screen Time Detection > Exclude Charging Time.

Is the Moment Coach in-app purchase a subscription or a one-time fee?

Moment Coach is a subscription, renewed either monthly or yearly (at a discounted rate).

How do I manage/cancel my Moment Coach subscription?

You can manage your subscription from the Settings tab inside Moment > Moment Coach, or through your iTunes or Google account.

On iOS, what happened to Moment Premium? What is this Moment Coach thing?

Moment Premium is an older set of features we used to sell as a one-time purchase. It included things like Phone Bootcamp, Daily Limits, Tiny Reminders, and Screen-Free Time.

The Moment Premium in-app purchase has been discontinued. Moment Coach is the new in-app purchase inside of Moment that encompasses all of our features that help you reduce your screen time, namely the Coach which has a number of different courses to go through to help you build strong habits around your phone use.

If you previously had purchased Moment Premium, every single one of the features you purchased is still available to you at no additional charge. If you would like to access the new Coach features from now going forward, you will need to subscribe to Moment Coach.

How much cellular data does Moment use?

Moment shouldn’t use much data at all, almost none. In our testing, it uses at the very most 10 MB per month, about the same as visiting four websites.

You can check how much Moment has used in your Settings app > Cellular > Moment. You can even turn off Moment’s access to your cellular data there and Moment will still measure your screen time.

If you’re using Moment Family to sync your screen time, Moment will use slightly more cellular data, but still not anything to write home about.

How do I change my email address for my Moment account?

Right now, there is no way to change your email address.

The best thing to do is to sign out of your current Moment account and create a brand new Moment account with your correct email address.

On iOS, I used to be able to set a daily limit on myself, but those settings disappeared. How do I get them back?

In version 4.0, we made the decision to remove the Daily Limit feature. It turns out that hard limits on your screen time were hugely ineffective for almost everyone that used them.

The Daily Limit feature has been replaced with a more positive and encouraging Goals feature. You can set a pickup or screen time goal for yourself, and Moment will encourage you to stick to that each day with occasional notifications while you’re using your phone.

Measuring Screen Time

Does it count when I’m listening to music, on a phone call, or using FaceTime?

Moment only counts your “screen time.” If your screen is off, Moment will not count listening to music or talking on a phone call.

The one exception to this is FaceTime. Your screen is on, but FaceTime calls will not be counted as screen time.

Does Moment have to be in the background to measure my screen time?

Short answer: Yes. Moment must be running in the background to measure when you’re using your phone. It does not have to be open and active. You can press the home button and leave Moment in the background, but you cannot completely force quit the app (swiping up from the multitasking menu).

On iOS, Moment seems to be draining my battery. How can I fix this?

Because Moment is constantly running in the background to measure your screen time, I’ve created a page especially for making Moment as battery efficient as possible. Currently, Moment uses about 5% of your overall battery to count your screen time all day. You should barely notice it.

Does Moment work if my phone is in Airplane Mode?

Yes, on both iOS and Android.

As of iOS version 3.3 released on July 12th, 2017, Moment will work seamlessly entering and exiting Airplane Mode.

Measuring App Use

Does the app tracking feature still work on iOS 12?

Yes, although you need to take screenshots slightly differently. Make sure you tap on the Show Activity button in the Settings app > Battery before taking your screenshots.

Also, it really helps Moment’s accuracy if you include the Last 24 Hours/Last 10 Days buttons at the top of your first screenshot. Your first screenshot should look something like this:

Screenshot showing you the proper look of a Battery screenshot on iOS 12

From there, scroll down to show more apps and screenshot away, just like before.

On iOS, why is Moment asking me to take screenshots in the morning?

That is the App Use Detection feature. A daily or weekly screenshot of the Battery settings screen is how Moment logs what apps you use the most.

For all of the details on this feature, go to the App Use Detection section of the settings inside Moment. Under How It Works, you’ll find a video demostration explaining everything.

On iOS, what if there is no app usage info on the Battery screen inside the Settings app?

Occasionally, iOS resets that Battery settings screen with a message that says “Battery information will be available after using iPhone for a few minutes.” Unfortunately, this is outside of Moment’s control, but isn’t a big deal in the long run.

When this happens, take a screenshot anyway. Moment will handle it properly and stop reminding you to take a screenshot that day. Your Battery settings screen and app tracking will be back in order tomorrow.

On iOS, what if there is no “Last 10 Days” button on the Battery settings screen? Just “Last 24 Hours.”

