My Tide Times - Tables & Chart

Analysis by Appcrazy

I use weather apps for quick forecasts, but tides require a different kind of attention. A normal forecast can tell me whether to expect rain or wind; it does not necessarily answer the practical question of whether a beach, harbor, mudflat, or launch point will be usable when I arrive. My Tide Times is built around that narrower need, and in my experience its value comes from keeping tide information separate from the clutter of a general-purpose weather dashboard.

My overall view is simple: this is a focused and approachable tide app for people who regularly plan around changing water levels. It is free, rated for Everyone, and comes from JRustonApps B.V. That makes it easy to try without committing to a subscription first. The app has also been available since January 22, 2014, so it feels like a long-established tool rather than a newly launched experiment.

The current release is version 25.1.3 and it works on Android 7.0 or later. Those details matter mainly because the app is accessible on older compatible devices, including phones that may be kept in a boat bag or used outdoors rather than treated as a primary everyday handset. Its store presence is substantial, with over one million installs, a 4.7 average from around 26 thousand ratings, and roughly 1.3 thousand written reviews. Those figures do not replace personal testing, but they do suggest that the app has found a stable audience among people who want tide tables without a complicated setup.

Why the tide-first approach works

A clearer answer than a general weather app

The strongest part of My Tide Times is its focus. When I open it, I am not trying to interpret a full meteorological picture before finding the information that affects my plan. The purpose is immediately understandable: choose a coastal location, inspect the tide information, and use the timing to decide what to do next.

That sounds basic, but it changes the way I plan. With a broad weather service, tides may be buried behind several screens or treated as a secondary detail. Here, the tide table and chart are the reason to open the app in the first place. For a person checking whether a shoreline walk will coincide with a lower water level, that directness is more useful than a long list of unrelated weather panels.

I also like the difference between a table and a visual chart. The table is the better choice when I need to check an exact event or compare a sequence of high and low tides. The chart is more intuitive when I want to understand the shape of the day at a glance. A visual curve helps me see whether the water is rising toward a high point or falling away from one, which is often easier than mentally reconstructing the pattern from times alone.

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Useful for planning, not just checking

The app becomes more valuable when I treat it as a planning tool rather than a screen I glance at once. Before heading out, I can look at the tide pattern for the intended location and think about the entire outing: travel time, time spent at the destination, and the point at which returning may become less comfortable or less safe.

For example, imagine I am taking a child to a rocky beach to look for shells. The low tide itself is not the only thing that matters. I need enough time to arrive, walk down to the exposed area, explore, and leave before the shoreline changes significantly. I would check the table first, then use the chart to understand how quickly the tide moves around that period. I would also leave room for delays rather than treating the listed event as a precise appointment.

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That workflow is one of the app’s less obvious strengths. It encourages me to think in windows instead of isolated timestamps. A tide event is a reference point, while the actual outing occupies a wider period. The chart supports that interpretation better than a plain list of times, especially for casual beach users who may not already be comfortable reading tide tables.

Good fit for several kinds of coastal activity

My Tide Times is useful for more than boating. I can see it helping with shoreline photography, coastal walks, fishing preparation, paddleboarding plans, harbor visits, and checking whether a familiar access route may be affected by water levels. It is also handy for people who live near the coast and want a quick answer before leaving home.

For a photographer, timing can change the character of the same location. A lower tide may reveal rocks, pools, or a wider stretch of sand, while a higher tide can make the scene feel more enclosed. The app does not need to tell me which image to take; it gives me the timing information needed to choose when to go.

For a small-boat user, the benefit is more practical. I can check the expected tide cycle before thinking about departure and return. That does not turn the app into a complete navigation system, but it provides one important part of the preparation process in a form that is easier to consult than a paper table or a general web search.

How I would use it before leaving

My preferred routine is to check the destination while I still have time to adjust the plan. I look at the relevant day, identify the high and low points, and then consider how those times fit around transport, parking, walking, and the activity itself. If the plan depends on a narrow period, I would check again closer to departure rather than relying on a screenshot made much earlier.

I would also save the location mentally by its practical name rather than assuming every nearby coastal point behaves identically. Two places in the same broad area can have different local conditions, access restrictions, exposure, or shoreline shape. The app can help me choose a tide location, but it cannot decide whether that location accurately represents the exact beach, inlet, or launch point I intend to use.

That is an important tip for new users: the nearest listed tide station is a planning reference, not a guarantee that every nearby shoreline behaves in exactly the same way. Local geography and weather can make a real difference. I would use the app to organize my timing, then combine it with local knowledge and common sense.

