Terms of use

Using Dark Skies

We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Dark Skies app and this website for planning your own night photography, subject to these terms, applicable law, and the rules of the store you downloaded the app from. Don't copy, resell, sublicense, reverse-engineer, scrape, or otherwise misuse the app, its content, or its bundled datasets, and don't use it unlawfully.

Subscriptions and purchases

Dark Skies is free to start. Optional Pro features are available as a subscription (monthly and/or annual, where offered) or as a one-time lifetime purchase, depending on platform and current store configuration — see the app for current options, since prices and offerings can change and vary by country. Subscriptions renew automatically at the price and interval shown at purchase unless cancelled before the renewal date; billing is handled entirely by the App Store or Google Play under their own terms, not by Dark Skies directly.

Cancel or manage a subscription in your store account: on iOS via Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions, on Android via the Play Store app → Payments & subscriptions. If we currently offer a free trial for a given product, its length and terms will be shown before purchase; not all products or regions offer one. You can restore eligible past purchases using the "Restore Purchases" option in the app. Refunds are governed primarily by Apple's or Google's own refund policies, not by Dark Skies. If a subscription lapses or is cancelled, access to the associated Pro features ends at the close of the current billing period, subject to the applicable store's rules. A lifetime purchase applies to continued access to the Dark Skies app and its supported Pro features for as long as we operate the app and the relevant platform continues to support it — it does not guarantee the perpetual availability of every individual feature or third-party service the app depends on.

Service and data dependencies

Some features depend on outside services and datasets that we don't control, including weather providers, mapping providers, NASA nighttime-light data, Recreation.gov/RIDB destination data, on-device system intelligence, device sensors and connectivity, and platform services from Apple and Google. These may be delayed, incomplete, changed, interrupted, or discontinued at any time, and we may change providers as needed to keep the app working.

Planning aid — not a safety or access guarantee

Forecasts and Night Score are estimates

Weather, cloud, moon, darkness, Milky Way, meteor, exposure, and Night Score information are estimates built from third-party weather and astronomy data and our own scoring logic — conditions can change, and estimates can be wrong. The Night Score is calculated by Dark Skies' own logic; any AI-generated or system-generated explanatory text is informational only, may be incomplete or inaccurate, and is not an authoritative forecast. You remain responsible for your own equipment choices, exposure settings, travel decisions, and personal safety. No specific photographic result is guaranteed.

Intellectual property

Dark Skies' branding, software, interface, original content, and scoring systems belong to us or our licensors and are protected by applicable intellectual-property law. Third-party maps, weather data, NASA data, Recreation.gov/RIDB data, trademarks, and open-source components remain subject to their own owners' rights and licenses; a full list of open-source acknowledgements is available in the app. Use of NASA and Recreation.gov/RIDB data does not imply their endorsement of Dark Skies, and we do not display NASA branding in a way that suggests sponsorship.

Acceptable use

In addition to the licence terms in our EULA, don't: reverse-engineer the app except where the law expressly permits it; circumvent subscription checks or feature restrictions; scrape or automate extraction of app content or bundled datasets; abuse or overload third-party services the app relies on; interfere with the app's normal operation; use the app unlawfully or to trespass; or redistribute proprietary datasets or app content beyond what these terms allow.

Availability, changes, and termination

We may modify, replace, suspend, or discontinue features, change third-party providers, or update subscription offerings at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access for serious misuse of the app, such as violating the acceptable-use terms above — this does not affect consumer-protection rights you may have under applicable law, or your rights to a refund from the applicable store where required.

Warranty and liability

We aim to keep Dark Skies available and accurate, but to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the app and website are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Dark Skies is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, or for losses arising from incorrect or outdated forecast or destination information, loss, injury, trespass, travel disruption, property damage, missed photography opportunities, third-party service outages, or data loss resulting from use of the app. Nothing in these terms limits any liability, or waives any consumer-protection right, that cannot lawfully be limited or waived.

Changes

We may update these terms; the date above reflects the latest version. Continued use of the app or website after a change means you accept the updated terms.

Contact

Questions? Email [email protected].