Know your burn time.
The sun doesn't warn you before it burns you. One inner-arm photo estimates your Fitzpatrick skin type, the live UV index where you're standing does the rest, and you get an honest guide to how long your skin has in the sun before it burns, with and without SPF 50 sunscreen.
Free, no account, works anywhere in the world. Photos are analysed in memory and immediately discarded, never stored. Educational estimates only, not medical advice.
Three quick steps to your burn time.
Snap
Photograph the inside of your upper arm from about 30 cm in good light. Dermatology-style colour math (ITA°) estimates your Fitzpatrick skin type, analysed in memory and never stored.
Locate
With your permission, we pull the live UV index and today's forecast for exactly where you're standing, anywhere in the world, not a city-wide average.
Time it
Your skin type plus the live UV becomes an honest estimate of how long your skin has before it starts to burn, plus the best times of day to head out for a longer session, with and without SPF 50 sunscreen.
Sunwise gives rough, educational estimates based on a photo and public UV forecasts. Camera colours, lighting, screen glare, water, sand, altitude, medications and individual skin variation all affect how fast real skin burns, so your skin may burn much sooner than any estimate shown. Sunwise is not a medical device, must not replace advice from a doctor or dermatologist, and accepts no responsibility for decisions made based on its estimates.
There is no safe way to tan: any tan is a sign of skin damage, and health authorities recommend against deliberate tanning. Tanning-time estimates are shown to help you understand and limit UV exposure, not to encourage it. Sunburn at any age raises skin-cancer risk.
Whatever this app says, follow Cancer Council's advice: Slip on covering clothing, Slop on broad-spectrum SPF 50+ sunscreen (reapply every 2 hours, and after swimming or sweating), Slap on a hat, Seek shade around midday, and Slide on sunglasses. If you notice changing moles or unusual skin marks, see a doctor.
The Australian sun plays for keeps.
About 2 in 3 Australians will be diagnosed with a skin cancer before they turn 70, and most of it is preventable.Source: Cancer Council Australia
You can't feel UV.
UV radiation is invisible and unrelated to temperature: cool, cloudy days burn too. That's why SunSmart says to go by the UV index, never the weather.
UV 3+ is the line.
When the index hits 3, protection is on. It's the same threshold ARPANSA uses for its real-time monitoring. In most of Australia, that's most days of the year.
Made for here. Works everywhere.
Sunwise was built for the Australian sun, among the harshest on Earth, but the live UV forecasts behind it cover the whole planet. Check your burn time on any beach, from Bondi to Barcelona.