Tanning App
A tanning app built around your skin and the UV
T&T brings the live UV index, a personalized tanning timer, skin type and SPF context, session tracking and forecasts into one app — on iPhone, iPad and Android, with a standalone Wear OS app free and an Apple Watch app on Premium.
Free to download — Premium unlocks the full 10-day UV forecast, unlimited timer / guided sessions, and the Apple Watch app.
The short answer
What is a tanning app?
A tanning app is a mobile app that helps you plan, time and track outdoor tanning sessions. A useful tanning app brings together the pieces you'd otherwise check separately: the live UV index for your location, your personal skin sensitivity, the SPF you're wearing, a running session countdown, reminders to flip and to reapply, and a log of what you did and when.
T&T is a tanning app that combines all of that in one place — on iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch and Wear OS. It doesn't make UV exposure risk-free (no app can), but it gives you the context and timing to make more informed decisions about each session.
End-to-end coverage
Everything you need before, during and after a session
Before
Set up your session with live UV, forecast, skin type and SPF.
Live UV index
Live UV for your location on the main screen.
10-day UV forecast
Hour-by-hour UV forecast — today and tomorrow free; full 10 days on Premium.
Skin type & SPF
Set your Fitzpatrick type (I–VI) and the SPF you're wearing; T&T remembers it.
Guided routines
Step-by-step tanning sessions with timed rounds, breaks and reminders — free with a 3-per-rolling-7-days allowance; unlimited on Premium.
During
Personalized countdown, flip haptics, and Live Activity on your Lock Screen.
Personalized countdown
Personalized tanning-time estimate from live UV, your skin type and selected SPF. Free with a 3-per-rolling-7-days allowance; unlimited on Premium.
Front & back tracked
Each side gets its own segment; you can pause or extend.
Flip reminders
Haptic and notification when it's time to turn over.
On your wrist
iOS Live Activity keeps the countdown on the Lock Screen (Premium). Apple Watch app on Premium; the Wear OS app is free and standalone.
After
Session history, Vitamin D estimates, Tan Progress Gallery and Apple Health.
Session history
Sessions are logged with UV, duration and SPF. Free shows your last 3 sessions; Premium unlocks unlimited history.
Vitamin D estimate
Estimated exposure-related Vitamin D from your session data — an estimate, not a measurement of your actual Vitamin D level.
Tan Progress
Tan progress swatches after sessions (base swatches free); photo diary with 3 free photos and expanded access on Premium.
Health Connect / Apple Health
UV exposure and Vitamin D estimates written to Apple Health (iOS) or Health Connect (Android) — Premium.
For an end-to-end look at how these before / during / after pieces stack into one repeatable structure, see the guide on building a tanning routine, and for the broader tanning plan layer that wraps around routines, sessions and progress, see the tanning-plan guide.
UV in real time
Live UV instead of guessing
The UV index tells you how strong the sun's UV is right now, on a 0–11+ scale. Cloud cover, altitude and time of day all move that number, and how bright the day feels isn't a reliable substitute.
T&T shows the live UV index for your location on the main screen through the day. Free users see the UV forecast for today and tomorrow; Premium unlocks the full 10-day hour-by-hour forecast so you can plan the strong days ahead. For a deeper walkthrough of what today's UV Index means in a tanning context, see the guide on UV index for tanning.
Session timing
A tanning timer personalized to the session
A generic “20 minutes each side” rule doesn't know whether you're a Type II under UV 8 or a Type V under UV 4. T&T runs a personalized tanning timer that combines your Fitzpatrick skin type, your SPF and the live UV index at your location into one estimated session length. It tracks front and back separately, taps your wrist when it's time to flip, and logs the session to your history.
The timer is one of the core reasons T&T exists — a full walk through of the science and the workflow lives on the tanning timer page. For the question underneath the timer — how long should I tan? — given today's UV, your skin type and your SPF, see the dedicated guide.
Personalization input
Know your skin type
T&T supports the Fitzpatrick scale (I–VI), which classifies skin by how it reacts to UV. Set your type manually, or use the live camera preview inside T&T to compare your inner wrist against the six Fitzpatrick reference swatches — no photo is captured, saved or uploaded. T&T uses your chosen skin type as one of the three inputs to every personalized session it plans, alongside the live UV index and the SPF you're wearing.
The Fitzpatrick scale is a useful anchor, not a clinical measurement — always err on the shorter side when you're unsure. For a full guide to the six phototypes and the scale's limitations, see the Fitzpatrick skin types guide, and for how to personalize by skin type in a tanning context, see the dedicated guide.
Sunscreen aware
SPF and reminders
You set the SPF you're wearing before each session, and T&T factors it into the estimated session length. SPF is a helpful layer, but it doesn't make tanning risk-free and it wears off with time, sweat and water. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration recommends reapplying sunscreen at least every two hours, and more often when swimming or sweating. For a deeper look at what SPF actually means for a tanning session — and why it isn't a time multiplier — see the SPF for tanning guide.
T&T offers sunscreen-reapplication reminders alongside your tanning session, so the reapplication cadence doesn't depend on remembering the last time you looked at the clock. For a full guide to using a sunscreen timer alongside your tanning session, see the dedicated guide.
History & progress
Track your tanning progress
Every T&T session gets logged with the UV index at the time, the duration, and the SPF you were wearing. Premium unlocks unlimited session history so you can see your pattern over months, not just the last few sessions.
