Steady
Apps
Do you need a fasting app at all?
Fasting is one decision a day. Most fasting apps turn it into forty. Here is what an app actually needs to do, what the big ones add on top, and how to tell whether any of it is helping you.
The honest answer
You can fast without an app. A phone alarm at the end of dinner, another when the window opens, and a line in your notes when you break the fast is a complete system, and plenty of people run it for years. If that works for you, stop reading and go do it.
An app earns its place in exactly two situations. The first is the hour you usually quit: if something on your phone can get you through it, that is worth having. The second is the record: if you would not keep one by hand, and an honest one would change what you do, an app that keeps it is doing real work. Everything else a fasting app offers is either a convenience or a hook.
What a fasting app needs to do
- A timer. When did the fast start, how long is the window, how long is left. This is the whole product for a lot of people, and it is fine.
- One reminder when the window opens. Scheduled on the phone, not sent from a server.
- Something for the hard hour. A check-in, a note, a coach, a distraction. The hour when tired, hungry and low arrive together is where fasts end, and it is the only moment an app can materially help.
- A record that tells the truth. How many fasts, how many finished, the longest. Counted honestly, with the ones you cut short counted.
- A way to tell you to stop. Shaky, dizzy, heart racing: an app that never says "eat now" is not paying attention.
That is a short list, and it fits on one screen. Most of what the big apps add is not on it.
What the big apps add, and who it is for
Zero, Fastic and Simple are the three most people compare. They are good at what they set out to do, and what they set out to do is broader than fasting.
| What they add | What it does for you | What it does for them |
|---|---|---|
| Streaks | A reason to fast today so you do not break the chain. | A reason to open the app every day. Also the reason a single missed fast ends a lot of people's fasting entirely. |
| Badges and levels | Not much after the first week. | A notification you will tap. |
| Water, weight and step logging | Data you may or may not want. | Three more reasons to open the app, and a profile of you that is worth something. |
| Meal and calorie logging | Useful if you are counting. Most people fast precisely so they do not have to. | Engagement, and the same profile. |
| Inflated fasting stages | A feeling of progress. "Autophagy" at 16 hours is not a thing that happens at 16 hours. | Something to notify you about every two hours. |
| An account | Sync between devices, if you have two. | An email address, a way to reach you when you stop, and a way to measure you. |
None of this is a scandal. It is how consumer apps are built, and if you want a whole-health tracker with a fasting timer inside it, Zero and Fastic are well made and Simple has a large coaching layer on top. The question is whether you wanted a tracker. Most people searching for a fasting app wanted to eat less without counting, and every extra thing to log is a step back toward counting.
Every feature is one more thing to fall behind on. At the hour you want to eat, none of them help.
A note on the word "simple"
If you searched for a simple fasting app, you probably saw Simple, the app, at the top of the results. It is a brand, and a large one: an AI weight loss coach with meal logging, a subscription and a big feature set. It is not a simple fasting app in the plain sense, and reviews complaining about the cancellation flow are a big part of what its name now ranks for. A simple fasting app, lower case, is one that does the timer and little else. That is the kind we make, and the distinction matters enough to say out loud.
How to tell if your app is helping
Ask three questions after two weeks.
- Did it help at the hour you usually quit? If the answer is "it sent me a notification about water", it did not.
- Do you open it because you need to, or because it asked? An app you open twice a day, to start and stop, is doing its job. One you open nine times is doing its own.
- Could you delete it and keep fasting? If not, the app has become the habit, and the habit was supposed to be the fast.
Steady is built to pass those three. A timer, one check-in before the hour that usually decides it, a coach for the moment you want to quit, and three numbers. No account, no streak to protect, nothing logged that you did not choose to log, and nothing leaves your phone. It wants to be closed. That is on purpose.
Questions people ask
Do fasting apps actually work?
They work as well as the habit they support. The timer, a reminder when the window opens, and something for the hour you want to quit are the parts that help. Streaks, badges and food logging mostly help the app's retention numbers rather than your fast.
What is the simplest fasting app?
The simplest useful fasting app is a timer, one optional check-in, and a record of your fasts. Anything that also wants your weight, water, steps, meals and a daily streak is a tracking app with a fasting timer attached.
Is the Simple fasting app the same as a simple fasting app?
No. Simple is a brand, an AI weight loss coach with meal logging and a large feature set. A simple fasting app in the plain sense is one that does the timer and little else. Steady is the second kind.
Can I do intermittent fasting without an app?
Yes. A phone alarm at the end of dinner and a note of when you ate is enough for many people. An app earns its place only if it helps at the hour you usually quit, or keeps a record you would not keep by hand.
Do fasting apps need an account?
No. A fasting timer needs nothing from a server. Apps ask for an account so they can sync, email you and measure you. Steady has no account; everything stays in a local database on the phone.
The whole app fits on one screen.
Steady is a simple fasting app for iPhone: a timer, one check-in at the hour that matters, and a record that tells the truth. No account, no streak to lose, nothing leaves your phone.