How the timer keeps time
Every timer on this site is measured against your device's own clock. Every tenth of a second the timer asks the operating system what time it is now and subtracts that from the moment the countdown should end, rather than counting its own ticks.
This matters because browsers deliberately slow down background tabs to save battery — a timer that counts its own ticks can drift by minutes over an hour. Comparing against the device clock means switching tabs, opening another app or locking the phone has no effect on accuracy.
The site also asks the browser to keep the screen awake while a countdown runs, and caches itself after the first visit, so a running timer survives losing the connection.
Where the numbers come from
Pages that state a fact — Tabata's 20/10 protocol, nap lengths, rest between sets, egg boiling times — cite the source at the foot of the page, with the journal, volume and page numbers so it can be checked. Where a figure is widely repeated but comes with a caveat, the caveat is stated too: the well-known NASA nap percentages, for instance, compare napping pilots with fatigued pilots, not with well-rested ones.
Cooking times are conventional ranges, given with the conditions they assume, because they depend on your oven, your pan and the size of your eggs.
What this site collects
Nothing. There are no accounts, no cookies, no analytics scripts and no advertising network. The timer stores no settings, which is the trade-off for storing nothing at all: each page simply opens with a sensible default already loaded.
Corrections
If a figure on any page is wrong or out of date, it should be corrected rather than argued about. Write to contact@timer-minute.com and it will be checked.
Questions about this site
Is minute-timer.com free?
Yes, entirely. No account, no trial, no paid tier, and no advertising placed over the clock.
Does the timer work offline?
After the first visit, yes. The site caches itself, so pages you have opened before will load without a connection and a running countdown is unaffected by losing one.
Can I use these timers in a classroom or a business?
Yes. There is no restriction on using the timers, projecting them, or linking to them.