Sometimes, the Settings apps resets and takes a few days to get back on track. When you’re not seeing any “Last 10 Days” button, tap on the second button if there is one and take your screenshot. It might say something like “Last 2 Days.”

Moment will handle any screenshot you throw at it. After a few days, this week’s information will start filling back in and you’ll be completely back on track with your app tracking next week.

On iOS, my app usage numbers seem off. Why don’t my app usage numbers add up to my total for the day?

There are three reasons why your app usage numbers might be inaccurate:

  1. You’re taking your Battery screenshot at different times each day. The biggest thing you can do to make it more accurate is take your Battery screenshot at the same time every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s 12:01 AM or 9 AM, the more consistent you are, the better.

  2. Charging your phone. The data displayed on the Battery screen only reflects apps you’ve used that have used your battery power. If you’re using your phone while it’s charging, those apps you use won’t be using battery power and therefore won’t be displayed on that Battery screen. Moment won’t be able to log that app use.

  3. Incorrect timeframe for your screenshot. If you’re seeing app usage that isn’t even close to your screen time for the day, double check your Schedule setting under Moment’s settings > App Use Detection. If Moment can’t be absolutely sure of the timeframe from your screenshot, it uses this setting as a default. This can be a problem if you have your screenshots scheduled to be taken every week, but take a “Last 24 Hours” screenshot instead. Make sure your Schedule setting matches up with the “Last 24 Hours/Last 10 Days” button on the Battery screen inside the Settings app, near the clock icon you tap as part of your screenshot.

In general, the app usage tracking is imperfect, but it’s the best solution we’ve got. Trust the daily screen time total you see in Moment because that is accurate down to the second. The app usage numbers might be off by a few minutes, but they will paint an overall picture of what apps you used the most.

On iOS, what is the difference between taking a Battery screenshot every day and every week?

Accuracy. A daily Battery screenshot will better log your app usage on a day-to-day basis. This is great for tracking shorter-term trends in your app usage. A weekly Battery screenshot will be slightly less accurate, but will still show you trends over the long run.

Weekly screenshots are the default because it saves you time. Logging your app usage takes 15 seconds a week, not 15 seconds every single day. Every bit counts when you’re trying to cut down on your screen time.

On iOS, how does Moment automatically detect my Battery screenshots?

When you take a screenshot, Moment automatically checks your Photos library for a new Battery screenshot. Moment then runs a local process to make doubly sure that the new screenshot is a proper Battery screenshot. If it isn’t a Battery screenshot, Moment stops there.

If that new screenshot is a Battery screenshot, Moment securely uploads it to its servers. Once processed, your phone will receive a push notification letting you know your app use data is ready.

If, for some reason, a non-Battery screenshot is uploaded, it is immediately deleted from the servers.

On iOS, I’m trying to exclude an app, but I can’t search for the app by name? There are no results.

I’m guessing you just turned on the App Use Detection feature or just downloaded the app. You’re only able to exclude apps that Moment has logged some time for.

Once you take your first Battery screenshot, you’ll be able to exclude apps from counting. After Moment processes that first screenshot, go back to the settings > App Use Detection > Exclude Certain Apps and tap the + icon. Those apps from the screenshot you just took will be there, waiting to be excluded.

On iOS, can I delete the Battery screenshots from my Photos app after they’ve been processed by Moment?

Yes. Moment makes this easy to do in bulk. Go into the settings > App Use Detection and tap Delete Old Battery Screenshots to permanently delete every successfully processed Battery screenshot from your Photos library.

Side note: Moment would automatically do this if it was technically possible.

On iOS, what is the Home & Lock Screen app?

This is a system “app” that represents the time you’ve spent on your lock screen checking notifications and on your homescreen swiping around in between closing an app and opening another one.

Think of this as your “in between apps” time.

On iOS, why doesn’t Moment track my app usage automatically, like some other apps?

For security reasons on iOS, there is no way for Moment to detect what other app you’re using in real time.

Moment’s approach

Our solution works by parsing a screenshot you take of the Battery screen inside the Settings app. This Battery screen is provided by Apple and displays the individual app usage Moment uses to log what apps you’re using. Within a few minutes, that screenshot is parsed and Moment displays your app usage inside each day’s timeline. Overall, this should take you about 15 seconds per week.

It’s not quite automatic like the rest of Moment, but it’s close. We’ve tried everything else we could, and there’s no other way to do it without compromising your privacy.


There is one other solution that competitor apps use: VPNs. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and this approach estimates your app usage automatically. We’re considering this approach in the future, but it has a number of drawbacks when it comes to your privacy.

