FlowTime - Focus Timer’s First Major Update
Thank you, as always, for using FlowTime!
When I first released FlowTime, I was honestly worried whether an app I was building solo would actually be used—so I shipped it with only the bare minimum features.
But over time, I’ve been getting more and more feedback through surveys and direct user messages asking for features like “I want this,” “I need that.” And even for my own daily use, I kept feeling, “At this point, it’s tough without login and task data sync.”
So with this update, I’m releasing Login / Data Sync and the new Projects feature.
Also, since all focus sessions will now be stored in the cloud, the stats dashboard will let you check your data from any device as long as you’re logged in.
Login Becomes Required for Data Sync
Up until now, FlowTime has been an easy, no-login-required app. That was fine for desk workers who focus on a fixed device and browser.
But in today’s mobile-first world, that experience was outdated—and in a multi-device setup, the app was simply very inconvenient to use.
To sync task data and stats dashboard data to the cloud, we need a way to identify users. That’s why login is now required.
You can log in to FlowTime using Google Sign-In.
Tasks, Timer Session Logs, and the New Projects Feature Are Now Saved to the Cloud
Now that login is required, the following data is stored in the cloud:
- Tasks
- Timer session logs (both Focus and Break)
- Projects (new feature)
All of this information is saved to the cloud. That means as long as you’re logged in with the same Google account, your data stays in sync across any device and browser—always up to date.
Settings Are Also Saved to the Cloud
All your current settings will be saved to the cloud and restored on any device.
Adding Paid Plans (Pro / Premium)
All existing features remain available for everyone for free, but we’re now adding paid plans: Pro / Premium. This introduces differences in available features across Free / Pro / Premium.
I’ve been exploring paid features for a while. Cloud usage comes with ongoing costs, and since this is a side project I’m developing as an individual, I decided to introduce Stripe payments in this update to keep the app sustainable long-term.
- Both Pro and Premium support monthly and annual plans. Annual plans include a 2-month discount.
- Pricing is $6 for Pro and $12 for Premium.
| Plan | Free | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | Free | $6 | $12 |
| Yearly | Free | $60 | $120 |
Here are the differences between Free / Pro / Premium:
1) Account / Sync
| Category | Feature | Free | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auth | Google Sign-In | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Data storage | Local + Cloud | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multi-device | Sync the same data on any device | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
2) Tasks / Projects
| Category | Feature | Free | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task count | Task limit | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Project count | Creation limit | Up to 3 (excluding Inbox) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Task app import (planned) | Integrations with apps like Todoist / TickTick | 🔒 | ✅ | ✅ |
3) View Modes
| Category | Feature | Free | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| List view | Standard task list | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Kanban | Manage tasks in Kanban mode | 🔒 (view only) | ✅ Full | ✅ Full |
4) Stats Dashboard
| Category | Feature | Free | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time range | View timer session logs (TODAY / WEEK / MONTH / YEAR) | 🔒 TODAY/WEEK only | 🔒 TODAY/WEEK/MONTH only | ✅ Full |
| Export | CSV / JSON export | 🔒 Not available | ✅ Up to 31 days | ✅ Unlimited range / Download by year |
| AI integration (planned) | Weekly reflection analysis by AI (spec under consideration) | 🔒 | TBD | ✅ (planned) |
5) External Calendar Integration
| Category | Feature | Free | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar integration | Save sessions as Google Calendar events | 🔒 | ✅ | ✅ |
6) “Forgot to Stop the Timer” Prevention
| Category | Feature | Free | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-stop | Automatically stop the timer if it exceeds a set number of minutes in Settings | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
7) Custom Streak Feature
| Category | Feature | Free | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom streak | Choose which days count toward your streak based on your schedule | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Differences by Plan (Free / Pro / Premium)
What You Can Do With Pro / Premium
With paid plans, you can keep using all the existing features as-is, and the following areas are mainly enhanced:
- Full Kanban mode (not just viewing—editing and operations are enabled)
- Expanded stats dashboard
- Pro: Up to 31 days (up to MONTH) + data export (up to 31 days)
- Premium: Full range including YEAR / ALL YEAR + data export (unlimited range)
- Google Calendar integration is available
Premium is a higher-tier plan aimed at people who want long-term review or want to export data and analyze it, with unlimited export range.
What You Can Do With Free
You can still use the core features on the Free plan:
- Unlimited tasks
- Projects: Up to 3 (excluding Inbox)
- Stats dashboard: TODAY / WEEK only (export not available)
- Custom streak
For Paid Plans (Pro / Premium): Google Calendar Integration
Google Calendar integration is a feature that automatically creates Google Calendar events for your timer Focus sessions and Break sessions.
When you turn this on, your Google Calendar will update automatically, so you can easily see “what time blocks you were focusing” directly on your calendar.
It’s subtle, but it’s something a lot of users have requested—and something I personally wanted too. Please give it a try.
You Can Export / Back Up Your Past Data
Since this is a major update, I added a way to back up your past data.
From the Settings screen, if you have past data stored, you’ll be able to download a zip file containing a set of CSV and JSON files.
Bug Fixes / Improvements
-
In the stats dashboard, Focus/Break session counts were being included as “Average Focus Session,” so I separated the numbers and now display them as Avg Focus Session and Avg Break Session.
-
In the stats dashboard, Focus Session and Break Session counts are now displayed separately.
Under Consideration
- Timer pause feature
