# Seek by iNaturalist — Identify plants & animals > Image recognition app to identify and learn about local plants and animals. (iPhone/iPad app by iNaturalist.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seek-by-inaturalist/id1353224144 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [iNaturalist](https://appshunter.io/developer/421397031) - Category: Education, Photo & Video - Price: Free - Rating: 4.80/5 from 30,887 App Store ratings · 1,052 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 15.1 · 212 MB - Languages: Russian, Afrikaans, Basque, Bulgarian, Sinhala, American English, Arabic, Dutch, Greek, Danish and 20 more - Released: 2018-03-09 - Data updated: 2026-08-26 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seek-by-inaturalist/id1353224144/reviews.md ## What is Seek by iNaturalist? Use the power of image recognition technology to identify the plants and animals all around you. Earn badges for seeing different types of plants, birds, fungi and more! • Get outside and point the Seek Camera at living things • Identify wildlife, plants, and fungi and learn about the organisms all around you • Earn badges for observing different types of species and participating in challenges OPEN THE CAMERA AND START SEEKING! Found a mushroom, flower, or bug, and not sure what it is? Open up the Seek Camera to see if it knows! Drawing from millions of wildlife observations on iNaturalist, Seek shows you lists of commonly recorded insects, birds, plants, amphibians, and more in your area. Scan the environment with the Seek Camera to identify organisms using the tree of life. Add different species to your observations and learn all about them in the process! The more observations you make, the more badges you’ll earn! This is a great app for families who want to spend more time exploring nature together, and for anyone who wants to learn more about the life all around them. KID-SAFE Seek does not require registration and does not collect any user data by default. Some user data will be collected if you choose to sign in with an iNaturalist account, but you must be over 13 or have your parents permission to do so. Seek will ask permission to turn on location services, but your location is obscured to respect your privacy while still allowing species suggestions from your general area. Your precise location is never stored in the app or sent to iNaturalist unless you sign in to your iNaturalist account and submit your observations. Our image recognition technology is based on observations submitted to iNaturalist.org and partner sites, and identified by the iNaturalist community. Seek is part of iNaturalist, a not-for-profit organization. Seek was made by the iNaturalist team with support from the California Academy of Sciences, the National Geographic Society, Our Planet on Netflix, WWF, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, and Visipedia. ## Key features - Image recognition for plant and animal identification - Learn about local species - Earn badges for observations - Kid-safe and privacy-focused - Uses iNaturalist data ## Chart rankings - #105 in Top Free · Education (US App Store) ## What do users think of Seek by iNaturalist? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Accurate identification - 🌳 Helps connect with nature - 🎮 Fun and engaging challenges - 💰 Free with no ads - 📚 Provides species details - 🌍 Covers wide range of species **Cons** - 🐛 Inconsistent identification accuracy - 🔍 Difficulty focusing camera - 🤖 Struggles with small/moving objects - 🗂️ Lacks ability to edit/delete observations - 🗺️ Geographic limitations in species coverage - 🔋 Battery draining **Commonly reported bugs** - Camera freezes/crashes - Incorrect species identification - Observations not saving properly - Slow performance on older devices **Most requested features** - Allow manual species entry - Add option to post observations to iNaturalist later - Implement search/sorting for observations - Integrate flashlight for low-light conditions - Provide feedback/correction options for misidentifications - Sync observations across devices ## Recent user reviews (10 of 1,052) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/seek-by-inaturalist/id1353224144/reviews.md ### 4/5 — Love it but could use some improvements. *2026-08-25, version 2.18.1* Like I love it but just saying it could be lowkey more accurate…and one annoying thing is that it takes so long for it to find the species and often it says I need to give another angle or something. But if you spotted a rare I dunno snake and you already zoomed in and came very close and like imagine if then seek just said that you need another angle which probably would be depressing cos you’ll probably never see that snake again(this has not happened to me btw just saying) ### 1/5 — Dicots everywhere *2026-08-22, version 2.18.1* The idea of the app is cool but it’s horrible. Just says everything is a dicot without actually drilling down further no matter how close or far away from a plant you may be. ### 3/5 — Ok but “dicot”? *2026-08-15, version 2.18.1* Works for some things but almost everything I check it says “dicots”. I think it told me that about my pepper plants so i pulled them up. It told me that about another plant and so i moved it over to my shrub and it too was supposedly a dicots. Frustration ### 3/5 — Decent, but… *2026-08-15, version 2.18.1* I’m need my macro iPhone lens to kick in. Your use of my camera is not user selectable. Too bad because insects tend not to be human size! ### 3/5 — Not as accurate as it used to be *2026-08-13, version 2.18.1* Used to be a wonderful way to learn about new species. I had a professor who suggested this app for school. It was accurate a few years ago. Lately, it’s been off. Perhaps needs an update? ### 1/5 — Why does everything use AI *2026-08-09, version 2.18.1* I used to get relatively accurate plant identification from this app. At some point in the recent past, they switched to an AI that could not accurately identify a plant if it was reading a label. I went from correctly identifying plants 9 times out of 10 to identifying a plum tree as a wasp. There were no wasps in the picture. There were hanging plums in the picture. At no point did it identify the plant as a tree, the fruit as a plum, or anything even remotely accurate. I’m deleting this app. I wish that everything that used to be helpful had not become so reliant on the use of AI to fix problems that didn’t exist in the first place. ### 2/5 — A good idea but the wrong execution *2026-08-08, version 2.18.1* this app