Support

Getting started

Which devices are supported?

Any iPhone running iOS 17 or later. There is nothing to configure and no account to create: open the app and the heatmap for tonight is already being computed.

What do the colours mean?

Gold means direct light lasts until true sunset (or starts at true sunrise) at that point. Indigo means a ridge, hill or building ends it early. Colours in the middle mean part of the light survives. Tap any point to see the exact minutes behind its colour.

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

No, that is the answer. The terrain around that point blocks the sun for the whole golden window on that date. It is exactly what the app exists to tell you before you go. Look for gold nearby. Often a slope a few hundred metres away keeps every golden minute.

Do I need an internet connection?

For new areas, yes: elevation, building and map tiles download on demand. They are cached on your iPhone, so places you have already loaded keep working without a connection. All the light computation itself happens on the device.

The free plan

What does the free plan include?

Tonight's light, near you: the full heatmap, the golden-hour countdown, and the point detail sheet for any spot within 1 km of your current position, for today. It 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, along with unlimited saved spots. The free plan is for checking tonight, around where you are. A membership is for planning trips ahead of time.

Membership and purchases

What do members get?

Members can pick any date months ahead and any point on Earth, save as many spots as they like, and use both sunrise and sunset everywhere. New features land there first. Payment goes through the App Store as 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. The app can remind you one day before the trial ends if you turn that option on when subscribing.

How do I cancel a subscription?

Subscriptions are managed by Apple, not by 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. Request 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 viewpoints: VersaTiles vector tiles, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Basemap, search and geocoding: Apple Maps. Cloud cover: Apple Weather. The solar position comes from the standard NOAA equations, computed on your iPhone.

What is the cloud badge?

Next to a point's golden window the app can show the forecast cloud cover for that hour, from Apple Weather. If the sky looks clear and the point is gold, you are set for a good evening. It is still a forecast, so treat it like one.

Why do buildings only count when I zoom in?

Building shadows matter at street scale, so the heatmap includes them when the visible map is about 5 km wide or less. The "incl. buildings" badge tells you when they are in. Zoomed out over a valley, terrain is what decides the light.

What are the binocular pins?

They are real viewpoints mapped by the OpenStreetMap community, places people actually go for the view. Sunset Map scores each one with its light engine and only shows the ones with real light for the mode you are in, sunrise or sunset.

Privacy and data

What data do you have about me?

None. Sunset Map has no account and no server, so there is nothing to hold. Your location never leaves your iPhone. Read the privacy policy for the details.

How do I delete my data?

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

Still stuck?

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