Zoom App documentation
Speech Timer by speaking.app
Add a synchronized green, yellow, and red timing signal to your own video while the meeting timer keeps the controls private.
Last updated September 1, 2026
Requirements
Zoom Workplace desktop, an active meeting, camera enabled, and permission to use Zoom Apps and virtual backgrounds.
Account
A speaking.app account is not required. Zoom may require sign-in and administrator approval to add the app.
Who controls it
Each participant applies the signal to their own video. The timer operator cannot change another participant's background.
Add and use the app
Quick start
- 01
Open the Speech Timer by speaking.app listing in the Zoom App Marketplace and select Add.
- 02
Start or join a Zoom meeting in the desktop client and turn on your camera.
- 03
In a browser, open the speaking.app Speech Timer, then select Live display.
- 04
Select Open Speech Timer in Zoom. The public Live display ID is carried into the Zoom App automatically. You can also paste the public viewer link in the app.
- 05
In Zoom, open Apps, then open Speech Timer by speaking.app.
- 06
Confirm that the timing signal preview says Synced. Choose whether the elapsed clock should appear privately in the sidebar or publicly on your video.
- 07
When it is your turn, select I'm next — show timer. Approve any Zoom video-effect prompt.
- 08
When you finish, select I'm done — remove timer.
Settings
What the app controls
Timing signal
Your video background follows the connected Live display: neutral, green, yellow, red, and the optional over-time flash.
Show time to me
Shows a readable elapsed clock in the private sidebar preview. It is off by default.
Show time on video
Adds the elapsed clock to the outgoing video so everyone can see it. It is off by default.
Previous times
Shows up to 20 completed entries shared by the Live display. This list stays in the sidebar.
Important behavior
Before you apply the timer
Background replacement
Applying the timer replaces your current Zoom background and foreground. Removing it returns the background to None. Zoom Apps cannot restore your previous selection.
Mirrored self-view
Your normal “Mirror my video” preference remains unchanged. A mirrored self-view can reverse the timer text for you, while the audience still sees correctly oriented text.
Troubleshooting
Common issues
- The app says to join a meeting
- Speech Timer changes only your in-meeting video. Start or join a Zoom meeting, turn on your camera, then reopen the app from the Apps panel.
- The Live display will not connect
- Paste the public viewer link, not the private controller link. If the display has ended, create a new Live display in the speaking.app Speech Timer.
- The video effect is unavailable
- Update Zoom Workplace, fully quit it, and reopen it. Confirm that virtual backgrounds and Zoom Apps are allowed by your account administrator.
- First use takes a long time
- Zoom may download its Smart Virtual Background package and ask for approval. Keep the app open, approve the Zoom prompt, and allow up to two minutes.
- The timer text looks reversed to me
- Zoom mirrors your local self-view when “Mirror my video” is enabled. Other participants receive correctly oriented text. The sidebar preview remains readable to you.
- The timer is still on my video
- Reopen Speech Timer and select “Reset Zoom effects.” If needed, open Zoom video settings and set Virtual Background to None.
Remove the app
Remove access and local settings
- If the timer is active, select I'm done — remove timer.
- Sign in to the Zoom App Marketplace and open Manage.
- Open Added Apps, select Speech Timer by speaking.app, then select Remove.
The app does not retain Zoom access tokens or Zoom user records. Removing it clears its Zoom WebView storage. A public Live display is separate and expires 12 hours after its last update; the timer operator can end it immediately from speaking.app.
Privacy
Speech Timer does not request or receive meeting audio, camera pixels, chat, participant lists, or recordings. Zoom applies generated background and foreground images inside its own client. The app reads only the public timing state deliberately shared through the connected Live display.