Practice · Updated Sep 30, 2026 · 8 min read
What a fasting timer is for
A fasting timer counts hours. It does not clear you, sell a plan, or replace an exit. What a clock has to do, what this one does, and what it will not.
Using the Clock · Part 1 of 5 · Fasting Library
A timer counts hours. Forums treat the app as the method: a streak, a badge, a shop. Those extras are not the clock. The clock does not clear you.
Who should be careful with fasting still comes first. How to start fasting is still day one of a daily window. Nothing here ranks apps. A clinician is the person who can tell you whether to start.
A clock is not a protocol
Elapsed time is a fact. Choosing 16:8 is a plan. The first is what a timer is for. The second is something you chose, or did not. A free clock does not know your medicines, does not record the drink, and cannot tell you whether you should stop.
Pregnancy, trying to conceive, breastfeeding, under 18, underweight, eating-disorder history, glucose-lowering medicine, and several other conditions on Who should be careful with fasting still decide more than a Start button. Dizziness, confusion, fainting, or chest pain is a stop. Eat. See When to stop a fast.
If you have not picked hours yet, stay near the overnight gap you already have. Day one is How to start fasting. What follows is the tool.
What it has to do
Start when you stop taking calories by your rule. Keep counting after sleep, a closed tab, and airplane mode. End when you eat, including when you eat early, or when you should stop. Remember the row so yesterday is a record of what you did, not a reason to go longer tomorrow.
A ring that fills is a goal you set. It is not a change a lab measured. Stage names follow elapsed hours. They are not lab results. What the stages on the timer mean lists each name.
If the clock cannot survive a night without a network, it is not a fasting timer. It is a tab. This one uses wall time and stores the session on the device.
What this one does
MyFastingClock runs in the browser. No app store. Installing to the home screen is optional. Guest history stays on this device. Sign in only if you want the same log on another phone, or Friends.
There is no time cap and no subscription. Ads and an optional tip jar keep it free. 16:8, OMAD, 24h, 36h, 48h, Custom, and Open exist so a plan is not paywalled. Unlimited is flexibility, not a dare. Open-ended and multi-day fasts is why the cap is gone. The job of the clock is still to count hours.
The dedicated 16:8 and OMAD pages open those hours. Common fasting schedules compares the calendars. The hour buttons are Presets on this clock. Other clocks, and when this one is a poor fit, are Choosing a fasting timer.
What it will not do
It will not weigh you. A scale turns a clock into a diet app. Weight versus the protocol stays in Weight, body composition, and adherence. There is no in-app log.
It will not rank you against friends by hours fasted. Friends, if you use them, are private encouragement. There is no public leaderboard of fasts.
It will not sell extra hours, a salt stack, or medical clearance. A timer does not have a lab result. Ending early is a completed decision. It is not a reason to hide the row or to start a harsher preset as payback.
What this is not
Nothing here is a plan to copy or a scoreboard of fasting apps. A clinician is the person who can tell you whether to start. Choosing a fasting timer compares clocks by the job you already have.
The clock itself is the main page. The stage names are What the stages on the timer mean. Why there is no cap is Open-ended and multi-day fasts. The history of the store listing is From clinic to consumer app. Day one of a daily window is How to start fasting. What a fasting timer is for is here.
A clock is not a reason to add a scale.
How this meets the timer
Open the online fasting timer. Custom 12 or 14 is a complete option. Start when calories stop. End Fast when you eat, including when you eat early. The End Fast button is the most important control.
Stage names are not a destination. 16:8 is one later placement. It is not a graduation requirement.
Who should be careful with fasting still comes first. If you already mean a stretch past a day, read Before a longer fast. The clock is still only a clock.
What to read next
Next is Choosing a fasting timer. Other clocks exist. Pick by the job you already have, not by a score. Presets on this clock is the hour buttons. Common fasting schedules compares the calendars. Open-ended and multi-day fasts is why there is no cap. History on the timer is a record of fasts you already logged.
Coffee, restaurants, and alcohol stay in Everyday Fasting. Quieter daily hours stay in How to make fasting easier. The history of how fasting became a phone product stays in From clinic to consumer app.
For this week, a clinician when you need one, a window you can live with, and End Fast still beat a thread about which app “unlocks autophagy.”
Key takeaways
- A fasting timer counts hours. It does not clear you.
- Start when calories stop. Keep time after sleep. End when you eat, or when you should stop.
- This clock is a free browser PWA with no time cap. Guest history stays on the device.
- No scale, no public leaderboard, no paywalled hours, no medical clearance.
- A clinician is the person who can tell you whether to start. Apps are not ranked here.
Educational only. Not medical advice. See our disclaimer.