Vaktia: Prayer Times, Qibla Compass, and Worship Tracker App

Vaktia: Prayer Times, Qibla Compass, and Worship Tracker App

About the Project and the App’s Purpose

Vaktia is a mobile app that combines prayer times, the Qibla direction, time notifications, and prayer tracking into a single Android app. The app was developed by ANKAVERSE E-Commerce and Technology Limited Company and is available on Google Play.

Vaktia’s primary purpose is to enable users to access daily prayer times based on their location, determine the Qibla direction, manage prayer time notifications, and regularly track the prayers they have performed.

The app is designed to offer a simple and intuitive user experience. It does not require account creation or user login. Prayer times, qibla calculations, prayer logs, and user preferences are largely processed directly on the device.

Key Features of the System

Prayer Times Based on Location

Vaktia calculates daily prayer times based on the user’s approximate location or a city selected manually.

The app displays the following prayer times:

• Fajr and morning prayer
• Sun
• Noon Prayer
• Afternoon prayer
• Evening prayer
• Night Prayer

If the user does not wish to grant location permission, they can manually select their city from the list of cities within the app. In this case, the prayer times and Qibla direction calculation features will continue to function.

Time Zone and Regional Calculations

The app manages city time zones using IANA time zone data. This allows it to automatically account for time differences and daylight saving time in different countries.

Thanks to this structure, the app can calculate prayer times based on accurate local time information not only in Turkey but also in various cities across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Prayer Time Calculation Method by Country

Vaktia can automatically determine the appropriate prayer time calculation method based on the user’s location. Users can manually change this setting if they wish.

Supported calculation methods include the following:

• Presidency of Religious Affairs
• Muslim World League
• Umm al-Qura University
• General Research Authority of Egypt
• Karachi University of Islamic Sciences
• Islamic Society of North America

Regional differences are taken into account when selecting the calculation method, and the user’s manual selection is always given priority.

Countdown to the Next Prayer Time

The current prayer time, the next prayer time, and the remaining time are displayed on the main screen via a dynamic countdown indicator.

The active prayer time is visually distinguished from the other times. Users can track which prayer time they are currently in and how much time remains until the next one directly from the main screen.

Daily Prayer Times Screen

All prayer times for the day are listed on a single screen. For each prayer time, the time, prayer name, and notification status are displayed.

Users can enable or disable notifications for each prayer time individually.

Qibla Compass

Vaktia features a Qibla compass that calculates the direction of the Kaaba using the device’s sensors and the user’s location data.

The Qibla screen has a simple design to avoid distracting the user while using the compass. The compass indicator moves according to the device’s orientation and visually shows the user the direction of the Kaaba.

Prayer Time Notifications

Users can manage prayer time notifications within the app. Notifications are scheduled on the device based on the selected prayer times.

The necessary Android infrastructure has been integrated into the app to allow prayer time notifications to be rescheduled when the device is restarted or the time zone is changed.

Notification sound options include the following:

• Call to prayer sound
• Ney sound
• Standard notification sound
• Custom sound file selected from the device

The custom sound file selected by the user from their device is not uploaded to any other server. The app only uses the access information for the file on the device.

Prayer Log

There is a prayer log that allows users to track their daily prayers within the app.

Users can mark the prayers they have performed and track their progress throughout the day.

The following prayers are tracked in the log section:

• Morning Prayer
• Noon Prayer
• Afternoon prayer
• Evening Prayer
• Night Prayer

Weekly Prayer Tracking

The app calculates the weekly completion rate using the user’s prayer records from the past seven days.

Users can track their daily prayer counts, weekly worship scores, and streak counts through the app.

• Number of daily prayers completed
• Worship completion rate for the last seven days
• Daily streak
• Weekly worship score
• Option to clear worship history

Worship log entries are stored in the device’s local database.

Verse of the Day

Vaktia’s home screen displays a different verse of the Quran each day, along with information about its source.

Verses are selected on a daily basis from the app’s content pool and presented to the user.

Light, Dark, and System Themes

Vaktia supports three different theme options to suit various user preferences:

• Light theme
• Dark theme
• Automatically follow the device’s system theme

The app’s logo and interface components automatically adapt to the selected theme.

