What is Sentinel Hub?
Sentinel Hub is a cloud platform that provides fast access to ESA Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. NewsLyfe uses it to display 10-meter resolution satellite images for any location — directly in the Map view and article detail screen.
Quick Start
You'll need a free Sentinel Hub account to get your instance ID. The whole process takes about 5 minutes:
Create a free Sentinel Hub account
Go to sentinel-hub.com and sign up for a free account. No credit card required for the free tier.
Open the Dashboard
After logging in, go to the Sentinel Hub Dashboard. You can access it from the top navigation after signing in.
Create a new Configuration
In the Dashboard, go to Configuration → click New configuration. Give it a name (e.g. "NewsLyfe") and confirm.
Copy your Instance ID
The configuration will show an Instance ID — a long alphanumeric string. Copy it.
Add the Instance ID to NewsLyfe
Open the NewsLyfe app → Settings → Satellite Settings → tap the gear icon next to Sentinel Hub → paste your Instance ID and tap Test Connection.
Set Sentinel Hub as active provider
Once the connection test passes, tap Sentinel Hub in the provider list to make it the active provider.
Pricing & Free Tier
No credit card required. Resets monthly. More than enough for daily NewsLyfe use.
ESA Sentinel-2 imagery updated every 5 days globally.
Troubleshooting
Connection test failed
Double-check that you copied the full Instance ID from the Sentinel Hub Dashboard. It should be a long alphanumeric string. Make sure there are no extra spaces.
Image not loading after setup
Verify that Sentinel Hub is set as the active provider in Settings → Satellite Settings. If the instance ID was just created, wait a minute and try again — new configurations can take a moment to activate.
Rate limit reached
You've used your 30,000 monthly requests. You can switch back to ArcGIS (free, unlimited) until your Sentinel Hub quota resets at the start of next month.
API Key Security
Your Instance ID is stored locally on your device and is only sent to Sentinel Hub servers when loading satellite imagery. NewsLyfe never stores or transmits your key to its own servers.