Legal

Terms of use

Last updated: 16 October 2026

These terms apply to the Aurora Atlas app (formerly Aurora Tromsø Northern Lights) and this website. Aurora Atlas is made by Max Roness Hovding, Tromsø, Norway (hello@auroraatlas.app). By using the app or the site you accept them. Apple's standard licence terms for apps from the App Store also apply to the app.

Winter safety: the forecast is guidance

Aurora Atlas helps you choose where and when to look. It cannot tell you whether a road, a path or a place is safe tonight. Scores and windows come from weather and space-weather forecasts, which can be wrong, and the aurora itself can never be promised.

• Roads. Arctic roads can be icy, snow-covered or closed at short notice, and mountain passes may only open in convoy. Drive to the conditions, never stop on the carriageway, and park only where parking is allowed. Drive times in the app and on this site are estimates.
• Cold. Standing still at night is much colder than walking. Dress in layers, bring spare warm clothes, a charged phone and a head torch, and tell someone where you are going.
• Avalanches and steep ground. Some spots lie below steep slopes or need a walk in snow. Check the avalanche warning before you leave the road, and stay off avalanche terrain unless you have the training and equipment.
• Sea, lake and river ice. Frozen water is not safe unless you know it is. Stay on the shore. Watch for tides, waves and slippery rocks at the coast.
• Private land and nature. Respect private property, closed gates and local rules, keep the area quiet and leave nothing behind.

Check the official warnings before every night out. In Norway: varsom.no (avalanche, ice, flood and landslide warnings), yr.no (weather) and Statens vegvesen (road conditions and closures). Elsewhere, use the national weather service, the road authority and local avalanche and ice services, and follow what local authorities and landowners say. In an emergency call 112 in Europe, 911 in the USA and Canada, 111 in New Zealand and 000 in Australia.

What the app and site provide

Forecast scores, viewing spots, photos, camera stills and written summaries are provided as they are, for information, free of charge. We work to keep them correct but cannot guarantee that they are complete, current or available, and spot descriptions marked as compiled from public sources have not all been checked on site. Camera images, photos and map data belong to their owners and are shown under their licences (see credits).

The written analysis is generated with the help of AI from public forecast data and can contain mistakes. Treat it like any other forecast.

Your responsibility

You decide whether, where and when to go out, and you are responsible for your own safety and for following traffic rules and local regulations. Do not use the app while driving.

Liability

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for any loss or damage arising from the use of the app, the site or the forecasts, including trips taken or not taken. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have as a consumer that cannot be limited by contract.

Acceptable use

Do not misuse the app, the site or our server, for example by overloading it or trying to get around its limits. Map data derived from OpenStreetMap is available under the ODbL.

Privacy

For current details on information used by the app and this site, see the privacy policy.

Changes and law

We may update these terms when the app changes; the date at the top shows the latest version. These terms are governed by Norwegian law.

Questions: hello@auroraatlas.app.