Terms of Service

1. Acceptance

By downloading, installing or using the ShadeTracker app, or by using this website, you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree with them, do not use the app or the site.

2. What the service is

ShadeTracker is an iPhone application that estimates and displays where the shadows of buildings and trees fall on a map at a given moment, along with related information: hours of sunlight over a period, annual sunlight estimates, sun and sunrise/sunset directions, UV index, and a tool for drawing hypothetical structures and seeing the shadows they would cast.

The app requires an internet connection to retrieve map, building, terrain and UV data. It does not require an account.

3. Your licence to use it

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the app on Apple devices you own or control, in line with the App Store Terms of Service. You may not copy, sell, rent, sublicense or redistribute the app, or attempt to reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble it, except where applicable law expressly permits it.

4. Your responsibilities

• Use the app lawfully, and in line with local rules on mapping and data use.
• Do not present its output as a professional survey, a solar yield study, a planning report or an expert opinion.
• Do not use it to harass, monitor or profile another person, or to determine anything about a private residence other than sunlight.
• Do not attempt to scrape, overload or interfere with the third-party data services the app relies on.
• Keep your own copies of anything you draw that matters to you — drawings live only on your device.

5. Accuracy, and the limits of it

The astronomical part of the calculation — the position of the sun for a time and place — is precise. What is uncertain is the model of the world the sun is shining on:

• Building heights are, in most locations, estimates derived from open map data. Individual roof shapes, balconies, parapets and overhangs are not modelled one by one.
• Tree heights come from a global canopy height model, not from measuring individual trees. Trees also grow, get pruned and get felled.
• The optional high-resolution surface mode covers selected cities only; where it is unavailable, the standard estimated model is used instead.
• The UV index is a clear-sky value supplied by a third party. It does not account for you being in shade, and it is not medical advice.
• Clouds, haze and weather are not part of the calculation at all.

Treat every result as an estimate. For decisions with money, safety, health or legal consequences attached — a solar installation, a construction or planning dispute, sun-exposure limits for a medical condition — get a professional assessment.

6. Third-party data and services

The app displays and processes data provided by third parties, including map imagery, building footprints and heights, terrain and canopy models, geocoding and UV data. That data is supplied under its own licences and attributions, which are listed inside the app. We do not control it, cannot guarantee its accuracy or availability, and a provider changing or withdrawing a dataset may change or interrupt what the app can show.

7. Intellectual property

The ShadeTracker app, its name, its design and its source code belong to the developer and are protected by intellectual property law. Anything you create with it — your saved places, your drawings, screenshots you take — is yours. Third-party data remains the property of its providers under their own terms.

8. Availability and changes

We may add, change or remove features, and may suspend or discontinue the service. Features that depend on third-party data may be limited by geography or withdrawn if the underlying data becomes unavailable. We are not obliged to keep any specific feature available indefinitely.

9. Disclaimer of warranties

The app and this website are provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or accurate for any particular location or purpose.

10. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss arising from decisions taken on the basis of the app's output — including property purchases and rentals, plantings, installations, construction, scheduling or sun exposure. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is limited to the amount you paid for the app in the twelve months before the claim, or the minimum permitted by law.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

11. Apple

These terms are between you and the developer, not Apple. Apple has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app. Apple is not responsible for any claim relating to the app, including product liability, regulatory compliance and intellectual property claims. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you.

12. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Türkiye, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and the courts of Istanbul have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer, this does not deprive you of the protection of mandatory consumer law in your country of residence.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The date at the top of this page will change, and material changes will be noted in the App Store release notes. Continuing to use the app after an update means you accept the revised terms.

14. Contact

Questions about these terms: sermindemirbas@hotmail.com. See also our Privacy Policy.