Ministry updates prayer times app with silent mode

The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Wakfs launched a new version of its prayer app, Adhan El Djazair officiel, on Tuesday, covering more than 60 Algerian cities.

Algérie 360 reported that the new version adds a silent mode, which turns on after the adhan, or call to prayer. The phone stays silent for the length of prayer that the user chooses, and it then returns to its usual setting.

Users can set a longer period for the Friday prayer, while alarms, the adhan and calls from favourite contacts stay audible. The option is switched off by default and must be turned on by the user.

The qibla compass now works everywhere, showing the Kaaba, the number of degrees and the direction to turn in. The phone vibrates and changes colour once it faces the right way, with a camera view in three dimensions.

The update also fixes a bug that made the app crash on Android phones. It makes the adhan more reliable, as it now plays even after a restart and before the phone is unlocked.

If the system blocks the usual sound, a backup adhan is sent as a notification.

The new version is available for Android phones and is an update of the earlier app, Adhan El Djazair Errasmi, which has existed since 2017.