Support

Getting started

How do I get the app?

Sunset Map is on the App Store, free to download: apps.apple.com/app/id6790466313. It needs an iPhone on iOS 17 or later, and there is no account to create. To report a problem, write to us. Crash reports reach us anonymously.

Which devices are supported?

Any iPhone with iOS 17 or later. There is nothing to set up and no account to create: open the app and tonight's heatmap is already loading.

What do the colors mean?

Gold means direct light lasts until true sunset (or starts at true sunrise) at that point. Indigo means a mountain, a hill, or a building ends it early. Colors in the middle mean some of the light stays. Tap any point to see its exact minutes.

A point says "No direct light". Is that a bug?

No, that is the answer. The land around that point blocks the sun for the whole golden window on that date. The app is there to tell you this before you go. Look for gold nearby: often a spot a few hundred meters away keeps every golden minute.

Do I need an internet connection?

For new areas, yes: elevation, building and map tiles download when you need them. They are saved on your iPhone, so places you already loaded keep working offline. All the calculation happens on your iPhone.

The free plan

What does the free plan include?

Tonight's light, near you: the full heatmap, the golden-hour countdown, one search a day, and the detail card for any spot within 10 km of you, for today. The app needs your location to know where "near you" is.

Why can't I tap a point farther away, or change the date?

Any date (months ahead) and any point on Earth are part of the membership, and so is saving spots. The free plan is for checking tonight, around where you are. A membership is for planning trips in advance.

Membership and purchases

What do members get?

Members can pick any date months ahead and any point on Earth, and search without limits. Saving spots and the Best spots near you list come with the membership too. New features arrive there first. Payment goes through the App Store: a monthly plan, a yearly plan with a 7-day free trial, or a one-time lifetime purchase.

How does the free trial work?

The yearly membership starts with 7 days free. Cancel before the trial ends and you pay nothing. When you subscribe, you can ask the app to remind you one day before the trial ends.

How do I cancel a subscription?

Apple manages subscriptions, not us. On your iPhone open Settings → your name → Subscriptions, pick Sunset Map and tap Cancel. You keep access until the end of the period you paid for.

I bought it and it's asking me to pay again

Open the membership screen and tap Restore. Make sure you are signed in with the same Apple Account you used for the purchase. Restoring works after a reinstall and on every iPhone you own.

Refunds

All payments go through Apple, so refunds do too. Ask for one at reportaproblem.apple.com.

Map and data

Where does the data come from?

Terrain: Terrain Tiles on AWS Open Data (Tilezen/Mapzen). Buildings and landmarks: VersaTiles vector tiles, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Photo spots and their photos: Wikimedia Commons, freely licensed, each photo shown with its author and license. Base map, search and geocoding: Apple Maps. Cloud cover: Apple Weather. The sun's position comes from the standard NOAA equations, calculated on your iPhone.

What is the cloud badge?

Next to a point's golden window, the app can show the cloud forecast for that hour, from Apple Weather. If the sky looks clear and the point is gold, your evening looks good. But it is still a forecast, not a promise.

Why do buildings only count when I zoom in?

Building shadows matter at street level, so the heatmap includes them when the visible map is about 5 km wide or less. The "incl. buildings" badge shows when they are counted. When you zoom out over a valley, the hills decide the light.

What are the camera pins?

They are real photo spots: viewpoints, castles, lighthouses and observation towers from OpenStreetMap, plus places where photographers really shoot, found from groups of five or more community photos (Wikimedia Commons). Sunset Map checks the light at each one and only shows the ones with real light, for sunrise or for sunset. Everyone sees the pins; checking a pin far from you is part of the membership.

What does a gold pin mean?

Gold marks a famous place with superb light for the day you picked: a named landmark, or a spot with fifteen or more community photos. The gold changes with the date, and it changes when you flip between sunrise and sunset. If you only have time for one spot, go to a gold one.

What are the photos on a spot's card?

Real photos taken at that spot, from Wikimedia Commons. The app picks photos that match your date's season and your sunrise or sunset mode, and a small sun badge marks the ones taken in golden light. Tap a photo to see it full screen, with its author and license. Every photo is freely licensed.

What is a gem pin?

Gems are the lavender pins: the best spots in the area you are looking at, for your date. Famous or not, they earn their place by light alone. Tap the list button to open Best spots near you, ranked by how much golden light each spot gets.

Can I open a spot in Apple Maps or Google Maps?

Yes. Open any spot and tap Maps. From there you can open the place in Apple Maps or Google Maps to plan the trip, or copy its coordinates.

Why is the time different from my clock?

Every time in the app is the spot's own local time. If you check a beach in another time zone, you see its real sunset hour, and one extra line shows the same moment in your time.

Privacy and data

What data do you have about me?

Nothing that can identify you. Sunset Map has no account and no server of ours. Your location never leaves your iPhone. The app only sends anonymous usage counts, so we can see which features help. Read the privacy policy for the details.

How do I delete my data?

Delete the app. Your saved spots, settings and map downloads live only on your iPhone, so they disappear with it.

Still need help?

Send us the details at hello@sunset-map.com: your iPhone model, your iOS version, where on the map you were, and what went wrong. Screenshots help a lot.