Fitzpatrick type is how Basky says “start with you.” Before the live UV, before the timer ring, before the little sun blinks — the app asks how your skin usually handles a bright day. The answer becomes a quiet multiplier on today’s sky.
This glossary page defines the meaning inside Basky. For the keyword-focused product landing, open Fitzpatrick skin type. For broader scale history and education, see Fitzpatrick scale explained when that guide is live.
The six-type idea, without the textbook fog
Dermatology long used a I–VI scale describing typical responses:
- Lower numbers: burn more easily, tan less
- Higher numbers: burn less readily, more constitutive pigment
Basky’s onboarding translates that into beach-day language — warm, specific, never clinical theater. You are not graded. You are invited to recognize yourself.
| Type (short) | Basky’s wellness use |
|---|---|
| I–II | Shorter windows at the same UV; conservative MED reference |
| III–IV | Mid-range windows; still capped, still UV-sensitive |
| V–VI | Longer reference windows in the same sky — never unlimited |
Exact minutes still move with erythemally weighted UV via the index. Type alone never invents a marathon.
Why Basky needs a type at all
The UV index is about the sky. People are not interchangeable under that sky. A universal “15 minutes at noon” tip fails fair skin on a UV-9 day and patronizes deeply melanated skin on a UV-3 morning.
So Basky pairs:
type → reference MED UV → how fast dose accumulates ~60% target → safe-sun window
That pipeline is the personalization promise in how Basky works.
Anti-shame rules around type
- No “ideal” type in copy or UI
- No pressure to “earn” a darker category
- no race for more minutes framing in public marketing
- Changing your type is allowed; curiosity is not failure
- Kids are not the marketing audience; caregivers use adult judgment
Skin stories are personal. Basky’s job is a gentle daylight habit, not commentary on anyone’s body.
Limits you should hear out loud
Self-selected Fitzpatrick type is a heuristic. It does not capture:
- Medication-related photosensitivity
- Post-procedure skin
- Conditions a dermatologist manages
- Micro-differences across your own body (face vs arms)
If something about sun feels medically complicated, ask a clinician. Basky remains general wellness guidance.
Type, Circles, and privacy
Your type stays on device. Sunshine Circles do not broadcast it. There is no account to sync a “skin profile” to Basky’s servers for ads — Basky does not run that business. Location, if allowed, is only for Open-Meteo UV. See privacy and the FAQ.
Type across a day, not just at noon
Your Fitzpatrick choice is stable; the sky is not. Morning Moderate and afternoon Very high are different windows for the same type. Basky recalculates from live UV rather than freezing a single “daily allowance” that ignores the sun’s path. That is why the Today screen pairs a band label with minutes that can shrink as the index climbs.
Travel complicates the picture: new latitude, new altitude, reflective coastlines. If location is on, Open-Meteo follows you. If not, remember the fallback UV is generic — still usable, clearly caveated.
Onboarding copy philosophy
Basky describes types with lived situations, not spectrophotometer fantasy. The goal is recognition in under a minute. People who live between two types should pick the more conservative option when unsure — shorter window first — then adjust after a few careful days. That advice is wellness prudence, not a medical protocol.
Mascot tint previews during selection are delight, not diagnosis. Looking at a warmer Basky skin does not change your MED table; your selected type does. The preview exists so choosing a type feels like meeting Basky, not filling a form.
A sentence you can quote
In Basky, Fitzpatrick type means the six-type sun-response label you choose so today’s live UV can become a conservative, personal safe-sun window — about 60% of a reference MED — without ranking skin or promising medical accuracy.
Now on iPhone. Free core forever. More terms in the glossary.