SCHENGEN 90/180
The Schengen 90/180 tracker that counts for you
Every Schengen calculator asks you to remember your trips. SpyglassBeacon doesn't ask: it counts your days of presence automatically from your phone's location, keeps the rolling 90-in-180 window on one card, and warns you before you cross the line. Your location history never leaves the device.
Why the 90/180 rule defeats spreadsheets
The rule sounds simple: at most 90 days of presence in any rolling 180-day window, shared across all 29 Schengen countries, with entry and exit days both counting. The trap is the word rolling. There is no reset date. Every single day, the window slides forward and a different set of past days counts against you. Getting it wrong in the strict direction wastes trips; getting it wrong in the loose direction is an overstay, and overstays follow your passport.
What the app does
- Counts automatically. Motion-aware background tracking attributes each day to the country you were in. Any day in a member country counts toward the one shared Schengen allowance, exactly as the rule works.
- Shows the rolling window. One card: days used of 90, the window it applies to, and the days you have left.
- Forecasts your allowance. The card tells you when you get a day back, and if you have overstayed, the date you are back under 90 if you leave now.
- Warns before it matters. As you run low, Beacon notifies you, even with the app closed.
- Keeps the evidence. A day-by-day, timestamped ledger and a PDF export, the same contemporaneous record the app keeps for US state audits.
One ledger, both sides of the Atlantic
If you split your life between the US and Europe, you are running several day counts at once: a state's 183-day statutory-residency line, the Schengen 90/180 limit, and possibly the UK's April-to-April tax year. Trackers built for one rule ignore the others. Beacon runs them all from the same automatic record, because a day where you were is one fact that several rules consume.
How SpyglassBeacon compares
Every other Schengen tool, from the EU's own short-stay calculator to apps like 90 Days in Europe, runs on trips you type in yourself: you add a start date and an end date for each stay, and the app does the rolling-window arithmetic on what you entered. That is real, useful math, and it is only as current as your last entry — miss logging one weekend trip and every number after it is off.
Beacon skips the logging step. Your Schengen days build up from your phone's location automatically, so the 90/180 count on the card is always current without you opening the app or remembering a single date. If you'd rather plan a trip by hand before you book it, or want a second, independent check, the free calculator above and manual-entry apps are still a fine way to do that — Beacon's edge is for the days you'd otherwise forget to log.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an app that tracks Schengen days automatically?
Yes, this one. SpyglassBeacon counts presence days from your phone's location with no trip entry, shows the rolling count, and warns you near the limit. If you prefer to plan by hand first, the free Schengen 90/180 calculator does the arithmetic on typed-in trips.
How does the 90/180 rule actually count?
At most 90 days of presence in any rolling 180-day window, one shared allowance across the whole area, entry and exit days included. A week in Paris and a week in Lisbon draw from the same 90.
When do my days reset?
They don't, as such: each day ages out exactly 180 days after you spent it. Beacon shows the date your next day frees up, continuously.
How long can I stay in Europe without a visa?
In the Schengen area: 90 days in any rolling 180. The UK and Ireland are outside Schengen and run their own clocks, which Beacon tracks separately.
Does it also count my US state days?
Yes. States against the 183-day standard, countries worldwide, the Schengen clock, and the UK tax-year clock, all on one ledger.
Not legal advice. The tracker is a helping aid; border authorities make the final determination. Days under a long-stay visa or residence permit are outside the 90/180 count and are not modeled. Country attribution is automatic and can be reviewed day by day in the app's ledger.
Sources: Regulation (EU) 2016/399, Article 6; EU short-stay calculator.
Related: Schengen 90/180 calculator · 90 day rule Spain calculator · UK residence tracker · Remote workers & nomads
Stop counting Schengen days by hand
Beacon counts them automatically, forecasts your allowance, and warns you before the line.
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