PaperSkater
Free Android widget
Count down to your big day.
A free widget for your Android home screen.
Set your date once. Each time you pick up your phone, you see how many days are left, with the hours ticking down underneath. Good for a launch, a trip, a move, a graduation, or any day that matters to you.
Download the free app- Free, no cost
- Your date stays on your phone
- Android 8.0 or newer
- Test version, not on the Play Store yet
Try it here
Live preview
This works like the widget. Pick the date you are counting down to.
Trying it here saves nothing. In the app, your date is stored on your phone only.
How to read it
The numbers
- The big number is full days left. It drops by one every day.
- The orange clock is total time left, in hours, minutes, and seconds.
- On the day itself, it reads zero. No negative numbers.
About five minutes
Install it, step by step
The app is not on the Play Store yet, so your phone will show a warning. That is expected. Steps 4 and 5 show what to tap.
File: paperskater-countdown-v6.apk. Version 6 (1.5), test version. Size about 762 KB.
- Find the file. When the download is done, open My Files, then Downloads, and tap paperskater-countdown-v6.apk.
- Tap Install. The phone shows the app name, PaperSkater Countdown.
- Samsung only: Auto Blocker. If the install is blocked by Auto Blocker, tap OK. Open Settings, then Security and privacy, then Auto Blocker, and switch it off. Tap the file and Install again. You can switch Auto Blocker back on later.
- The Play Protect warning. Tap More details, then tap the small words Install anyway. Do not tap Got it, because that only closes the warning.
- Tap Open when the phone says App installed.
- Set your date. Open the app, not the widget. Pick your date and tap Save Date. You can also pick the widget background.
- Add the widget. Press and hold an empty spot on your home screen, tap Widgets, find PaperSkater Countdown, and tap Add.
- Give it a second. The widget shows dashes for a moment, then your numbers fill in.
Stuck?
Quick fixes
Tapped Got it and nothing installed
Got it only closes the warning. Tap the file in Downloads again, tap Install, then More details, then Install anyway.
A texted file says File type not supported
Google Voice cannot receive app files. Text it to a regular number in the normal Messages app, or download it from this page.
The widget only shows dashes
Open the PaperSkater Countdown app, pick a date, and tap Save Date. The widget counts down to the date the app saved.
Tapping the widget opens a website
That is on purpose. To change your date or background, open the app from your app drawer.
Is it safe to install?
The app asks for one permission: starting back up after the phone restarts, so the countdown comes back after a reboot. The app makes no network calls, has no ads, and has no tracking. Your date never leaves your phone.
What about iPhone?
This version is Android only. An iPhone version may come later.
Pass it on
Every phone starts blank, so each person picks a date. One tap opens your text app with a short note and the link.
Text this page to a friend