Install EMDR Timer on your device
By Dr Richard Pomfret, counselling psychologist and EMDR practitioner. Updated 13 October 2026.
EMDR Timer is a website you can add to your home screen or desktop. The installed icon opens straight into the timer, and the app works offline after its files have loaded.
You can use it in a browser first. Installation is free, requires no account and uses your browser's own installation controls.
iPad and iPhone
- Open EMDR Timer in Safari.
- Tap Safari's Share button. In layouts that hide it, open the page menu first and choose Share.
- Choose Add to Home Screen. You may need to scroll through the share actions.
- If Safari shows an Open as Web App option, leave it on, then tap Add.
- Open the new EMDR Timer icon and create or unlock your PIN there.
If you arrived through an email or another app's built-in browser, open the link in Safari first. Browser controls can look different across operating-system versions.
Android
- Open EMDR Timer in Chrome.
- Open the three-dot menu and choose Install app or Add to Home screen.
- Confirm the installation and open the EMDR Timer icon.
If Chrome does not offer installation immediately, let the timer finish loading and check the menu again. Other browsers may offer a shortcut with different behaviour. Chrome is the straightforward installation route for Android.
Mac and Windows
- Open EMDR Timer in Chrome or Edge.
- Use the install icon in the address bar, if shown. In Edge you can also look under Apps in the browser menu; in Chrome use Cast, save, and share → Install page as app.
- Confirm and open the installed app from your applications or Start menu.
On a Mac with Safari's web-app support, File → Add to Dock is another option. You can also keep using the ordinary browser tab.
Check offline use before relying on it
Open the installed timer while connected and let it finish loading. Then, before a session, disconnect and reopen the icon to check that the PIN screen and timer are available. The public guides and newsletter form need a connection.
Installation helps make the tool easy to return to. It does not create a cloud account or synchronise sessions between devices. Keep an encrypted backup if you need a recoverable copy.
Where are my existing sessions?
Sessions belong to the browser storage in which you created them. An installed app can use a different storage area, depending on the platform and browser, so do not assume that opening a new icon transfers the old sessions.
If your history is missing in the installed app, return to the original browser where it is visible. Make an encrypted backup there and restore it in the installed app using the backup passphrase. Check that the restored history is present before clearing or uninstalling anything.
Clearing site data can delete saved sessions. Forgetting the app PIN cannot be resolved by the developer; an encrypted backup with its separate passphrase is the recovery route.
Browser instructions
For the current browser controls, see Apple's iPhone guide, Chrome's web-app guide and Safari web apps on Mac.