February 12, 2026· 2 min read
A newcomer screen-time app is climbing in the U.S. after a split-screen skit made Apple's built-in limits look easy to bypass.
Useless is a screen-time control app built around a different idea: to keep scrolling, you have to ask a friend for permission.
Five days ago, they hit 1.9 million views with a split-screen skit: two guys, different screen time. One side shows the "Apple Screen Time" user still clocking 10 hours. The other shows the app user at ~1 hour.
Then, the Apple guy gets blocked and just taps the built-in Ignore button, so nothing changes. The other guy can't bypass it. If he wants more time, he has to text a friend for permission inside the app.
Same problem, two outcomes. The difference between them is the app.