Practice · Sep 20, 2026 · 8 min read
What a fasting timer is for
A fasting timer counts hours. It does not clear you, sell a protocol, or replace an exit. What a clock has to do, what this one does, and what it will not. Not medical advice.
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. Extra chrome. One clock. It does not clear you.
This page is the on-ramp for Using the Clock. The online fasting timer is the clock itself. Who should be careful with fasting still comes first. How to start fasting is still day one of a daily window. Not a ranking of apps. Not medical advice.
A clock is not a protocol
Elapsed time is a fact. A 16:8 religion is a plan. The first is what a timer is for. The second is something you chose, or did not. A free clock cannot see your medicines, your mug, or 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. How to start fasting is that on-ramp. This page is the tool, not day one.
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 map, not a dare.
A ring that fills is a goal you set, not a biological switch. Stage labels are teaching bookmarks on elapsed hours. They are not lab results. What the stages on the timer mean stays that page.
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. This page is still what a clock is for.
The dedicated 16:8 and OMAD pages open those presets. Common fasting schedules compares the calendars. Other clocks, and when this one is a poor fit, are Choosing a fasting timer. This cluster will still cover presets on this clock. Until that note is live, pick a chip and start.
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 cannot see a lab. 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
It is not medical advice. It is not a protocol. It is not a scoreboard of fasting apps. Choosing a fasting timer is the chooser by job.
It is not the online fasting timer (that page opens the clock). It is not What the stages on the timer mean (the badges). It is not Open-ended and multi-day fasts (why there is no cap). It is not From clinic to consumer app (the history of the store listing). It is not How to start fasting (day one of a daily window). Those stay next door. This page is what a fasting timer is for.
It is not a monthly weight-loss promise and 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 badges are teaching labels. They 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, Before a longer fast is that on-ramp. This page is still the clock.
What to read next
Next in this series: Choosing a fasting timer. Other clocks exist. Pick by job, not by a score. This cluster will still cover presets on this clock, the History tab, and Open as a control. Until those notes are live, Common fasting schedules, Open-ended and multi-day fasts, and the History tab on the app stay next door.
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.
- The /fasting-timer page opens the clock. This page says what a clock is for.
- This is not a protocol, not a ranking of apps, and not medical advice.
Educational only. Not medical advice. See our disclaimer.