Multilingual App Infrastructure

Vaktia’s source infrastructure has been prepared in Turkish and English. Development continues on in-app language management and new language packs to enable the app to be used in different countries.

Prayer names, notification texts, date formats, and country names are managed via resource files to adapt to language changes.

Privacy and Local Data Management

Vaktia has been developed with an application architecture centered on user privacy.

Core features such as prayer time calculations, qibla direction determination, user settings, and prayer logs operate on the device itself.

The following information is stored on the device:

• The city selected by the user
• Approximate location information
• Prayer time calculation preferences
• Theme selection
• Notification preferences
• Notification sound selection
• Prayer log entries

The app does not request precise location permission. Approximate location information is used solely to calculate prayer times and the direction of the Qibla.

Users who do not wish to grant location permission can manually select their city and continue to use the app’s basic features.

No user account is required. No username, email address, or phone number is requested for prayer logs.

Advertising and User Consent Management

To ensure Vaktia can be offered for free, banner ads are displayed within the app via Google AdMob.

In regions where user consent is required, such as the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, ad preferences are managed through the Google User Messaging Platform infrastructure.

Ads are placed in a way that does not interfere with the app’s core functionality. No ads are displayed on the screen where the Qibla compass is used to avoid distractions.

Technical Architecture

Vaktia was developed as a native Android app using modern Android development technologies.

The following technologies are used in the app’s technical infrastructure:

• Kotlin programming language
• Jetpack Compose user interface
• Material Design 3 design system
• Android SDK 36
• Room local database
• Kotlin Coroutines
• StateFlow-based state management
• Google Play Services Location
• Android AlarmManager
• Android notification channels
• Google AdMob
• Google User Messaging Platform
• Gradle Kotlin DSL
• Robolectric unit tests
• Android UI tests
• R8 code minification and resource optimization

Minimum and Target Android Versions

• Minimum Android version: Android 7.0
• Minimum SDK level: 24
• Target SDK level: 36

App ID

Vaktia’s Android app ID used on Google Play is as follows:

com.ANKAVERSE.Vaktia

Permission Management

The app uses only the Android permissions necessary to perform its functions.

• Approximate location: Used to calculate prayer times and the direction of the Qibla based on the user’s location.
• Notification permission: Used to display prayer time notifications.
• Full-time alarm permission: Used to ensure notifications can be displayed at prayer times.
• Device restart: Used to reset prayer time alarms when the phone is restarted.

Before granting location permission, the user is shown an information screen explaining why location data is required.

Testing and Quality Control Process

During Vaktia’s development process, automated tests are used for prayer time calculations, time zone management, the countdown system, notifications, and language changes.

Test scenarios have been created specifically to ensure that prayer times are displayed correctly in different time zones, that calculations after midnight are accurate, and that date formats remain intact during language changes.

In the app’s production version, code minification and the removal of unused resources are performed.

Revenue Model

Vaktia has been released for free. The app’s primary revenue model relies on Google AdMob banner ads, which are displayed in a way that minimizes disruption to the user experience.

The app’s core features—prayer times, qibla, notifications, and worship tracking—are available for free.

Project Status: Live on Google Play

The development, testing, store preparation, and release processes for the Vaktia Android app have been completed.

The app has been released on Google Play and is now available to Android users.

The published app includes the following core features:

• Prayer times based on location
• Manual city selection
• Automatic calculation method based on country
• Countdown to the next prayer time
• Qibla compass
• Prayer time notifications
• Custom notification sound selection
• Prayer log
• Weekly prayer tracking
• Verse of the Day
• Light and dark themes
• Turkish and English language support

Bug fixes, performance improvements, new language support, and user experience enhancements for the app are ongoing.

Download Vaktia from Google Play

You can download the Vaktia app for free from Google Play and use it on your Android device.

View Vaktia on Google Play

Developer

ANKAVERSE E-Commerce and Technology Limited Company

Vaktia was developed as part of ANKAVERSE’s product development efforts in the fields of mobile app development, artificial intelligence, software, and digital technologies.