Support

OwnTime is a time-tracking app for iPhone and Apple Watch. It works like a chess clock for your priorities: one runs at a time, and each has a daily budget.

Use it on your iPhone, your Apple Watch, or both. Each device works on its own. When they are paired, they sync directly with each other over Apple's WatchConnectivity. There is no account and no server.

Get in touch

Questions, bug reports, and ideas go to support@owntime.app. I read everything and answer as soon as I can.

A few basics

• Add your priorities. Give each a colour and a daily budget, on iPhone or Apple Watch.
• Start and stop. Use whichever device is at hand. The other follows along, with a Live Activity on the iPhone. Starting one priority stops the running one.
• Budget alerts. An alarm goes off when a priority's daily budget runs out. Optionally, a wrap-up notification comes a few minutes earlier.

Alerts & permissions

There are two kinds of budget alert, each with its own iOS permission. The alarm uses the system alarm feature (AlarmKit), so it gets through Focus and silent mode. The wrap-up notification is a normal time-sensitive notification. iOS asks for the alarm permission the first time you create a priority.

• Alarm (always on). While a session is running, the alarm goes off the moment the daily budget is spent. It is an alarm on purpose: it has to get through silent mode.
• Wrap-up notification (optional). Turn it on per priority to get a heads-up a set number of minutes before the budget runs out, so you can finish what you are doing. It is a time-sensitive notification: it gets through Focus, but not the ringer switch. It asks for notification permission the first time you turn it on.
• Turning alarms off. To stop the alarm for all priorities, withdraw OwnTime's alarm permission in Settings › OwnTime on your iPhone. OwnTime then schedules no alarms. The priority editor shows that alarms are off and links back to Settings. The wrap-up notification keeps working, and while alarms are off, the editor offers a wrap-up at zero minutes, so you still get a notification at the moment the budget runs out.

How do I delete a priority?

On iPhone, touch and hold the priority in the list and choose Delete. (A plain tap opens it for editing instead.) On Apple Watch, swipe the priority to the left, tap Edit, and scroll down to Delete. Both ask you to confirm first.

It doesn’t matter which device you use — the deletion syncs to the other one. There is no undo in the app, so if you might want the priority back, edit it instead of deleting it.

How is this different from a Pomodoro timer?

What Pomodoro doesn't show you, and what is at the heart of this app: the things you neglect, front and center. Not in the shape of todos (and bad feelings), but in the shape of your personal priorities.

Why doesn’t a Live Activity appear on my iPhone when I start on the Watch?

If you start a session on the watch while the iPhone is locked or OwnTime is in the background, the watch shows the session right away, but the Live Activity on the phone may only appear the next time you open OwnTime there. If the whole session happens while the phone is asleep, there may be no Live Activity at all.

This follows from the local design. Apple only lets an app start a Live Activity from the background through a push notification from a server, and OwnTime has no server. I think keeping everything on your own devices is the better trade. The watch always shows the live session, and the phone catches up when you open it.

Your privacy

Everything stays on your own devices. No account, no server, no tracking. Details are in the privacy policy.