# Dark Sky Meter > Measures sky brightness with camera, shares data with scientists. (iPhone/iPad app by DDQ.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dark-sky-meter/id602989060 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [DDQ](https://appshunter.io/developer/418328467) - Category: Utilities, Education - Price: $1.99 - Rating: 3.80/5 from 6 App Store ratings · 57 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.6 · 4 MB - Languages: American English, Dutch - Released: 2013-04-18 - Data updated: 2026-08-28 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dark-sky-meter/id602989060/reviews.md ## What is Dark Sky Meter? The Dark Sky Meter app measures the sky brightness using the camera and shares it (optionally) with scientists around the globe. ## Key features - Measures sky brightness - Uses device camera - Optional data sharing - Contributes to scientific research ## Chart rankings - #187 in Top Paid · Utilities (US App Store) ## Recent user reviews (10 of 57) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dark-sky-meter/id602989060/reviews.md ### 2/5 — All times UTC *2026-01-19, version 3.5* I live in Australia, app does not show local time for events ### 3/5 — Abweichungen zum Original SQM Meter *2025-12-14* Die Messungen mit dem iPhone und dieser App weichen erheblich von denen mit dem Original Messgerät ab. Bei mir am Ort zeigt das Originalgerät 18.90 an und die App 19.65. Das ist min. eine ganze Blende Unterschied. ### 2/5 — Doesn’t work in dark skies *2025-09-23, version 3.5* App keeps saying “too dark for device”? ### 1/5 — Does not work *2025-04-19, version 3.5* “The night sky was to dark” so I got no result ### 4/5 — Camera Options *2025-04-06, version 3.5* Nice useful app, will use it more often to refine data. It would be good if we could choose to optionally make use of front facing camera, these are much better in recent years. Would need to blank screen while taking measurements. Perhaps take dark and light measurements automatically? ### 1/5 — Useless. *2024-10-27, version 3.5* Back home in the city this app rightly admonishes me for living in such a light polluted area….so I drive twelve hours to within 8 miles of Cape Wrath where it’s so dark the stars cast a shadow. Tonight it’s cloudy and the app reports it’s too dark to take a measurement. Waste of time using it. ### 1/5 — Options *2024-10-10, version 3.4* If you are looking for an app to tell you how dark areas are- it’s is VERY dependent on others and it’s doesn’t tell you your location. It asks YOU to take a photo to send to others. ### 4/5 — Too Dark reading *2024-07-02, version 3.3* I’m not sure it’s working on my new iPhone. It kept giving me an error code that it was TOO DARK! It was one of the clearest dark sky nights last night and I really wanted to log it into the data. ### 4/5 — Handy app but *2024-05-25, version 3.3* One glaring issue. Not everyone uses UTC regularly. The mobile devices that the app is installed on uses local time. This app need to have the ability to do so also for where it uses time display. It is easier to just look and see local time and not have to worry about time offsets and doing the math. ### 2/5 — Not accurate and cannot calibrate *2024-03-11, version 3.3* On an iPhone 15 pro the SQM measurement is about 2 magnitudes away from an instrument. That is over 6 x out. The calibration function referred to does not seem to exist anymore. Great idea but needs some updating ## Frequently asked questions about Dark Sky Meter ### What does the Dark Sky Meter app do? The Dark Sky Meter app uses your device's camera to measure the brightness of the night sky. This allows you to quantify light pollution levels in your area. ### Can I share my measurements with scientists? Yes, the app offers an optional feature to share your sky brightness measurements with scientists globally. This contributes to broader research efforts on light pollution. ### Is the Dark Sky Meter app free to use? Yes, the Dark Sky Meter app is completely free to download and use. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements. ### What is the primary use case for this app? The primary use case is to measure and monitor light pollution levels. Users can contribute valuable data to scientific studies on the impact of artificial light at night. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 3.5 — 2024-10-11 Performance improvements, layout bugs. Recent iPhone support. ### 3.4 — 2024-09-11 Moved to new back end ### 3.3 — 2023-09-11 Removed the settings menu (disfunctional) and map got a big improvement, now showing all observations in a compact format. ### 3.2 — 2023-09-06 Fixes an issue in the cloud forecast. ### 3.1.2 — 2023-03-29 Added experimental support for iPhone 14. Better camera support in general. ## Apps similar to Dark Sky Meter | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Night Light Lite Nightlight](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/night-light-lite-nightlight/id690684505) | 4.6 (10,384) | Free | Utilities | | [Light Meter LM-3000](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/light-meter-lm-3000/id1554264761) | 4.5 (2,547) | Free | Utilities | | [Color Light: Phone Panel Light](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/color-light-phone-panel-light/id6444330654) | 4.0 (328) | Free | Utilities | | [Light Meter - Brightness Calc](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/light-meter-brightness-calc/id1340670397) | 4.2 (5) | $2.99 | Utilities | | [Libre Light Sensor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/libre-light-sensor/id1644439968) | 4.8 (113) | Free | Utilities | | [Lightbox: Color Screen Light +](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lightbox-color-screen-light-plus/id6480193192) | 4.1 (133) | Free | Utilities | ## More apps by DDQ - [Mijn Hemel](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mijn-hemel/id419104939) - [iSPEX](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ispex/id584360175) - [pneumonia](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pneumonia/id584360843) - [Triatlas](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/triatlas/id592681081) - [Loss of the night](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/loss-of-the-night/id928440562) All apps by DDQ: https://appshunter.io/developer/418328467 ## Related topics [dark sky meter](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-sky-meter) · [dark sky meter pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dark-sky-meter-pro) · [sky view lights](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sky-view-lights) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*