Skyglass Support
Last updated: 13 September 2026
Skyglass reads the colour of the sky and gives it a name. It is a modern take on the cyanometer, the ring of 52 painted blues Horace-Bénédict de Saussure used in 1789 to measure how blue the sky could be. Skyglass keeps his 52 steps and adds five more wheels for the skies he left out.
If anything here doesn't answer your question, use Send feedback in the app's Settings, or email benjaminstrak@gmail.com.
How to use it
- Point your phone at the sky. The wheel turns to the sky's colour and names the shade. If the app says NOT SKY, it isn't seeing sky yet — tilt up a little further.
- Press the shutter to keep that sky, with the time and, if you've allowed it, the place.
- Blues tab: your captures by day. Switch to Colours to see them gathered into piles, one for each shade you've found. Tap a capture for its details.
- Map tab: your captures pinned where you saw them. Pinch to zoom; nearby skies gather into rosettes as you zoom out.
- Share: open a capture and tap share to make a card with the sky, its name, the time and place, and a line written for its wheel.
- The small instruments: the gauge at the bottom left shows which wheel you're on; tap it to see all six. The sun at the bottom right rolls along today's arc; tap it for sunrise and sunset.
The six wheels
- PURE — the classic cyanometer blues.
- GREEN-BLUE — lagoon light, hazy afternoons.
- VIOLET-BLUE — the last light before dark.
- AMBER and GOLD — dusk and dawn.
- STORM-GREY — weather.
Skyglass chooses the wheel for you. It changes wheels deliberately, so the sky has to settle in a new colour for a moment before the wheel flips.
Common questions
It keeps saying NOT SKY
Skyglass checks that it is genuinely looking at sky before it names a colour, so walls, screens and ceilings never get a name. Point the camera clearly upward — a flat overcast sky reads best when the phone is tilted well above the horizon. Very dark skies, at night or in heavy storm, may not read at all.
The camera is black
Skyglass needs camera access. Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and make sure Skyglass is on. The pill under the wheel will say ACTIVATE CAMERA until it is.
My captures aren't on the map
Only captures taken with location allowed appear on the map. Go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Skyglass and choose While Using the App. Earlier captures made without location stay in your Blues but can't be placed.
Why did the wheel change colour?
The sky moved into a different wheel — a blue turning grey as cloud comes over, or gold arriving at dusk. The gauge at the bottom left shows which wheel is active.
Can I delete a capture?
Yes. Open the capture and tap the trash icon. Deleting the app removes all captures; they are stored only on your phone.
Where are my captures kept?
On your phone. Nothing is uploaded. See the privacy policy for the full picture, including how captures may be used in future versions.
Getting the best reading
- Aim at open sky, away from the sun itself.
- Keep the lens clean.
- Hold still for a second and let the wheel settle.
Accessibility
Skyglass supports VoiceOver, Dynamic Type and Reduce Motion. If something doesn't work well with an assistive setting you use, please tell us.
Contact
Ben Strak / Studio Strak
benjaminstrak@gmail.com