UV Index Alerts vs Shade Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UV Index Alerts
Read full descriptionHide full description
UV Index Alerts — Smart UV Protection for Your Skin Stop guessing. Start knowing. UV Index Alerts tells you exactly when the sun is too strong for your skin — so you can enjoy the outdoors without the burn. DAILY UV BRIEFING Every morning, get a personalized alert with today's max UV forecast, your safe exposure time, and SPF recommendations — all before you leave home. REAL-TIME SPIKE WARNINGS UV levels can change fast. When UV suddenly jumps to dangerous levels, you get an instant alert so you can take action right away. PERSONALIZED FOR YOUR SKIN Set your Fitzpatrick skin type and get burn time estimates tailored specifically to you. Fair skin? You might have 15 minutes. Darker skin? You could have over an hour. No more one-size-fits-all advice. HOURLY AND 5-DAY FORECASTS Plan your week with detailed hourly UV graphs and a 5-day forecast. See exactly when UV is safe and when to stay in the shade. SAFE HOURS AT A GLANCE Instantly see which hours of the day are safe for your skin type. Perfect for planning outdoor workouts, walks, or beach trips. SUNSCREEN REMINDERS On high UV days, get a clear reminder to apply SPF 30+ before heading out. Never forget sunscreen again. WORKS EVERYWHERE Automatic GPS location or manual city search. Your UV data is always accurate for where you are right now. PRIVACY FIRST No account required. No login. Your location and skin data stay on your device. Nothing is uploaded or shared. Ever. WHO IS THIS FOR? Anyone who spends time outdoors Parents protecting their children's skin Athletes and outdoor workers People with sun-sensitive skin or conditions Anyone who has ever said "I didn't think I'd burn today" WHY UV INDEX ALERTS? Most weather apps bury the UV index somewhere deep in the forecast. We make it the main event. One app, one purpose: protect your skin from UV damage, every single day. Download now and never get caught off guard by the sun again.
Shade Tracker
Read full descriptionHide full description
Will your balcony get sun at 4pm? Where should you park so the car is still shaded in three hours? Does that table stay in the sun through dinner? Shade Tracker answers those questions on a live map. Drag the timeline and watch the shadows of buildings and trees move in real time. The sun's position comes from actual astronomical calculation. LIVE SHADOW MAP • Building and tree shadows drawn directly onto the map • Tree heights come from a global canopy model, so shade under trees counts too • 2D, tilted 3D, and satellite views THE TIMELINE • Scrub with your finger and the shadows follow instantly • One pixel is one minute, with about six hours of context on screen • The color of the timeline is the real solar elevation for that minute, so night, twilight, golden hour, and full day are visible at a glance • Scroll as far into the past or future as you want, or jump to any date • One tap on Now returns you to the current moment HOURS OF SUN • Turn the map into a heat map of how many hours each spot gets sun, over a range you pick: sunrise to sunset, now to sunset, or the whole day • Tap anywhere to read the exact figure for that point ANNUAL SUNLIGHT • The same heat map sampled across a full year, for longer decisions about a roof, garden, or balcony SHADOW CALCULATOR • Draw a structure on the map, give it a height, and its shadow is included immediately • Set the height to zero to erase instead: see what changes if a tree comes down or a building is removed • Drawings stay on your device and can be edited or deleted SUN DIRECTION AND STATUS • Arrows from the map center show the current sun direction, the sunrise direction, and the sunset direction • A floating badge gives the sun's compass bearing and elevation, plus whether you are in sun or shade right now, read from the shadow data rather than guessed • Sunrise and sunset times UV INDEX • Current UV for your location, in the standard health color bands • Scrub the timeline to see the UV forecast for that hour SAVED PLACES • Long-press a point and name it: Home balcony, Work parking, that café • The address resolves automatically; tap the list to fly back SEARCH • Place and address search with live suggestions • Type coordinates to go straight to a point • Times are shown in the local time zone of wherever you are looking GOOD FOR Apartment hunting, parking in the shade, picking a side of the terrace, gardening and the full sun versus partial shade question, photography and golden hour, early thinking about solar panels, shaded walking routes on hot days, architecture and site studies, and planning outdoor events. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO Building heights are mostly estimates from open map data, so not every roof is modeled exactly. Tree heights come from a global model rather than individual measurements. UV is a clear-sky value and does not account for you being in shade. Clouds and weather are not part of the calculation: this answers where the sun falls when the sun is out. No account and no sign-up. The calculations run on your device. WHAT'S FREE AND WHAT'S PRO The live shadow map with today's timeline, sun direction lines, sunrise and sunset times, the UV index, search, and up to 3 saved places are free. Shade Tracker Pro is an optional paid upgrade, available as an auto-renewing subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. It unlocks: • HOURS OF SUN (one free preview included) • ANNUAL SUNLIGHT • SHADOW CALCULATOR • Viewing days other than today • The sun arc time control • Unlimited saved places -------------- Privacy Policy: https://shadetracker.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://shadetracker.app/terms EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: UV Index Alerts at none against Shade Tracker's 7. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Shade Tracker sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. UV Index Alerts asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | UV Index Alerts | Shade Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Burak Arslan | Sermin Demirbas |
In-app purchases
UV Index Alerts
No in-app purchases
Shade Tracker
- Pro Weekly$2.997 Days
- Pro Weekly$4.997 Days
- Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Pro Monthly$12.991 Month
- Shade Tracker Pro$4.99
- Shade Tracker Pro$14.99
- Shade Tracker Pro$29.99
Questions
Is UV Index Alerts free?
Is Shade Tracker free?
Do UV Index Alerts or Shade Tracker have ads?
Other comparisons