works in theory. but recently i’ve taken a lot of photo of wildlife and flowers such as king snakes or man of the wild’s, this app couldnt identify them at all ### 1/5 — Inaccurate - Utter Rubbish *2026-08-08, version 2.18.1* Utterly inaccurate. Finds everything as a didcot. Despite scanning blatantly obvious spieces under test, this app got everyone wrong. ### 3/5 — Awesome *UPDATED 8/2026 Below original* *2026-08-07, version 2.18.1* Best identification app! I can do plants, bugs, and more in a one stop shop. Unlike some apps, it nearly never gives incorrect ID, and it will narrow it down to as much as it can if it can't determine exact species. This gives a great start on many things. Really love and appreciate iNaturalist for their awesome work! ***UPDATE 8/2026*** Unfortunately, I find I get a lot of false identifications now. Especially with bugs. There is no way that I can find to report "hey I don't think that's what it is actually". I took a picture of the same dragonfly 3 times yesterday and received 3 different IDs which I believe are all incorrect. This incorrectly fuels data and also incorrectly teaches people what things are if they aren't paying attention or if they don't know what to look for. I find that irresponsible, and I much prefer when it would fail to identify it or only go as far as it could positively ID, such as giving the family. I respect that. I find this change disappointing from an app that I have highly recommended to many people. ### 1/5 — False advertising *2026-08-06, version 2.18.1* Couldnt tell me what animal i took a picture of ## Frequently asked questions about Seek by iNaturalist ### What does Seek by iNaturalist do? Seek uses image recognition technology to identify plants, animals, and fungi you encounter. It helps you learn about the organisms around you by providing information based on millions of wildlife observations. You can also earn badges for making different types of observations and participating in challenges. ### How do I use the Seek Camera? Simply open the Seek Camera within the app and point it at living things you want to identify. The app will then use its image recognition capabilities to suggest what the organism might be. You can add species to your observations and learn more about them. ### Is Seek by iNaturalist free to use? Yes, Seek by iNaturalist is a free application. It does not have any in-app purchases or advertisements, making it accessible for everyone to use for nature exploration and learning. ### Is this app suitable for children? Yes, Seek is designed to be kid-safe. It does not require registration and does not collect any user data by default. If you choose to sign in with an iNaturalist account, you must be over 13 or have parental permission. ### How does the app identify species? The app's image recognition technology is powered by observations submitted to iNaturalist.org and partner sites, which are then identified by the iNaturalist community. This extensive database allows Seek to provide accurate identification suggestions for a wide variety of organisms. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 2.18.1 — 2026-07-27 Minor updates and bug fixes ### 2.18.0 — 2026-04-10 Minor updates and bug fixes ### 2.17.9 — 2026-03-19 Minor updates and bug fixes ### 2.17.8 — 2026-01-16 Minor updates and bug fixes ### 2.17.7 — 2025-12-13 Minor updates and bug fixes ## Apps similar to Seek by iNaturalist | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [PictureThis - Plant Identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/picturethis-plant-identifier/id1252497129) | 4.8 (1,107,160) | Free | Education | | [Plant Identifier And Care](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plant-identifier-and-care/id1495963472) | 4.3 (362) | Free | Education | | [PlantSnap - Plant Scanner](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plantsnap-plant-scanner/id1451054346) | 4.6 (68,169) | Free | Education | | [AI Scanner Identifier Cam Scan](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-scanner-identifier-cam-scan/id6739302291) | 4.1 (47) | Free | Education | | [Plantum - AI Plant Identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/plantum-ai-plant-identifier/id1476047194) | 4.6 (118,692) | Free | Education | | [Blossom - Plant Care Guide](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blossom-plant-care-guide/id1487453649) | 4.6 (68,723) | Free | Education | ## More apps by iNaturalist - [iNaturalist Classic](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inaturalist-classic/id421397028) - [iNaturalist](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inaturalist/id6475737561) All apps by iNaturalist: https://appshunter.io/developer/421397031 ## Related topics [nature](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nature) · [field guide](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/field-guide) · [nature pictures](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nature-pictures) · [wild life identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/wild-life-identifier) · [identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/identifier) · [outdoors](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/outdoors) · [seek](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/seek) · [animal identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/animal-identifier) · [animal scanner](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/animal-scanner) · [identify animals](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/identify-animals) · [butterfly identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/butterfly-identifier) · [seek by inaturalist](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/seek-by-inaturalist) · [nature identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nature-identifier) · [animal identifier free](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/animal-identifier-free) · [plant and animal identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/plant-and-animal-identifier) · [iseekplant seeker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/iseekplant-seeker) · [nature gate](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nature-gate) · [free bug identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/free-bug-identifier) · [beemachine](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/beemachine) · [free insect identifier](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/free-insect-identifier) --- *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 2026-08-26.*