# Birdbuddy: ID & Collect Birds — user reviews > 655 indexed App Store user reviews of Birdbuddy by Buddy Bird Inc, rated 4.80/5 from 61,377 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdbuddy-id-and-collect-birds/id1622355240/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birdbuddy-id-and-collect-birds/id1622355240.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 52,430 · 4★ 6,668 · 3★ 1,493 · 2★ 295 · 1★ 491 ## What do users think of Birdbuddy? Overall sentiment: neutral **Pros** - 🚀 Great picture quality - 👍 Fun and entertaining - 🚀 Captures close-up views of birds - 👍 Helpful for bird identification **Cons** - 🐛 Buggy app with poor user interface - 🔋 Battery life issues - 🔒 Difficult to set up and connect to Wi-Fi - 🐛 Inconsistent bird identification - 👎 Too many steps to manage photos **Commonly reported bugs** - App frequently logs users out - Camera module disconnects often - Inconsistent performance and connectivity issues - Incorrect bird identifications **Most requested features** - Ability to customize notifications and alerts - Option to view all photos in a feed instead of individual 'postcards' - Easier way to re-classify or delete incorrectly identified birds - Integrate with other bird tracking apps like Merlin ## Newest reviews (13 of 655) ### 3/5 — Was better before AI *2026-08-24, version 3.12.4* This app used to make decent identifications of all birds and the occasional squirrel. Now it will only automatically identify birds if you pay to upgrade, otherwise I need to tell it to identify the bird for me. Half its functionality has been downgraded so the company can say it uses AI… ### 3/5 — Never stays connected *2026-08-18, version 3.12.2* If you like watching the circle spin endlessly, this is the app for you. Does not connect to wifi without a bunch of steps that go so slow you get irate. Birds are not that attracted to it anyway. Try a different brand. This one has too much AI stuff to try to make it fancy it just slows it down to being unusable. ### 2/5 — Deteriorating Experience *2026-08-14, version 3.12.2* I WOULDN’T BUY BIRDBUDDY AS A GIFT! Overall, I’ve enjoyed using the product and app but standard features are now behind THE PAYWALL. Previously, the captured videos were automatically labeled with the species identified. You now have specifically request identification. This is frustrating because, if the species are screened, the app will ignore species you choose to ignore. Why would want to ignore? Well, I don’t want 20 videos of cardinals and House Finches every day. I prefer to focus on birds I don’t see as often. If you want your old features back, it’s simple. Just pay for a subscription. So, you may not want to give Birdbuddy as a gift because what you’re actually giving is a MONTHLY BILL. ### 3/5 — Can’t cancel at all *2026-08-10, version 3.12.2* Hard to use, very expensive membership plans and not possible to cancel in the app at all! ### 3/5 — Not what it used to be *2026-08-08, version 3.12.2* Seems to misidentify birds that it had no problem with in past years. Some glitch with recent database upgrades? ### 2/5 — Too many notifications!! *2026-08-03, version 3.12.1* Even with the “smart” notifications, there are TOO MANY annoying notifications! I will look in the app when I am ready! If I don’t open the app on the first notification of a bird sighting, I will get several more notifications within the next 15 minutes for the same sighting! One notification is enough! These pushes need to be rate limited. This is ridiculous. ### 4/5 — Solar Panel Issues *2026-07-31, version 3.12.1* Since I open the box in Dec 2025 the solar panel has not worked properly. ### 2/5 — Ok but…… *2026-07-29, version 3.12.1* Good quality product but only one device can view the live stream at a time unless you pay a hundred dollars a year! Not worth it and very disappointing!!! ### 3/5 — Love seeing birds but the software needs work *2026-07-26, version 3.11.1* This is my second bird buddy, the first house was destroyed by squirrels.. RIP. The camera on the newer one is excellent. The AI software is worse at identifying birds than the older version. The option to dress up your bird is weird, I don’t use it. Compared to how the app used to be, I feel like the upgrade is actually a downgrade- minus the picture quality. ### 2/5 — Money grab now *2026-07-13, version 3.11.0* I used to love my Bird Buddy, it was fun and I loved seeing the various visitors. But after a few updates many standard features (such as auto identifying) are now blocked and hidden behind costly subscriptions. We used to be able to ignore certain visitors but now you can’t do that unless you pay an