iNaturalist
Photograph plants, animals and fungi, get ID suggestions, and have a global community confirm what you found
by iNaturalist · listed Nov 2, 2026
Quick verdict
If you are even mildly curious about what is growing or crawling around you, iNaturalist is an easy install: free, genuinely useful, and backed by an active community of identifiers.
Best for People who want to identify wildlife and plants they find and contribute those sightings to real science
Reviewed by AppsPicks on Nov 2, 2026. How we review
iNaturalist review
iNaturalist is a nature identification and recording app from a nonprofit of the same name. You take a photo or sound recording of a plant, animal or fungus, the app suggests what it might be, and you post it as an observation. Other users then review it, and once enough agree, the record can feed into research and conservation datasets. It suits curious beginners, hikers, gardeners, teachers and keen amateur naturalists.
Day to day it works like a field notebook that talks back. Snap something on a walk, accept or adjust the suggested species, and move on. Over time you build a personal list of everything you have seen, and you can browse what others have spotted nearby or join projects focused on a place or group of species. The human review is the real draw: identifications can take hours or weeks, but people often correct or confirm with useful notes.
Why we picked it: It is free, run by a nonprofit, and turns casual nature photos into data that scientists actually use.
Watch out for: Automated suggestions can be wrong for tricky groups, so treat them as a starting point, and check your location privacy settings before posting from home.
What we like
- Completely free with no in-app purchases
- Instant species suggestions from a photo
- Real people review and refine identifications
- Builds a personal record of everything you have observed
- Projects let you join local or species-focused efforts
What could be better
- Community confirmations can be slow for less popular groups
- Automated suggestions struggle with look-alike species
- Observations share a location by default unless you change privacy settings
- Store ratings are middling, with some complaints about app changes
Questions about iNaturalist
How much does iNaturalist cost?
Nothing. It is free on both iOS and Android with no in-app purchases, funded by the nonprofit behind it.
Which platforms is it on?
It is available on iPhone and Android, and there is also a full website at inaturalist.org for browsing and managing observations.
Will my location be public?
Observations include a location, but you can set them to obscured or private. Sensitive species are typically obscured automatically to protect them.
Is it safe to use for eating wild plants or mushrooms?
No. Identifications come from software and volunteers and can be wrong, so never rely on the app to decide whether something is edible.
Is there a simpler alternative for kids?
Seek, made by the same team, offers camera-based identification without requiring an account or posting observations.
From the developer: how iNaturalist describes itself
Your photos of plants, animals, fungi, and more can help protect nature all around the world. iNaturalist is free, nonprofit, and community-powered.
iNaturalist helps millions of people learn about and document the nature around them. Point your camera at plants, animals, and fungi to get instant identification suggestions, then share your photos or sound recordings as an "observation." Then, see your observation get reviewed by a global community of knowledgeable nature-lovers to turn it into a useful data point for science and conservation efforts. Your everyday moments of curiosity can directly contribute to protecting nature, and you don't need any previous experience or knowledge to get started.
iNaturalist is a mission-driven nonprofit dedicated to connecting people to nature and advancing biodiversity science and conservation, and is freely available thanks to the generous support of our community.
KEY FEATURES • Identify species from anywhere in the world • Contribute to science by sharing your observations • Keep a record of species you see • Explore and protect biodiversity • Connect with and learn from other nature enthusiasts
Text from the app store listing, quoted for reference. Our own take is above.
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