When you use these competitor apps and install their VPN certificate, you agree to route every single web request from your phone through their servers. That means every webpage you visit goes through their servers. Every song you listen to. Every app download. Every email you view. Every email you send. Every text. Every bank password.

You can see the huge privacy issue here. In order to track what apps you’re using, a VPN-based app has to monitor and store every single web request you make in a central database that they control.

They don’t just see “you’re using Facebook.” They see “you just searched for Jessica Smith on Facebook and viewed 14 of her photos.” That is way too much information for any one company to have and we’ve completely avoided this approach with Moment’s Battery screenshot approach. Moment does not use VPNs at all.

As if that isn’t bad enough, it turns out that spying on your web traffic isn’t even a good indicator of what apps you actively use. You could be browsing your Facebook newsfeed, but your email app is fetching email in the background. A VPN-based app will see this as you using the Mail and Facebook apps at the same time, but that isn’t the case.

Oh, and routing every single web request through another server tremendously slows down your internet connection.

Does App Use Detection work on the iPad?

Not yet. The App Use Detection feature only supports the iPhone right now.

We’re working on iPad support.

Moment Family

Is Moment Family available on Android?

Currently, Moment Family not available on our Android app. It’s iOS only right now.

We’re working hard to bring Moment Family to our Android app shortly.

How do I start my Moment family?
  1. Tap into the Family tab at the bottom.

  2. Tap on Start A Family.

  3. Sign up with your email and choose a password to set up your Moment account.

  4. After that, you can Add a family member and invite them via email. Once that happens, your family members can download Moment and join your family for free from that same Family tab at the bottom.

Note: Moment Family used to be a paid feature, but it is now free for everyone.

How do I prevent my kids from disabling Moment?

Because of the way iOS works, there will always be a way to disable Moment in some way, especially for tech-literate kids with an iPhone. In most cases, Moment will automatically restart itself.

If the app stops tracking for any reason, you’ll know immediately by looking at their timeline for the day:

Timeline showing a Force Quit event, then a Resumed Automatically event a few minutes later

Moment does its best to automatically restart itself, even after it’s been force quit. Usually this happens within a few minutes, but occasionally takes longer.

How do I invite my kids if they don’t have their own email address?

The best thing to do is register a free email account for them at Gmail. They don’t actually have to use the email account actively. The email address for each kid will be used in case they forget their Moment account password.

Also, if you already have a Gmail account, you can use an Alias for your own email. Something like kevin+kidsname@gmail.com.

A family member has more than one iOS device. How do I add another device to a person in my family?

This one’s easy. Just sign the person into their existing Moment account on their new device:

  1. Install and set up Moment on the new device.

  2. Tap on the Settings at the bottom.

  3. Tap on My Account > Sign In.

  4. Sign into the person’s existing Moment account with their email address and password.

After a few seconds, their new device will be added to their Moment account and your family.


On iOS, why does Moment need to track the places I go to automatically measure my screen time?

To automatically measure your screen time, Moment must be running in the background tagging the locations where you are using your phone.

If you’re concerned about privacy, know that we are too. Location data is stored on your physical phone in a secure place that other apps cannot touch. Moment never sends that location data over the internet and we personally never see that data, by design. Your location data is your private data and we have no desire to collect it or sell it to anybody.

When you delete Moment from your phone, that location data is gone forever. For more details, read through Moment’s privacy policy.

If you’re concerned about Moment killing your battery, the GPS tracking doesn’t affect your battery much. We’ve worked really hard to minimize that impact. That feature uses about 0.25% of your battery per day, slightly more if you’re moving around a lot.

We’ve put together a battery tips page with instructions on how to check how much battery Moment is using for you, and tips to improve it.

Where is my data stored and sent? Can I completely destroy my data?

You can find information about what data Moment collects and where it is stored in our Privacy Policy.

Any other legal pages I should know about?

Read through our Terms of Service, if you’re curious.

Can I export my data?

Yes. Open Moment and go into the settings. Scroll to the bottom to Advanced and you’ll see an option to Export Data. You can use this to email your data to yourself using the Mail app in two formats: a human readable version and a raw JSON version.

Does Moment have an API or automatic export?

No. There is no public API for Moment or any kind of way to automate the export of your Moment data.

Need more help or your question isn’t answer here?

If you still have questions or something still isn’t working for you, it would be great if you submitted your feedback to me. We’ll work to update this page to answer your most common questions.