exorbitant subscription after already paying a ton for the feeder itself. I didn’t mind the premium on the feeder since the built in features were worth it, but now those features cost extra and the feeder still costs the same… you can’t have it both ways, if you want us to buy into the subscription then the feeder should be half the cost it is now, otherwise go back to providing the same features you used to. I would not recommend anyone buying a Bird Buddy now, I’d say to look at the much cheaper alternatives. ### 3/5 — Video Quality *2026-07-12, version 3.11.0* The video quality is poor especially to others we see in the community. Blurry and jerky movements. Stills are of good quality. ### 3/5 — Almost great *2026-07-12, version 3.11.0* I do really like the app, there’s room for improvement for sure. Sometimes the identification is off or wrong, other times I can see birds at the feeder and never get a notification or a postcard. The postcards are not the best either most of them are blurry or the back of birds. I also thing that the app itself has some odd features like the editing of postcards to add hats and scarves lol it’s just not for me. Overall the app works but it’s not as user friendly as I think it could be. ### 4/5 — Penis *2026-07-08, version 3.11.0* Why do the birds not have pen is? ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Need serious work *2026-08-19, version 3.12.2* I have the bird buddy pro. Filling the feeder spills 1/4 as much as you get in the feeder. The provided hanger has the feeder at about a 30 degree angle. Camera is within 20 feet of 2 different nest WiFi’s and I have to reinstall the camera anytime I want to view. Yeah, great picture but it’s not supposed to be a new part time job. If I bought this instead of receiving it as a gift I would return it. I could build a better one cheaper. Nice materials and nice camera. That’s it. Open the app and I see what’s happening at someone else’s feeder but not my own. Why isn’t my camera the first thing I see I. The app. Can’t view anything on my own camera. And support is non existent. The answers on the site go nowhere except how to set it up. No phone number, no email, no help. ### 1/5 — Ruined birdwatching, horrible app *2026-08-17, version 3.12.2* I don't understand how this has good reviews and I think a lot of them are fake. I have the birdfeeder and the app and this is a terrible product. It takes forever to load the livestream even if you lower the quality which you shouldn't have to do. I often can't get it to load at all or it freezes. It almost never tells me when there's a bird at my feeder which is the entire purpose of this thing. I have it on the highest setting to send me the most amount of postcards and I constantly see birds on my feeder and I haven't gotten any kind of alert. Sometimes they'll sit there for five or 10 minutes and I get nothing. Or I'll get an alert five minutes after a bird was there so I can't check it out live. This is seriously a horrible product and I can't at all recommend it. It is ruining birdwatching for me. ### 1/5 — Not a good gift, deteriorating experience *2026-08-17, version 3.12.2* I WOULDN’T BUY BIRDBUDDY AS A GIFT! Update: I just had some deep thinking and felt compelled to further downgrade this app to one star 1️⃣ ⭐️ Overall, I’ve enjoyed using the feeder and app but standard features are now behind THE PAYWALL. Previously, the captured videos were automatically labeled with the species identified. You now have specifically request identification. This is frustrating because, if the species are screened and identified, the app will ignore species you choose to ignore. Why would you want to ignore? Well, I don’t need 20 videos of Cardinals and House Finches every day. I prefer to focus on birds I don’t see as often. If you want the old features back, it’s simple. Just pay for a subscription. So, you may not want to give Birdbuddy as a gift because what you’re actually giving is a MONTHLY BILL. This is noteworthy because the feeders are expensive to begin with. ### 1/5 — Bait and Switch *2026-08-16, version 3.12.2* Used to be great but they continually limit functionality of this app. Now automatic identification of birds is behind a paid subscription - the headline feature the product was ADVERTISED WITH when I bought it. Complaint made and we’ll see how they handle it, but ultimately it makes me wonder what they’ll take away next when they want more money or more interaction with their app. Not a trustworthy company. Look at the alternatives. ### 1/5 — Misses SO many birds *2026-08-14, version 3.12.2* I love the ability to connect with nature, but Multiple times a day, I see all sorts of birds at the feeder that I don’t get any postcards for. Not to mention, I’ve constantly got a notification in-app that shows me nothing. The competitors apps work much better, which is disappointing considering how long Birdbuddy has been in the game. ### 1/5 — Never stays connected *2026-08-12, version 3.12.2* If you like watching the circle spin endlessly, this is the app for you. Does not connect to wifi without a bunch of steps that go so slow you get irate. Birds are not that attracted to it anyway. Try a different brand. This one has too much AI stuff to try to make it fancy it just slows it down to being unusable. 