Left / Days left wallpaper

A days left wallpaper that updates itself

A static wallpaper that says "73 days left" is wrong by tomorrow. Left Wallpaper draws a fresh one every day: the year as a grid with the days left, your life in weeks, this month, or a countdown to a date. A Shortcuts automation sets it as your Lock Screen each night, so it is always current.

What it shows

Left Wallpaper has five modes. Each one is drawn as a grid of symbols, with an optional line of text such as 73 days left:

• Year: the days left in the year, or the weeks or months left if you prefer bigger blocks. This is the classic days left wallpaper.
• Life: your life in weeks, months or years, based on your birthday and lifespan. A life calendar you see every time you pick up your phone.
• Month: the days left this month.
• Calendar: the month or year as a calendar, or as month or year blocks, with today’s date.
• Special Date: a countdown to any of your Ahead dates.

You choose the symbol, light or dark appearance, a theme color (including any custom color), whether the text shows, and where the grid sits so it does not clash with the clock. You can also put a photo behind the grid, from your library or Unsplash, and blur it.

Why a wallpaper and not just a widget

You see your Lock Screen dozens of times a day, often without unlocking. A wallpaper uses the whole screen, so a grid of 365 days or 4,000 weeks has room to breathe in a way a small widget cannot. Many people use both: the wallpaper for the big picture and a small Lock Screen widget for an exact number.

How to set it up

iOS does not let apps change your wallpaper on their own, so Left makes the image and an Apple Shortcuts automation sets it. You build it once and it runs every night after that.

1. Design the wallpaper in Left

1. Open Wallpaper in Left. If it is not in your bottom menu, tap the tools button at the end of the menu.
2. Choose a Mode (Year, Life, Month, Calendar or Special Date) and how to see it, for example See year in... Days.
3. Pick the symbol, appearance, theme, legend and photo, and adjust the layout.
4. Tap Save configuration, then Open Shortcuts.

2. Build the shortcut

1. In Shortcuts, tap + to start a new shortcut.
2. Search for Wallpaper and tap the action with Left’s icon.
3. Search again and add Set Wallpaper Photo. If it asks which screen, choose the Lock Screen. Tap its arrow and turn off Show Preview, Crop to Subject and Legibility Blur.

3. Make it run every day

1. Tap Automation under the search field, then Time of Day.
2. Set the time to 12:01 AM so each day starts with a fresh wallpaper.
3. Tap the arrow next to the time: Repeat should say Every Day; turn Notify off.
4. Tap play to try it once. Left makes today’s wallpaper and Shortcuts sets it. Then tap the back arrow to save.

Left also has a short animated guide in the app. The wallpaper shortcut support article covers troubleshooting, and this blog post has ideas for what to put on it.

Good to know

• It is free. Left Wallpaper does not need Left Premium. The Special Date mode uses one of your Ahead dates, and the free plan includes 2 of those.
• It is for the Lock Screen. The setup is designed around the Lock Screen wallpaper.
• Timing is up to iOS. If a day’s run is missed, open Shortcuts and run the shortcut by hand. To refresh more than once a day, add a second Time of Day automation.
• Your life view uses your lifespan. The default is 80 years; a custom lifespan needs Left Premium. See setting up your lifespan.
• iPhone only. Left needs iOS 26 or later.

Want the number without a wallpaper? The time left in the year calculator and weeks until a date tool work in any browser.

Questions