One thing I’m pretty sure we can all agree on is: ads are annoying. No one likes them, and they’re everywhere. Now, here’s the thing about me. While I’m no fan of ads, the moment I need to study or work, my procrastinating self will sit and watch them like they’re suddenly the most interesting thing on the planet.
It’s the modern-day equivalent of staring at the ceiling or reorganizing your desk for the fifth time instead of actually studying or working. Unfortunately, ads also tend to infiltrate apps and websites that are designed to help you focus.
I love testing productivity apps and am always looking for new tools to try out and integrate into my workflow. However, “no ads” was never really on my checklist, at least not until I realized just how much time I would waste. That’s when I started searching for something that’d help me focus and not have ads in my face every few minutes. Fortunately, I found just that!
Fomodoro is an open-source, ad-free Pomodoro timer
The best combination there is
Fomodoro is an app I came across on the r/androidapps subreddit. It’s a no-ads Pomodoro timer with an extremely minimalist user interface. The app isn’t available on the App Store or Play Store yet, but you can easily install it on your Android device through the developer’s GitHub repository.
The developer explains that they wanted an app that felt visually appealing without being overdesigned, and it honestly echoes what I’ve been looking for in a focus app. The app itself is your standard Pomodoro timer and features the classic 25/5 Pomodoro mode.
If you haven’t tried the Pomodoro method before and this is your first time hearing about it, it’s a simple time-management technique where you work in focused 25-minute sessions, followed by a short 5-minute break. When you’re done with four of these focus sessions, you take a longer break, usually around 15 to 30 minutes, to fully reset before diving back in.
For me personally, the classic Pomodoro technique doesn’t cut it. I find 25 minutes of focus too short to get into deep work. Once I get into the groove of doing my task, the timer goes off, and it’s time to take a break. When it’s time to begin focusing again, I often struggle to regain that same momentum. That’s why I ended up trying the reverse Pomodoro method.
Some of the Pomodoro apps I’ve tried before don’t let you adjust your session lengths, leaving you stuck with the default 25/5 setup. That’s another reason I like Fomodoro. It lets you customize both your focus and break durations, so you can tailor your sessions to your own workflow instead of forcing yourself into a rigid structure.
You can choose up to 120 minutes of focus time, with up to 10 minutes for a short break and 30 minutes for a long break. You can also customize the number of sessions you want to have, with a maximum of five sessions.
You don’t need to sign in or create an account
Simply install the app
As mentioned earlier, Fomodoro is built on the idea of simplicity. Typically, when you launch a new app, the very first thing you’re asked to do is log in or create a new account. Now, hitting a few buttons and quickly signing in isn’t a big deal. The problem is that a lot of apps nowadays tend to have unnecessarily complex onboarding or permission steps. Fomodoro skips all of that. All you need to do is open the app, set your timer, and you’re ready to focus.
One thing I absolutely love to do is track everything. I use an AI calendar scheduling app simply so I can know how much time I spend working, studying, and relaxing throughout the day. I wait all year for Spotify Wrapped, just so I can see how my listening habits have evolved (or haven’t). So if there’s an app that gives me stats on how much time I spend focusing, you bet I’m using it.
Thankfully, Fomodoro does that too. It tracks how much time you’ve focused in total, along with your longest and current streak. The best part is, you don’t need to create an account for the tracking feature either.
Fomodoro also offers different background sounds
What’s focusing without some background sound?
While having no ads at all to distract my easily-distracted self is already a win, Fomodoro takes it a step further with its customization options. The app has a Dark mode, an AMOLED mode, and even lets you play background sounds while you work. I can’t sit with my thoughts alone, even when I’m studying or working, so I always have something playing in the background.
If it’s not music, it’s usually a TV show running quietly in the back. Fomodoro currently offers four different types of background sounds — Brown Noise, White Noise, Rainfall, and Light Jazz. There are very few things I love more than rainfall, so you can probably guess which one I picked first.
This might just be my new favorite focus app
Now, the app itself doesn’t offer anything completely unique that I haven’t seen before in other focus apps. But an app being ad-free, open-source, and this cleanly designed is surprisingly rare. It does exactly what it promises, and that’s all I really ask for.