Google Search’s built-in timer has disappeared and no one’s saying why

Until recently, one of the most convenient ways to set a timer was to simply search for one on Google. Punch in a query like “10 minute timer” and, hey presto, you’d get a ten minute timer. But last month, reports started to emerge that this feature had disappeared from Google without warning. SEORoundTable was among the first to cover the missing timer on July 20th, citing tweets from around July 18th.

Although there are no shortage of timers elsewhere on the web (or provided as stock apps on iOS and Android) Google’s built-in version was a simple, accessible alternative. And, as well as the timer, there was also a stopwatch feature built into the same widget for when you need to count up rather than down. The feature dates back almost...

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