1 month and I have 1 video. Update 8/12/26. New location new wifi. Still no pictures of birds! Birds visit. I take more pictures of them myself with my phone visiting this feeder than this thing takes. Zero new pictures since last review. It should not be this difficult and complicated. Buy something else. ### 1/5 — Hid features behind paywall *2026-07-31, version 3.12.1* When I first got Birdbuddy, it was great but now I can’t filter out unwanted sightings because it’s no longer automatically tells you what kind of bird is on the feeder. Shameless cash grab and it amounts to a bait and switch. ### 1/5 — Never stays connected *2026-07-27, version 3.12.1* If you like watching the circle spin endlessly, this is the app for you. Does not connect to wifi without a bunch of steps that go so slow you get irate. Birds are not that attracted to it anyway. Try a different brand. This one has too much AI stuff to try to make it fancy it just slows it down to being unusable. 1 month and I have 1 video. ### 1/5 — BB got greedy *2026-07-12, version 3.11.0* I loved my BirdBuddy in the beginning, however, core features such as automatic bird ID are now behind a paywall. After paying $200+ for a bird feeder, I have no interest in paying extra for a subscription. I used to love getting notifications letting me know who was at the feeder. Now I just get generic notifications with additional steps to see which species are there. I rarely even check the app anymore. The downgrade in features previously offered is extremely disappointing. ### 1/5 — No longer identifies automatically?! *2026-07-10, version 3.11.0* We just set up our Birdbuddy and were enjoying the automatic bird identification. Now apparently it is behind a pay wall? We bought it specifically for that feature and it is rotten when a company takes away something that was a selling point to begin with. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Amazing *2026-08-24, version 3.12.4* I love my Birdbuddy! The quality is wonderful and I love that it can identify the different birds. It truly makes me happy to watch them so closely! ### 5/5 — Great feeder *2026-08-24, version 3.12.4* Enjoy the feeder in the morning while I drink our coffee and take pictures. ### 5/5 — So much fun! *2026-08-09, version 3.12.2* I love watching the birds and the labeling seems quite accurate ### 5/5 — Birds *2026-08-04, version 3.12.2* These precious creatures are so very interesting! Love to keep up with them!!! ### 5/5 — Glad we have it *2026-07-26, version 3.11.1* My husband gave me this as a Christmas gift and I was very annoyed so he set it up and said give it a try and I have to say I have enjoyed every single moment since. We actually are going to get one for the front of the house and we’ve given two as gifts already definitely worth getting. ### 5/5 — Best hummingbird feeder *2026-07-16, version 3.11.1* I love how the app lets you share with family and keep a collection of the birds you get. I love how it saves videos and lets you name the birds. ### 5/5 — Bird buddy *2026-07-08, version 3.11.0* Loving my bird Buddy. Love how it identifies the birds ! ### 5/5 — Best Mother’s Day present ever *2026-07-05, version 3.11.0* This bird feeder given me lots of joy. I love that I have this new job of taking care of their feeder. I did find I had to add a few accessories to make it work better for my visitors. I got a ledge extender, I bought a baffle to keep the squirrels away, and the seed catcher to keep the messy birds from spread, spreading the seed all over my lawn! Thinking of saving up for the hummingbird version. ### 5/5 — I love the feeder *2026-07-01, version 3.10.8* I love the feeder. It doesn’t always notify when I have a bird and the same bird came more than once yesterday and it identified it as 2 different birds. I also get a few that can not be recognized… even so some of them have already visited. ### 5/5 — Hummingbird feeder *2026-06-28, version 3.10.7* This has to be one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*