# SharkSmart > NSW beach safety app with shark alerts, sightings, and risk assessment. (iPhone/iPad app by NSW Department of Primary Industries.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharksmart/id915621811 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [NSW Department of Primary Industries](https://appshunter.io/developer/476014891) - Category: Education, Lifestyle - Price: Free - Rating: 4.30/5 from 282 App Store ratings · 98 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 18.6 · 49 MB - Languages: Australian English, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese (Simplified, China), Vietnamese - Released: 2014-09-14 - Data updated: 2026-08-29 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharksmart/id915621811/reviews.md ## What is SharkSmart? Enjoy NSW beaches. Be SharkSmart. The NSW Government’s SharkSmart app helps you stay informed before you hit the water in NSW. The app is part of the NSW Government’s Shark Management Program implemented by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). Check the latest shark alerts, Surf Life Saving NSW drone patrol observations, and tagged shark detections to better understand shark activity along the NSW coast. With greater awareness and knowledge of sharks and their behaviour, everyone can enjoy NSW beaches while reducing the risk of a shark encounter. The SharkSmart app provides real-time alerts, beach conditions, species information and helpful resources to keep you informed at NSW beaches. Stay SharkSmart with our App. Alerts & Notifications Receive alerts for tagged shark detections, shark sightings, Surf Life Saving NSW and Surfing NSW drone patrol observations, beach closures and other safety incidents. Customise notifications for alerts around you, by region, by time, or for your favourite beaches. New beach arrival notifications remind you when you are near the coast, with a quick link to today’s conditions and safety information. Daily Updates give you a snapshot of shark activity and alerts across NSW, or focused on beaches around you and your favourited beaches. Beach Status Check conditions before you go with beach status and at-a-glance information for beaches near you or in your favourites. See weather, water quality, patrol information, safety advice, and other local conditions to help you plan your visit. My Beaches Save your favourite NSW beaches and get updates and alerts for the places you visit most. Manage your list, view beach details, daily conditions and recent shark alerts for each location. Tagged Sharks When a tagged shark is detected, tap through for richer detail than ever before, including when and where it was tagged, species information, recent detections, and the path the indicative shark has taken along the NSW coast. Data may include contributions from DPIRD and research partners. Ask SharkSmart Have a question about sharks, beach safety or the latest conditions at a particular beach? Ask SharkSmart is your AI assistant for SharkSmart-related questions. Get clear, helpful answers in a conversation-style experience, with links to relevant alerts, beaches and species where available. Species There are over 180 species of sharks in Australia, and the majority are relatively harmless. In terms of shark-human interactions, the three species responsible for almost all serious and fatal interactions are the white, bull, and tiger sharks, collectively referred to in NSW as the ‘target’ species of our Shark Management Program. Browse images and information on these target sharks, as well as non-target sharks and other marine animals that sting or bite, for education and identification. Apple Watch Compatible If you have an Apple Watch, the SharkSmart app includes a companion watch app that lets you receive SharkSmart alerts on your wrist. View alerts around you or set up notifications for a region, by time or for favourite beaches. For more information visit: sharksmart.nsw.gov.au ## Key features - Real-time shark alerts - Drone and tagged shark detections - Interactive risk assessment - Shark and marine animal identification - Beach mitigation gear locations - Smartwatch compatibility ## What do users think of SharkSmart? Overall sentiment: mixed **Pros** - 📍 Real-time shark detection and tracking - 🎯 Valuable safety information for ocean users - 📊 Comprehensive shark tagging data - 🏖️ Helpful for swimmers and surfers - 👍 Good app concept and design - 🔧 Responsive developer support when issues reported - 📱 Easy to navigate interface **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing - 📬 Excessive notifications from distant locations - ⚙️ Notification settings not persisting - 🐢 Slow loading times - 🚫 Unable to add/save favorite beaches - 📍 Notifications ignore location settings - 🔔 Alerts arrive too late to be useful - ⏰ Notifications ignore Do Not Disturb settings - 🗺️ Map data inconsistent with alert list - ❌ Limited beach coverage and receiver stations **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes on startup or when opening alerts - Favorite beaches not saving or reverting to all beaches - Search function not listing available beaches - Map hanging when opening away from beaches - Notifications not respecting location radius settings - Inconsistent data between map view and list view - Add beach feature not working on iOS - Settings menu freezing with spinning wheel - Notifications continuing after app deletion - Gallery tab crashing on iPhone 12 **Most requested features** - Ability to name individual tracked sharks - Shark size and weight information at tagging - Historical shark movement patterns and migration data - Deep links from notifications to specific beaches - Time-series reporting for shark activity - Apple Watch app improvements and alerts - Expand coverage to rivers and harbors - Better filtering by event type instead of notification source - Expand geographic coverage beyond NSW - More receiver stations in underserved areas - Clearer messaging about beaches without receivers ## Recent user reviews (10 of 98) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharksmart/id915621811/reviews.md ### 1/5 — Hate *2026-08-22, version 4.0.6* I hate this app ### 2/5 — Please make it work *2026-08-18, version 4.0.6* Almost perfect but sadly it’s the last 1% is what counts. Despite multiple times setting it to my local beach I