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On the main Timer screen, scroll the Min and Sec wheels to your desired time, then tap the big Start button. An egg will drop in and start bouncing — when time is up it shakes, cracks open, and a surprise animal pops out!

Tap Timers in the bottom nav to find ready-made timers for common routines. Tap any card to launch it instantly — no setup needed.

Yes! In the Timers tab, scroll to the bottom and tap + New Timer. Give it a name, set the duration, and it'll be saved for quick access anytime.

While a timer is running, two buttons appear below the egg: Pause and Stop. Tap Pause to freeze the countdown (tap again to resume). Tap Stop to cancel and return to the time picker.

Yes! Tap the + or − buttons on either side of the countdown display to add or subtract 10 seconds at a time — without stopping the timer.

Yes. Animal Timer tracks time in the background. When the timer finishes, you'll get a notification alert (if notifications are enabled in Settings). The Live Activity on your lock screen also shows the countdown in real time on iOS.

Make sure you've allowed notifications the first time the app asks — otherwise you'll only see the alert when the app is open.

On iOS 16.1+ devices, a Live Activity appears on your lock screen and in the Dynamic Island (iPhone 14 Pro and later) when a timer is running. It shows the remaining time and a progress bar. You can also tap Pause or Stop right from the lock screen without opening the app.

Check two things:

1. In-app sound — go to Settings → Sound and make sure it's toggled on. You can also toggle the tick sound separately.

2. Device silent mode — Animal Timer plays sound even when your iPhone is on silent. If you're still not hearing anything, try increasing your device volume.

A random cute animal! The app picks one from your active animal pool — which includes bears, chicks, pandas, bats, and many more. Each animal is added to your Stickers collection automatically.

Tap Animals in the bottom navigation bar. Your collection shows every creature you've unlocked. Tap any animal card to see it up close. Animals you haven't earned yet are shown as silhouettes — keep finishing timers to hatch them all!

Yes! Go to Settings → Animals to open the Animal Pool picker. You can select only the animals you'd like to appear when a timer finishes. This is great if your child has a favourite or wants to focus on collecting a specific set.

Tap Backgrounds in the bottom nav. Choose any colour tile to apply it instantly. The accent colour of buttons and the progress ring updates to match automatically. Some backgrounds are Premium-only.

Premium unlocks:

Extra animals — all premium-only creatures
Extra backgrounds — more colour themes
Surprise Message — record your own voice to play when the timer ends

Premium is a one-time purchase — no subscriptions.

With Premium, go to Settings → Surprise Message. Tap the record button and say something fun — "Great job finishing your timer!" — then save it. Your recorded message will play instead of the default jingle when any timer ends.

Toggle Play on all timers to use it for preset timers too.

Go to Settings → Unlock Premium and tap Restore Purchases. As long as you're signed into the same Apple ID that made the original purchase, Premium will be restored at no charge.

Go to Settings → Vibration and toggle it off. This disables all haptic feedback within the app.

Go to Settings → Keep Screen On and enable it. This prevents the display from locking while the app is in the foreground. Note: this will use more battery.

1. In the app go to Settings → Notifications and confirm it's enabled.

2. Open your iPhone's Settings → Animal Timer → Notifications and make sure Allow Notifications is on.

3. If you previously denied permission, you'll need to enable it from iPhone Settings — the app cannot re-prompt once you've declined.

To prevent children from accidentally making purchases or changing settings, Animal Timer uses a simple math challenge before accessing Premium or Settings. Only a parent or older child should be able to solve it quickly. This is required by App Store guidelines for apps made for kids.

In Settings, scroll to the very bottom and long-press the version number for 2 seconds. A confirmation dialog will appear. Tap Reset to clear all data (sticker collection, custom timers, settings) and restart fresh. This cannot be undone.

Our app is designed for children and is 100% ad-free. We do not include any third-party tracking or analytics.

All timer data and animal collections are stored locally on your device. We do not have access to your recordings or your child's progress.

If you have any questions about our privacy practices, please contact us at helloappsupport@gmail.com.