FAQ

Why another meditation timer?

Ding was born in the Syntony community: we wanted a simple timer with no distractions but with a sense of sitting together — seeing friends meditate supported us better than badges and stars. The existing timers didn't fit, so we made our own. And now Ding is available to anyone who wants it.

How much does Ding cost?

Ding is free. No subscription, no ads, no in-app purchases — every feature is open.

Are there guided meditations or courses?

No. Ding is meant to be a timer and stays one — no library of recordings or courses.

What notifications does Ding send?

Exactly one — the final-bell backup, in case the system unloaded the app mid-session. Nothing else: Ding never asks for ratings, never sends “come back to your practice”, never celebrates streaks. Nothing pops up after the final bell — the completion screen shows your session and stays quiet.

Are there background sounds?

Yes, three: breathing, noise and shruti (an Indian instrument that sounds much like a small harmonium). They're enabled per preset and off by default. The background has its own volume, it quiets down under the bells, and the “Fades after” setting silences it after a time you choose — the rest of the session passes in silence.

Will the bell ring with the screen off or the app in the background?

The timer keeps time by the clock, not by an app counter: screen off, app in the background — the session runs and the bells ring. They don't interrupt music or a podcast; they sound on top. If the system unloads the app from memory, the final bell arrives as a notification. On iPhone the bells ring even with the silent switch on — their volume follows the music volume, not the ringer; the current level is shown under the ring on the ready screen. On Android a foreground service keeps the session running, with an exact alarm as a backup — no need to adjust battery settings by hand.

I have a streak in Insight Timer — do I start from zero?

No — your streak continues. Export your session log from Insight Timer as a file and load it into Ding: the history becomes real entries, and your streak and total time carry on from where you left off. A step-by-step guide with screenshots — “Import your practice from Insight Timer”.

I missed a day — is the streak gone?

If the day isn't over yet — no: the streak doesn't die at midnight, it waits all of today for you to sit. It only breaks once a day has ended with no practice at all — then the count starts over. No scolding: Ding sends no pushes about streaks, and after a long break it only says “What matters is that you keep coming back.”

How do I take my history with me? Is there a backup?

You can always save your history to a file: the Practice menu (three dots) → “Export practice”. It's a plain table (CSV) — it stays yours and stays readable even without Ding itself, and “Import practice” brings it back. When changing phones: on iPhone, statistics and presets arrive by themselves through your personal iCloud; on Android there's no automatic copy — move your history with that same file.

I've never meditated — is Ding for me?

Yes. There are no lessons in Ding — just a timer, bells and silence, and that's enough to begin. Try the built-in two-minute practice: it lives right on the front page — the ring there is a live timer. And questions about practice itself are welcome on the Discord community.

What's the Ding community?

It's a Discord server around the app itself — for user support, meditation and conversation. It has a daily board of who meditated today and a channel for notes on how a sit went. The server is bilingual — Russian and English halves — and many channels are translated between them automatically: a conversation works even with no shared language. The timer works without the community, and connecting Discord is only needed for the Together screen.

I know nothing about Discord — is it hard?

Discord is a free messenger, like Telegram or WhatsApp, except instead of chats it has community servers. An account takes a couple of minutes: an email and a name. We recommend installing the Discord mobile app on the same phone as Ding — that's where you'll join the community, through an invite link. Hooking it up to Ding is the “Connect Discord” button in Ding itself (the sign-in happens in Discord; Ding never sees your password).

Who can see that I meditate?

Without Discord — nobody: Ding doesn't know who you are. With Discord connected there's one rule: you see each other only if you share a community and both have checked it in your profiles. Uncheck yours and you're incognito: nobody sees you, and you don't see others. It's a single action in the profile — no need to leave the community.

What data leaves my phone?

Without Discord, your statistics and presets live on the device (on iPhone — also in your personal iCloud); the server only receives an anonymous contribution to the shared counter — a “+1” and the session length, with no identifiers of any kind. With Discord connected, the server knows your Discord profile, your community list and your session facts — that's what the Together screen is built from. The “Delete my data” button in the profile erases the server record entirely. The full breakdown is in the privacy policy.

How do I get Ding on my Apple Watch?

The watch version comes with the iPhone one: after installing on iPhone, open the Watch app — Ding appears among the available apps. On the wrist it's a standalone timer: presets and the theme mirror from the phone, haptics arrive even with the screen off, and sessions land in your shared statistics. No need to bring the phone.

Is there an Android version?

Yes — Ding is in Google Play. The timer, the bells, the presets, the statistics and the shared feed work the same as on iPhone; practice is saved to Health Connect. Apple Watch, iCloud sync and Calendar entries stay on iPhone.