Frequently asked questions

Boreal has a free version. It shows tonight's chance of seeing the aurora where you are, the hour-by-hour outlook for tonight, the reasons behind the forecast, and the camera that shows where to look.

A plan adds aurora alerts, the live globe, the two-night forecast, Home Screen widgets, the Apple Watch app and Siri.

New users get all of Boreal free for 24 hours, starting when onboarding ends. 24 hours always covers a whole night, whenever it starts.

When it ends, you choose a plan or continue with the free version. You don't need to cancel anything, and nothing is charged.

No. There is one free night per person, and it isn't reset by deleting the app or moving to a new iPhone.

If you live where the aurora can be seen, the Season Pass covers a full year of alerts. It renews each year until you cancel. Where the App Store offers it, you can also pay for the year in 12 monthly payments.

If you're visiting for a trip, a 4-Day Pass or a 14-Day Pass is a one-time purchase with no subscription. It ends by itself.

A pass doesn't start when you buy it. You can buy it before your trip, then open Boreal and slide to start it on your first night. Its days count from that moment.

For 30 days after a pass ends, Boreal offers a discounted extension of the same length. It starts as soon as you buy it.

Subscriptions are managed by Apple. On your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, and choose Boreal. Deleting the app doesn't cancel a subscription.

Passes don't need cancelling: they end by themselves.

Open Settings in Boreal. The card at the top shows your plan, and for a pass, how much time is left.

Open the link you were given, or go to the App Store, tap your profile picture and choose Redeem Gift Card or Code. Boreal shows the pass when you open it. If you redeem it during your free night, the pass starts straight away.

Sign in with the same Apple ID, open Boreal and tap Restore purchases on the plans screen. A pass you haven't started stays unstarted.

No. Boreal plans aren't shared through Family Sharing; each Apple ID needs its own.

Purchases are handled by Apple, so refunds are requested from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.

The percentage combines several sources into one number: geomagnetic activity (the Kp index), the solar wind's speed, density and direction, NOAA's aurora model, the cloud cover at your location, how dark the sky is, the moon, and your latitude.

Strong activity doesn't help if it's cloudy or still light, which is why everything is combined.

Tonight and tomorrow are quite reliable. Space weather can still change fast: a burst of activity can arrive within minutes, and a promising night can fade. Check the app again shortly before you go out.

The solar wind that drives the aurora can't be forecast well beyond a day or two. Instead of a week of unreliable numbers, Boreal shows the nights it can forecast with confidence.

Kp measures how disturbed the Earth's magnetic field is, from 0 (quiet) to 9 (a severe storm). The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora can be seen. Kp alone isn't the whole story, which is why Boreal also looks at the solar wind, clouds and darkness.

Often around midnight, give or take a couple of hours, but it changes from night to night. The hour-by-hour chart shows which hours look best tonight.

Thick clouds hide even a strong aurora. If it's overcast where you are, look at nearby places: a short drive can make the difference.

Often, yes. High, thin clouds can let the aurora through, so even at 50–60% cloud cover it can still be visible. Low, thick cloud and fog are what block it.

A bright moon high in the sky washes out a faint aurora, so the forecast takes the moon into account. A strong aurora is still easy to see in moonlight.

Yes. The southern lights follow the same activity. In New Zealand, Tasmania, southern Australia or southern South America, Boreal works the same way: look south instead of north.

Far from the poles, the aurora is only visible during strong storms. Boreal says so instead of showing a number that can't come true. When a strong storm makes it possible, it shows the real forecast.

Near the poles in summer, the sky doesn't get dark enough, even at midnight. The aurora is still there, but you can't see it. Boreal shows when dark nights return.

On evenings with a real chance, you get a forecast at about 6 pm. When the aurora is likely right now and it's dark enough, you get a live alert. Alerts are at least two hours apart, and you can switch each kind on or off in Settings.

No. Alerts come with a plan. The free version shows tonight's chance when you open the app.

Yes, if you choose. Turn on time-sensitive alerts in Boreal's Notification settings, and live alerts come through Focus modes.

Check that notifications are allowed for Boreal in your iPhone's Settings and that aurora alerts are on in Boreal. Alerts are sent for the place shown in the app. A short burst of activity, or one the cloud forecast expected to be hidden, can also pass without an alert. Boreal only alerts when the chance is meaningful, so it doesn't send too many.

Yes, with “Follow me as I travel” on (the default) and location set to Always for Boreal in your iPhone's Settings. Boreal uses the iPhone's low-power location updates, which only wake it when you've moved a long way.

It uses your iPhone's compass and camera to show where to look. It points out north (or south in the southern hemisphere) and the part of the sky where the aurora is most likely to appear from where you stand.

Yes. With a plan you get Home Screen widgets, an Apple Watch app with tonight's chance, and Siri: ask about tonight's chance hands-free.

No. Boreal has no accounts and doesn't know who you are. Your plan is linked to your Apple ID and handled by Apple.

Your location, to forecast for where you are, and a device token, to send you alerts. Usage statistics use a random ID, not your name. The Privacy Policy has the details.

In Boreal, open Settings and tap Send support request. It opens an email with your app version and plan attached, so we can help faster. You can also email us from the Support page.