The Tan Progress Gallery gives you a visual timeline — a side-by-side of your tan session by session — so progress you'd otherwise miss between individual sessions becomes obvious over time. On iOS Premium, T&T also writes your UV exposure and Vitamin D estimates to Apple Health after each session.
Look ahead
Plan ahead with weather and UV forecasts
T&T's UV forecast shows hour-by-hour UV predictions for your location so you can pick your session window rather than being surprised at midday. Free users see the forecast for today and tomorrow; Premium unlocks the full 10-day forecast. Current conditions — including cloud cover — sit next to the live UV on the main screen so you can see quickly what the day is actually doing.
Cloud cover reduces UV in most cases but doesn't eliminate it — thin cloud in particular can still let strong UV through, so “overcast” days aren't automatically safe days. T&T's forecast keeps that visible instead of assuming it.
Phone & wrist
T&T on your phone and your wrist
T&T runs on iPhone, iPad and Android as a free download, and on your wrist through the Apple Watch companion (Premium) and the Wear OS app (free and standalone). Both show the live UV index, run the personalized tanning session on your wrist, and buzz you when it's time to flip. The Wear OS app has its own GPS and its own UV fetch, so it can run without your phone.
On iOS, Live Activity keeps the countdown on your Lock Screen and in Dynamic Island (Premium) — you can put the phone down and still see your session at a glance.
Where to go
Find a good place to tan
The Beach & Tanning Spots feature inside T&T helps you find nearby places to tan — beaches, pools, parks, rooftops — with directions, reviews and one-tap calling. Tap through to open a spot in Maps, or start a session right from the app once you're there.
This is designed for the “where should I actually go?” moment — it doesn't replace local knowledge of shade, water or crowd conditions, and coverage will depend on what public points of interest exist near you.
Why T&T
More than a simple UV app
Most UV apps show one number: the current UV index. That's useful, but it doesn't tell you how long yourskin can be out there today, or when to flip over, or what your last session was, or how many Vitamin D minutes you've built up this week.
T&T pulls together the UV index, personalization by skin type and SPF, a running session timer with front-and-back tracking, history, Vitamin D estimates, a 10-day forecast, guided sessions, and wrist support — in one app. That gives you a plan for each session and a picture over time, rather than just a real-time reading. For a UV-first framing of the same product, see the UV Index app landing.
Common questions
Tanning app FAQ
What is a tanning app?
A tanning app is a mobile app that helps you plan, time and track outdoor tanning sessions. A useful tanning app brings together the pieces you would otherwise check separately: the live UV index for your location, your personal skin sensitivity, the SPF you are wearing, a running session countdown, reminders to flip and reapply, and a log of what you have done.
What does the T&T tanning app do?
T&T combines the live UV index, a personalized tanning-time estimate that uses your Fitzpatrick skin type and selected SPF as context, guided sessions, a 10-day UV forecast, a Vitamin D estimate, session history and tan progress tracking. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Android. The Wear OS app is free and standalone; the Apple Watch app is Premium.
Is T&T free to download?
Yes. T&T is a free download on the App Store and Google Play. Free-tier features include the live UV index, skin type + SPF selection, Vitamin D estimate, sunscreen-reapplication reminders, monthly skin-check reminder, session logging (last 3 sessions), UV forecast for today and tomorrow, and the standalone Wear OS app. The personalized tanning timer and guided sessions are free with a 3-per-rolling-7-days allowance. Premium unlocks unlimited timer / guided sessions, the full 10-day UV forecast, unlimited history, Apple Health / Health Connect, cloud sync, iOS Live Activity and the Apple Watch app.
Is T&T available on iPhone and Android?
Yes. T&T runs on iPhone and iPad through the App Store, and on Android through Google Play. It uses your device location to fetch the live UV index for your location.
Does T&T include a tanning timer?
Yes — a personalized one. T&T uses the live UV index for your location, your Fitzpatrick skin type and the SPF you're wearing as context for a personalized tanning-time estimate, then runs a countdown with front-and-back tracking and a flip reminder. The timer and guided-session feature is free with a 3-uses-per-rolling-7-days allowance; Premium unlocks unlimited use. The estimate is a planning tool, not a guarantee against sunburn.
Can I track my tanning sessions over time?
Yes. Sessions are logged with UV, duration and SPF. Free users see the last 3 sessions; Premium unlocks unlimited history. Basic tan-progress swatches are free; the photo diary is 3 photos free lifetime, with expanded access on Premium.
Does T&T work with Apple Watch and Wear OS?
Yes. T&T has a Wear OS app that's free and standalone — it has its own GPS and its own UV fetch, so you can run a session without your phone. T&T also has an Apple Watch app that shows the live UV index, runs the personalized tanning session on your wrist and buzzes you when it's time to flip; the Apple Watch app is part of T&T Premium.
Does a tanning app make UV exposure safe?
No app can make UV exposure risk-free. A tanning app like T&T is a planning and tracking tool: it helps you make more informed decisions about session length and reapplication based on your inputs. Always use appropriate sun protection, follow public health guidance, and speak to a dermatologist if you have skin concerns.
Sources
Health-related statements on this page draw on public guidance from the following authoritative bodies. They inform the general science of UV, sunscreen and skin type — not the T&T algorithm.
- World Health Organization — Radiation: The ultraviolet (UV) index
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration — Sunscreen: How to Help Protect Your Skin from the Sun
- StatPearls / NCBI Bookshelf — Laser Fitzpatrick Skin Type Recommendations
Citing an organization here does not indicate an endorsement of T&T by that organization.
Related guides
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