# Light Pollution Map — user reviews > 21 indexed App Store user reviews of Light Pollution Map by Jurij Stare, rated 4.10/5 from 46 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/light-pollution-map/id1530464858/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/light-pollution-map/id1530464858.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 32 · 4★ 3 · 3★ 2 · 2★ 3 · 1★ 6 ## Newest reviews (2 of 21) ### 4/5 — VIIRS 2023 availible on website but not app *2024-07-19, version 1.1.21* I like the app but the most recent data, VIIRS 2023, is only on the website making this app useless as of now. Hopefully it will be added soon. ### 4/5 — Great, but wish text was larger. *2020-12-11, version 1.1.6* I really like the app, but I have trouble seeing the text (location names). When i try to zoom, the landscape zooms but the text remains very small. I would love an option to zoom or set the size of the text. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — No borders in map *2026-05-22, version 1.1.38* After the most recent update I noticed that the maps have no regional, state, or national border details which make it difficult to navigate. Please fix asap. ### 1/5 — Can’t see anything *2024-10-10, version 1.1.22* Screen went solid white. Had to uninstall and reinstall. Now I have the position map, but not base layer - so I cannot tell what locations correspond to the colors. ### 1/5 — Useless *2024-10-01, version 1.1.22* Every time and day it shows same class even sky is more clear, darker and light pollution free. ### 1/5 — Buggy *2023-05-13, version 1.1.17* On iPad app won’t zoom or pan accurately. Just moves the map however it wants. ### 1/5 — Map is incomplete *2022-02-12* Looking through my local area I can see there are landmarks missing, there also seems to be a lack of variance regards differing levels of light pollution… unless the app becomes more reflective of reality I would give it a hard pass. **Developer response:** Please report missing landmarks to Microsoft Bing as this app is merely using their base maps. As for light pollution map not reflecting reality (I assume you mean the World Atlas overlay?), I would tend to disagree judging by SQM readings users are submitting, which you can see by turning on the SQM layer. They are well within +/-0.5 magnitude which is the variance of sky brightness due to various atmospheric conditions. You are welcome to send your SQM data for other users to see how wrong the map is. ### 1/5 — Can’t move map or shrink *2021-05-09, version 1.1.9* Great idea, desktop version may be better. App help text doesn’t fit on screen; map only responds erratically when I try to move location (using two fingers). Possible delay on server end? ### 1/5 — A rip off *2020-11-03* Just go to lighpollutionmap.info to get the same thing The developers are just taking the website that you can access for free and showing it through a paid app **Developer response:** Not entirely true. You have a choice to use the web version with advertisements or use the mobile app without them (mobile app has a few additional functionalities). Some users prefer one over the other. Now if you use advertisements blocking technology then I understand you feel ripped off, but so do I. ### 2/5 — All sky consistently failing to load *2026-03-27* I was gonna give this 5 stars until the all sky map suddenly stopped working entirely. Unsure what happened and why it suddenly failed to load? **Developer response:** There were some technical difficulties with this new feature. It should be resolved now. ### 2/5 — Buggy and not worth the money *2020-10-02* I bought this hoping it would work better than the website. It does not. Scrolling the map doesn’t work half the time and it’s just not easy to use **Developer response:** Since the app was just released last month I’m trying to get ANY feedback on how to make it more friendly to use on mobile devices as it is virtually the same as the website version. I have over a million visitors on mobile devices alone each year and till now I have received zero feedback from those users. So that scrolling is not working is my first time hearing about. Please contact me by email so we can figure this out. ### 4/5 — Great but missing the best feature of the website version *2025-08-09* Website version is bloated with ads, but the concept is really good, so I wanted to buy the app. On my iPad on the website I can find closest dark site, and filter world atlas on an SQM range, all of that seems to not be available in the iPad app ? Why is that, those tools are so great to spot good sky site near you. **Developer response:** The newest version 1.1.29 available from 2025-09-29 has all these features added plus more. ## Most praised reviews (9 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — So important *2025-01-02, version 1.1.22* This tool is so important in showing how humans are changing the planet. All life depends on darkness for circadian rhythms, and this measures how much we need to return to a healthy state for flora and fauna alike. ### 5/5 — Highly Recommended *2024-09-28* I've always relied on the web app for checking light pollution levels, and it has consistently been my go-to resource. Now with the dedicated mobile app, the experience has only gotten better. The app is incredibly user-friendly, offering quicker access to real-time data and a more seamless interface compared to the web version. Plus, it's a one-time purchase with no hidden in-app charges. It’s an essential tool for stargazers and astrophotographers alike. Clear Skies! ### 5/5 — Very Nice *2023-11-30, version 1.1.21* Jurij: Great app! Certainly a very useful tool for all kinds of things. I found it as someone had linked to it from Reddit. People like to know where to go to stargaze, or see the northern lights. Take care! ### 5/5 — Great app *2023-02-16* Even better than the webpage. ### 5/5 — Besser als die Webseite… *2021-09-10* …da man hier mehr von der Karte sieht und die Bedienung durch das geänderte Menü einfacher ist. ### 5/5 — Спасибо *2021-07-02* Рада что появилось приложение! Удобнее чем на сайте ### 5/5 — Good app *2021-06-06, version 1.1.10* I’ve used the web based version for some time but thought I’d try the app. Overall it’s great. Understanding some of the values being listed and what it means for your dark sky experience takes a little leg work. I had to go and actually read part of the paper that goes along with the underlying data set. For me the salient figure would be the ratio listed whenever you click on a point in the map. This ratio is the ratio of the artificial brightness from pollution over the natural brightness of the night sky. Per the paper looking straight up anything 1% or less is about as good as you’re going to get (middle of the ocean would be 0% but 1% is about as good if not looking at the horizon). Haven’t looked at every feature so far but overall app works great but the lag to get stats when you click on a location gets tedious. ### 5/5 — More usable for mobile *2021-05-11, version 1.1.10* I’v been using the website for a long time and it’s great to finally have a more usable version for mobile. Happy to support the developer more directly too and remove the ads. Thanks to the developer for adding landscape mode on iPad after request. 👍 Now wishing for a lighttrends app and the new contribution tool 😉 ### 5/5 — Great with some exceptions *2020-10-31, version 1.1.4* I love this app and am optimistic they will update it to be more user-friendly soon. I’d like a user tutorial, and instead of technical labels in the overlay settings, that there were layperson labels. Also on the main map screen there are tools in the top left that have no labels so I don’t know what they do. --- *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 2026-09-02.*