AirGuard
Air Quality, Fire & Smoke
AirGuard is an independent air-quality, wildfire, and smoke app for iOS and Android. It turns modelled air-quality data, confirmed wildfire incidents, and smoke-plume analysis into plain-language guidance — with no account, no ads, and no tracking.
What it does
Air quality, explained
A large AQI reading with a plain-language summary — what the number means, which pollutant is driving it, and general guidance for outdoor activity. Never a medical diagnosis.
Wildfire & smoke nearby
Confirmed wildfire incidents and perimeters near you, plus mapped smoke plumes. Satellite fire detections are labelled as informational and never used to tell you an area is safe.
Forecast & alerts
A 24-hour air-quality forecast, and optional local alerts for AQI thresholds, a new fire within a chosen radius, smoke onset, or a daily summary.
Works offline
The last readings are cached on your device, clearly marked as “Offline data” so nothing stale is ever shown as live.
Where the data comes from
Every environmental screen in the app names its actual source. Requests to these providers contain only the map area or coordinates needed to answer them — never any personal or account information.
- Open-Meteo (CAMS model)
- Air-quality estimates, weather, and place search — global, keyless.
- NOAA / National Weather Service
- Hazard Mapping System (HMS) smoke-plume analysis for North America.
- National Interagency Fire Center (WFIGS)
- Confirmed U.S. wildfire incidents and perimeters, via public Esri ArcGIS services.
- NASA FIRMS
- Satellite thermal fire detections — only when a map key is configured.
- OpenFreeMap
- Free, keyless vector base-map tiles (OpenStreetMap data) for the Map screen, via MapLibre.
The base map uses free, keyless OpenFreeMap vector tiles (OpenStreetMap data) rendered with MapLibre — no Google, no billing account. Only the map tile coordinates you pan to are requested, nothing about you.
An independent application
AirGuard is not affiliated with, endorsed by, authorized by, or operated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, AirNow, the U.S. Forest Service, NOAA, or any other government agency. Government and public environmental information shown in the app is obtained or adapted from the sources listed above.
Environmental data may be delayed, incomplete, preliminary, or unavailable. AirGuard does not replace official emergency alerts, evacuation orders, or public-health instructions. During an emergency, follow your local authorities.
Privacy at a glance
- No account, and no AirGuard server — the app talks directly to the public data providers above.
- No advertising, no third-party analytics, and no tracking identifiers of any kind.
- Location is optional and used only in the foreground, at the moment you request data. No location history is stored anywhere.
- Saved places, alert settings, and the offline cache live only on your device. “Delete all local app data” in Settings clears them.
- Alerts are local notifications scheduled on your device — no push server, no device token leaves the app.
Full detail is in the AirGuard Privacy Policy. Questions? Email terrawarnlive@gmail.com.