Tan Timer & Tracker vs ShouldISunscreen
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tan Timer & Tracker
This app monitors UV levels in real-time and provides hourly forecasts up to 7 days. It offers personalized advice based on skin type, smart background timers for sun exposure, and intelligent alerts for changing UV conditions. Create family profiles with custom settings for everyone's safety.
- Real-time UV index monitoring
- 7-day UV index forecasts
- Smart sun exposure timers
- Personalized skin type advice
- Family profiles
- Apple Watch app and widgets
- Intelligent UV alerts
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Get the summer glow without the burn. UV Buddy is a tanning coach and a sunscreen reminder in one. It reads the UV right where you are, shows how long unprotected skin can take it, and keeps a reapply timer running for everyone in the family. GUIDED TAN SESSIONS Start a glow session and the app walks you through it: sunscreen on first, timed front and back flips, a refresh break, then hydrate. The length is built from your skin type and today's real UV, so you stop guessing how long is too long. NEVER MISS A REAPPLY Every family member gets their own reapply timer with an alarm that actually cuts through. Mark it applied, duck into the shade, and keep your SPF streak alive day after day. YOUR TAN, TRACKED Choose a glow goal and watch the sun minutes add up toward it, session by session. Add progress photos and see the change over weeks instead of guessing. TODAY AT A GLANCE Live UV for your exact spot, the hours it peaks, a 7 day forecast, the best windows to tan, and roughly how long bare skin lasts before it burns. Heading somewhere sunny? Look up any city before you pack. YOUR SUNSCREEN REPORT CARD A monthly card showing what you applied, what landed on time, and what slipped, plus your full tan history in one place. BUILT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY One profile per person, each with their own skin type, SPF and buddy character. Everyone's timers run at the same time, so nobody gets forgotten. ON EVERY DEVICE Home Screen widgets, Live Activities in the Dynamic Island, an Apple Watch app showing your timer, today's UV and your live glow session, Siri Shortcuts for hands free checks, and iCloud sync across your devices. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No account needed. Your profiles sync through your own iCloud, and analytics are optional. Stop guessing. Stop burning. Start glowing. UV Buddy offers monthly and annual subscription plans. Prices are clearly displayed in the app. • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user, and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Settings after purchase • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable Legal: Privacy policy: https://uvbuddy.app/privacy Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula
ShouldISunscreen
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ShouldISunscreen gives you a simple, honest answer: should you wear sunscreen right now? Using real-time UV index data and your skin tone, the app calculates personalized burn times and sunscreen recommendations specific to you. Someone with very fair skin needs protection at UV 2, while someone with darker skin may not need it until UV 6 or 7. UV AND SUNSCREEN - Real-time UV index for your location, or any city you search for - Personalized sunscreen advice and estimated burn time for your skin tone - Hourly UV chart for today and tomorrow, with your personal sunscreen line and the hours you need protection - Clear-sky UV shown next to the forecast, so you can see how much the clouds are helping SUNRISE AND SUNSET - Sunrise, sunset and solar noon, with a countdown to the next one - Day length (and how it compares to yesterday), first and last light, and golden hour - A sun path that shows where the sun is right now - All times shown in the local time of the place you are looking at WIDGETS AND MAC - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for UV, sunscreen advice, and sunrise and sunset - A native Mac app with a menu bar item and desktop widgets, included with the iPhone and iPad app PRIVACY FIRST Your location is rounded to about 10 km on your device before it is used for anything. There are no accounts, no analytics, no tracking, and no ads. UV data comes from Open-Meteo, an open-source weather API (CC BY 4.0). Sun times are calculated on your device. FREE No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. Just a useful app that answers a simple question. ShouldISunscreen gives estimates, not medical advice.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ShouldISunscreen at none against Tan Timer & Tracker's 2. ShouldISunscreen also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). Tan Timer & Tracker's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Tan Timer & Tracker sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. ShouldISunscreen asks for nothing beyond the download.
Tan Timer & Tracker ships an update every 9 days, ShouldISunscreen every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tan Timer & Tracker | ShouldISunscreen |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 109 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | CARLOS FELIPE GARCIA MURILLO | Aaron Bergman |
In-app purchases
Tan Timer & Tracker
- Unlimited access3 Days trial$2.991 Month
- Unlimited Access3 Days trial$29.991 Year
ShouldISunscreen
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Tan Timer & Tracker free?
Is ShouldISunscreen free?
Do Tan Timer & Tracker or ShouldISunscreen have ads?
Which is updated more often, Tan Timer & Tracker or ShouldISunscreen?
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