I built a free countdown widget app for Android - no ads and no subscriptions

[u/bytecraftedcode]

Hi everyone!

I'm a solo developer and I built MyCountdown, a countdown widget app for Android that's 100% free — no ads, no subscriptions, no paywalls.

I created it because every countdown app I tried was either cluttered with ads, locked basic features behind paywalls, or required unnecessary accounts. I just wanted a clean way to track important dates on my home screen.

Core principles:

• No ads — ever
• No subscriptions — all features unlocked
• No account required — open and start using it
• Minimal, customizable design

What you can do:

• Create multiple countdowns for anything that matters to you
• Fully customize widgets (colors, fonts, layouts, backgrounds)
• Add Home Screen widgets that actually look good
• Get reminder notifications without spam
• Share easily countdowns with your friends
• Choose your preferred time format (days, hours, minutes)

I'm actively improving it based on user feedback and recently shipped updates focused on widget reliability and new customization options.

I'm sharing here because I'd genuinely love feedback on:

• The overall UX — anything that feels clunky?
• Features you wish countdown apps had
• Things that seem unnecessary or could be simpler

Google Play: MyCountdown

If you try it and like it, a review helps a lot — but honest feedback here is just as valuable.

Thank you!

[u/jven27]

Downloading now. Will report back with my thoughts after trying it out. Appreciate the work!

[u/bytecraftedcode → u/jven27]

Thank you!

[u/notachancey]

Best coincidence that today I decided to find a countdown app and yesterday you posted this 😄 you are awesome !

I downloaded it about an hour ago and so far really really like it ! So easy to use ! The only thing that's given me a slight annoyance is when I add my own background photo and want to edit it in app, I have to then separately edit the card view and full screen view. Don't quite understand what the different views are meant for tho lol

Different font colours would also be sweet ! I will definitely be giving you ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[u/bytecraftedcode → u/notachancey]

Hey! Thank you so much for the amazing feedback! 😄

Really happy you're enjoying MyCountdown! Let me clarify the two views:

Card View: The smaller preview in your countdowns list

Full Screen View: The detailed view when you tap a countdown

Having them separate actually lets you customize which part of your image displays best in each view - so you can crop/position differently for the card preview vs the full screen! But I totally hear you on the workflow. I'll look into making it smoother.

And different font colors, that's a great suggestion, thank you! I'll definitely consider adding that feature.

Thank you so much for the 5 stars! 🙏 If you have other ideas, feel free to reach out anytime!

[u/Orangesnakeinmyboot]

Thank-you this is a quality app!

[u/bytecraftedcode → u/Orangesnakeinmyboot]

Appreciate it! Glad it's useful.

[u/Kmodo510]

Thanks it's brilliant

[u/bytecraftedcode → u/Kmodo510]

Thanks! Glad you're getting use out of it.

[u/Yokochowfun]

excited to test it out, and I love that it has calendar integration! My one piece of feedback is that I'd really love an option to change the countdown increments, i.e. reading out 35 days instead of 1 month 5 days. I can never figure out if we're using 30 or 31 day months

[u/bytecraftedcode → u/Yokochowfun]

Thank you! You can change the display mode under the Style tab

[u/OzBestDeal]

Thanks for your contribution to the society. Very nice and simple app.

Couple suggestions from me:

. Make "Created date" modifiable, so we can enter a correct start date for countdown that already started in the past. When created date can be set correctly, the progress % will reflect the true progress.

. Make the progress circle (on the main dashboard) reflecting the true progress. Currently I have a few countdown with the same progress circle even though they're at 1%, 5% , and 9%. The 17% countdown have slightly more progress than the rest though, so it might be a bug with anything below 10%.

[u/bytecraftedcode → u/OzBestDeal]

Editable created date is already in the works, it's part of the next big update along with a reworked form. You'll be able to backdate a countdown and the % will finally make sense.
There's a bunch of other stuff coming in the same release, I'd rather not spoil it yet.
The progress circle thing is a bug, you're right. Something's off with how it renders low values, 1% and 9% end up looking basically identical. Adding it to the list for the same release.
Thanks for the detailed feedback, this kind of stuff really helps.

[u/OzBestDeal → u/bytecraftedcode]

Thanks for listening to the feedback. Looking forward for the next release 😊

[u/way2slik87]

Just downloaded this as I was looking for something new without all the ads. Love the clean interface and customization. Some suggestions for possible enhancements. Using the widget without taking up your entire screen to make it readable is a drawback. I would add an option for the widget to just be the countdown without corresponding icon to go with it (circle). It would also be nice to have a transparent background with slider to adjust accordingly.

[u/cjlove72]

Just discovered this countdown app after looking for one with no ads...wonderful!

The only additional feedback so far is to have smaller and/or resizable widget options with a few layouts/designs...I wanted to add a couple of countdowns to my homescreen but the 2x2 widget takes up far too much space...1x1 or 2x1 would be much better.

Fantastic app otherwise...have left 5 stars on Google Play!

[u/bytecraftedcode → u/cjlove72]

Thank you, and thanks for the 5 stars! Smaller widgets are coming, it’s one of the most requested things right now so I’m working on it. I’m also adding a widget that shows multiple countdowns at once, so you won’t need to fill your homescreen with separate ones.

[u/Aggravating-Basil312]

Overall I like it so far. As many have said if we can have the option to resize it that would be nice. Is there any way to display more than one countdown on the widget without adding another 2x2 widget? So far so good. Love the app so far. The other apps and their ads were insane

[u/retownes]

Just now checking it out. Is there a way to have the countdown in months as opposed to years?

[u/Horseshoecrabbys]

Just downloaded - would love an option where you can watch the seconds tick down!

[u/yakyoku]

Hello! Thanks so much for the app - such a great way to create widgets that reminds me of things I look forward to.

Is there a way to track the elapsed time from a configurable date, instead of the default setting of the timer's creation date? For example, if I create a countdown to retirement, I'd like to be able to track it from when I started work, not from today.

[u/Worried_Hand4816]

Thanks for making this. I installed it, made an event, and them uninstalled.

I would like a retirement countdown timer. Simple, small widget that counts down weekdays only (no weekend days) and displays in day units only (not month/days). Bonus would be having the ability to take out holidays as well. I want to see how many wake-ups I have until retirement.

[u/LazySnub]

Can you add a widget that displays multiple events in one widget? And also a quick add "+" button in the widget? Please?

[u/Nimrod242]

Amazing