Tomoshibi
Tomoshibi (灯火) — Japanese for a small, steady light
A flame. Anywhere you are.
Tomoshibi is a premium virtual candle: a real, living flame hand-rendered on your device’s GPU. Tilt it. Light it. Let it breathe. Mix in rain, ocean, or crackle — and fall asleep to a candle that dims itself and never burns anything down.
Free download · No ads, ever · No accounts · Works completely offline · iPhone & iPad (iOS 15.1+)
Why Tomoshibi exists
Candle apps shouldn’t interrupt the calm they promise
The most-downloaded candle apps bury a simple, beautiful idea under aggressive ads and flat, looping animations. Tomoshibi takes the opposite approach: one flame, rendered properly, with nothing between you and the quiet.
Typical candle apps
- Ad breaks that shatter the mood mid-relaxation
- Flat, obviously looping flame videos
- No thought given to overnight battery drain
- Your attention is the product
Tomoshibi’s promise
- No ads. No accounts. No tracking. Ever
- A live GPU-shader flame that never repeats
- True black background and automatic battery saver
- Everything stays on your device, forever
Features
A candle that behaves like a candle
Every detail — the flicker, the lean, the haptic tap of lighting a wick — is built to make your screen feel like a small, safe fire.
A living, hand-rendered flame
No looping video. The flame is drawn live by a custom GPU shader (Metal on iOS), so it flickers and breathes and never repeats itself.
Tilt your phone, the flame leans
Tomoshibi reads the gyroscope, so the flame responds to how you hold your device — just like carrying a real candle.
Tap to light, tap to blow out
Light and extinguish with a touch, backed by gentle haptic feedback. Full-screen by default — tap to show controls when you need them.
Sleep timer with gradual dim
Choose 15, 30, or 60 minutes free — or any duration from 1 minute to 12 hours with Premium. The screen dims gently and the candle goes out on its own.
Built for all-night burning
OLED true black background, plus an automatic battery saver that kicks in below 20% charge or when Low Power Mode turns on.
Private and offline
No accounts, no ads, no tracking. Settings and optional relaxation stats stay on your device — and it remembers exactly where you left off.
Candle styles
Five candles, one warm glow
Start with the classic tealight, free forever. Premium opens the full collection — and lets you color both the wax and the flame.
Soundscapes
Scored by silence — or by the night itself
Light the candle without a sound, or build your own soundscape. Premium lets you layer sounds together with individual volume sliders.
Candle modes
A flame for every moment that matters
Beyond the standard candle, Tomoshibi carries the rituals people have always used flame for — celebration, remembrance, prayer, and focus.
Standard
Single flame, natural flicker. The everyday candle.
Birthday
Multiple candles to celebrate — then tap to blow them out.
Memorial
A quiet flame in memory of someone loved.
Prayer
A labeled candle for an intention or prayer.
Yahrzeit
A quiet remembrance flame with a traditional label.
Diya
A warm oil lamp for reflection and celebration.
Meditation
A steady, unwavering flame for candle-gazing (trataka) practice.
Wax melt-down
Watch the candle slowly shrink as your timer counts down.
Free & Premium
Generous for free. Complete with Premium.
The core experience — a beautiful candle you can fall asleep to — costs nothing and shows no ads. Premium (subscription or one-time lifetime unlock) opens everything else.
Free, forever
- Tealight candle with the full shader flame
- Fire-crackle ambient sound
- Gyroscope tilt & tap to light / blow out
- Full-screen mode and haptic feedback
- Sleep timer: 15 / 30 / 60 minutes with gradual dim
- OLED true black & automatic battery saver
- Remembers your last setup for instant relight
Tomoshibi Premium
- All candle styles: pillar, taper, votive, jar
- Full sound library + layered sound mixing
- Candle colors and expressive flame tints
- Birthday, memorial, prayer, yahrzeit, diya & meditation modes
- Custom timers from 1 minute to 12 hours
- Wax melt-down animation
- Private, on-device minutes-of-relaxation tracker
Made for the quiet hours
Tomoshibi is for anyone who loves what a small flame does to a room — without smoke, soot, dorm-rule violations, or falling asleep with fire burning.
- Winding down at night — a warm, dim focal point instead of one more bright feed
- Candle-gazing practice — a steady meditation flame that never gutters
- Remembrance — memorial, yahrzeit, and prayer candles you can light anywhere
- Celebration — birthday candles that blow out with a tap
- Cozy ambience — candlelight and crackle in hotels, dorms, and flights where flames can’t go
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
When will Tomoshibi be available?
Tomoshibi is in final development and launching first on the App Store for iPhone and iPad (iOS 15.1 or later). An Android build is being prepared as well. This page will link to the store listing the moment it goes live.
Is Tomoshibi free, and does it show ads?
Tomoshibi will be free to download with no ads — ever. The free tier includes the tealight candle, the fire-crackle sound, gyroscope tilt, full-screen mode, the sleep timer, haptics, true black background, and battery saver. An optional Premium unlock (subscription or one-time lifetime purchase) opens every candle style, the full sound library with mixing, colors, ritual modes, custom timers, and the on-device relaxation tracker.
What makes the flame look real?
Tomoshibi does not play a looping video. The flame is generated live on your device’s GPU with a custom fragment shader (Metal on iOS via Skia), so it flickers, breathes, and never repeats. It also reads the gyroscope, so the flame leans naturally as you tilt your phone.
Does Tomoshibi need an account or an internet connection?
No accounts, no tracking, and no connection needed. Everything — your settings, candle choices, and optional relaxation stats — stays on your device. The app works completely offline.
Will a candle app drain my battery overnight?
Tomoshibi is built for long, quiet sessions: a true black background (OLED pixels off), a battery saver that kicks in automatically when your charge drops below 20% or Low Power Mode turns on, and a sleep timer that gradually dims the screen and extinguishes the candle for you.
What candle modes are included?
Seven modes: Standard (single flame, natural flicker), Birthday (multiple candles you blow out with a tap), Memorial, Prayer (with a written intention), Yahrzeit, Diya, and Meditation — a steady, unwavering flame for candle-gazing (trataka) practice.
Which sounds can I play with the candle?
Fire crackle is included free. Premium adds rain, ocean, wind, thunder, forest, singing bowls, and white noise — and you can layer sounds together with individual volumes to build your own soundscape, or light the candle in complete silence.
Learn
Guides to a calmer flame
Practical reading on candle-gazing, evening wind-downs, flame safety, and the candle rituals people keep around the world.
Candle Gazing (Trataka): A Beginner’s Guide
How the old practice of steady flame-gazing works, why a single point of light settles a busy mind, and how to start gently.
Read the guide →
Why Candlelight Helps You Wind Down
What warm, dim light does to an evening, and how to build a low-light wind-down ritual that actually sticks.
Read the guide →
Virtual Candles vs. Real Candles
Open-flame safety, soot and smoke, no-flame rules — and the moments when a flameless candle is simply the wiser choice.
Read the guide →
Candle Rituals Around the World
Memorial candles, prayer intentions, the yahrzeit flame, and the diya — why so many traditions mark meaning with a small light.
Read the guide →
The flame is almost lit
Tomoshibi launches soon on the App Store — free, ad-free, and offline. Check back here for the download link.