What the rating and long availability tell me

The app’s 4.7 average and broad install base are reassuring because tide apps depend heavily on repeat use. Someone who checks tide information once may tolerate an awkward interface; someone who relies on it for recurring trips needs a tool that remains understandable over time. The number of ratings, around 26 thousand, gives the overall score more weight than a rating based on only a handful of opinions.

I would not interpret that popularity as proof that it is perfect for every coast or every activity. It is better read as evidence that the central idea works for many people: a dedicated tide-table app is often more convenient than forcing tide information into a general weather routine.

The meaningful limitation: tide information is only one part of the decision

The main weakness is also connected to the app’s focus. Tide times and charts are valuable, but they do not answer every question I might have before going onto the water or walking along an exposed shoreline. Wind, waves, rainfall, visibility, temperature, currents, surf conditions, and local warnings can all matter. A tide chart cannot tell me whether a route is slippery, whether a small craft will be comfortable, or whether a storm has changed the situation since the forecast was prepared.

Because of that, I would not use My Tide Times as my only source for a serious boating trip, an unfamiliar coastal route, or any outing where conditions could become dangerous. I would pair it with a reliable weather service and, when appropriate, local harbor, coastguard, park, or maritime guidance. A general weather app is the better first choice if my main question is whether the day will be windy or wet and tides are only an occasional extra.

There is another practical trade-off. A specialized tide app can feel less convenient when I am already checking several other conditions. I may need to move between apps instead of getting a single combined overview. For a casual user who wants one screen showing temperature, precipitation, wind, alerts, and tide information, that separation may feel like unnecessary friction.

For me, the trade-off is worthwhile when tide timing is central. I would rather use a focused tide tool and a separate weather source than rely on a crowded screen where the information I care about is difficult to find. But that preference depends on the activity. The app is strongest when tides drive the plan, not when they are merely one small detail.

Small habits that make the app more dependable

I would avoid checking only the headline event and then planning right up to it. If I am visiting a tidal beach, I would build in a buffer for walking and changing conditions. The chart is especially useful here because it encourages a broader view of the rise and fall instead of making me fixate on one exact time.

I would also check the chosen location carefully before trusting the result. A station that looks geographically close may not reflect a narrow bay, river mouth, or sheltered harbor in the same way as an open beach. This is not a flaw unique to the app; it is a general limitation of applying tide predictions to real coastlines. The more demanding the activity, the more important it becomes to understand the local area rather than treating the app as an authority on every detail.

Finally, I would keep a second source available for conditions that can change quickly. The app is excellent for the tide component of preparation, but a complete outing plan needs more than one environmental signal. That is the most important distinction between using it responsibly and treating it as a complete marine safety product.

Who should choose it

I would recommend My Tide Times to beach walkers, coastal photographers, anglers, families visiting tidal shorelines, and recreational users who repeatedly need to know when water levels will change. It is also a sensible option for someone who finds general weather apps too busy and wants a dedicated place to check tide tables and a chart.

The free price makes the decision easy: there is little reason not to test it against the locations and planning habits that matter to you. Its Everyone content rating also makes it suitable for a household device used by different family members, although younger users should still be supervised around water for obvious safety reasons.

I think it is particularly well suited to people who plan recurring activities. If I visit the same coast regularly, the app can become part of a simple routine: check the tide, check the weather elsewhere, consider access and safety, then decide whether the timing works. That is more useful than downloading it only after arriving at the beach and discovering that the outing depends on a tide window I did not consider.

Who should skip it or use something else first

I would skip it as a primary choice if I rarely visit the coast and mainly want a standard forecast. In that situation, a familiar weather app may be faster because it answers the questions I actually ask most often. I would also look elsewhere first if I need detailed marine navigation, route planning, chart plotting, or a unified view of advanced sea conditions.

Likewise, anyone planning a technically demanding trip should not confuse a clean tide display with a complete navigation solution. The app can support preparation, but it should not replace nautical charts, local guidance, suitable equipment, or experience. Its role is narrower and, when used within that role, more dependable.

My final assessment

After using it as a dedicated tide reference, I see My Tide Times as a practical specialist rather than an all-purpose weather replacement. Its best quality is the way it turns tide information into something I can use for real planning: compare the table, read the chart, choose a sensible time window, and then check the other conditions separately.

The app’s free access, long availability, 4.7 average, and strong user adoption make it an easy recommendation for people whose routines depend on the coast. The developer, JRustonApps B.V., has kept the product centered on a clear purpose instead of asking it to become an entire marine information suite.

My recommendation is therefore specific. If you regularly walk beaches, fish from shore, photograph the coast, or plan small recreational trips around water levels, I would install it and make it part of your preparation routine. If you want one app to handle every weather and navigation question, I would choose a broader solution and treat this as a companion. Its real strength is not replacing every coastal tool; it is making tide timing easier to understand and harder to overlook.