get notifications from beaches 100s km away and not my beach. All most us want is an alert to our watch in real time to get out of the water? The core value proposition of a safety app—providing immediate, hyper-local alerts directly to a wrist device for the exact beach a user is standing on—is completely failing. Currently, the app fails to deliver on its primary utility due to critical functional bottlenecks: Broken Geofencing & Notification Logic: Custom radius filters ("Around Me") fail to isolate immediate locations, frequently pushing irrelevant regional noise or missing local pings entirely. Apple Watch Integration Failure: Background syncing and push notifications to watchOS are sluggish, unreliable, or fail to trigger in real time when stepping onto a specific beach. Cluttered UX: Users are forced to sift through historical logs, data padding, and distant alerts rather than receiving an instantaneous, silent wrist vibration for their immediate coordinates. To the Designers: Fix the geofencing logic so it strictly respects tight radius parameters, strip out the background latency on watchOS, and ensure a true, instant push-to-wrist protocol for active local alerts. Right now, as a real-time safety tool on the water's edge, it is non-functional. ### 1/5 — Frustratingly useless *2026-08-03, version 4.0.4* Alerts continually come through as NSW north coast, when I have repeatedly input & saved my area which is NSW far south coast. It’s frustrating. I am ready to delete as it’s useless for my area. ### 1/5 — What’s happened? *2026-07-23, version 3.34* I used to be able to access sharks along the East Coast of the US . Now all I hear about is Australia and there’s no way I can see to fix this ### 5/5 — I only swim in pools *2026-07-01, version 3.34* I am going to buy shares in swimming pool companies ### 1/5 — Deleted *2026-04-19, version 3.33* Have deleted as it is just too many notifications despite turning off notifications. Tells me about beach’s not in my area ### 5/5 — Best App For Phobias Of Sharks *2026-04-18, version 3.33* I am loving this app as I am afraid of sharks ### 1/5 — I’d like this available in qld *2026-04-13, version 3.33* Great app - but no use for us in qld ### 4/5 — Good app but … *2026-02-10, version 3.28* I think the app is a great idea however, I have saved my beaches in the first set up process they aren’t listed on the bottom my beach tab and I am being notified about all beaches in NSW. I just want to be notified about the ones I frequent. Can I fix this? ### 4/5 — Recent updates have improved usability *2026-02-06, version 3.28* Very helpful- would love a feature to be able to set a name for local sharks. I’m starting to recognise their tag numbers but naming them would be fun and would help to alleviate some of the anxiety if you knew it was just Becky swimming by for the 5th time this hour lol ## Frequently asked questions about SharkSmart ### What does the SharkSmart app do? The SharkSmart app provides information and resources to help beachgoers in NSW reduce the chance of a close encounter with a shark. It offers real-time alerts on tagged shark detections and drone sightings, maps of shark mitigation gear, and educational information about sharks and marine animals. ### What are the key features of the SharkSmart app? Key features include real-time shark alerts, maps showing shark mitigation gear and incident locations, a species identification guide for marine animals, and an interactive 'My Risk' feature that assesses personal behavior risk when in the water. It also offers smartwatch compatibility for alerts. ### Is the SharkSmart app free to use? Yes, the SharkSmart app is free to download and use. The provided data indicates it is 'free with in-app purchases', suggesting some optional content or features might be available for purchase, though core safety information is likely free. ### What kind of information is available about sharks? The app provides images of dangerous and non-dangerous sharks and other marine animals for educational purposes. It also details the NSW Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program and offers insights into shark behavior to enhance user awareness. ### How does the 'My Risk' feature work? The 'My Risk' feature is an interactive tool that creates a personal risk assessment profile. By inputting factors that affect shark bite risk, such as swimming at dawn or dusk, it allocates a 'risky' or 'safer' behavior rating. Adjusting risky behaviors can lower the risk level. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 4.0.6 — 2026-08-12 - Adding or removing favourite beaches is faster. The app no longer waits on the network with every tap - Faster startup when the connection is patchy; the app gets you in sooner - Clearer messaging when alerts can’t load, with a Retry option instead of looking like there are simply no alerts - General reliability and performance improvements ### 4.0.5 — 2026-08-06 This update focuses on improving reliability by fixing minor bugs, resolving crashes, and enhancing overall performance. ### 4.0.4 — 2026-07-30 Update the alert banner to display the full alert message. ### 4.0.3 — 2026-07-29 On Apple Watch, Filters and Alert detail screens now use the standard navigation layout, and the alerts and favourites sync more reliably with your iPhone and Apple Watch. ### 4.0.2 — 2026-07-28 This update improves Daily Updates and alert details across the app. Daily Updates now shows all activity from the last 24 hours, with clearer “Showing activity from the last 24 hours” banner The Tagged & Released count is also more accurate. ## Apps similar to SharkSmart | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [SharkSmart WA](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sharksmart-wa/id1480651764) | 4.7 (109) | Free | Education | | [Beachsafe](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beachsafe/id397699623) | 5.0 (3) | Free | Education | | [QWildlife](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/qwildlife/id1500668021) | 2.0 (1) | Free | Education | | [Sentral for Parents](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sentral-for-parents/id1238744022) | 1.8 (4) | Free | Education | | [Compass School Manager](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/compass-school-manager/id778415974) | 4.7 (135) | Free | Education | | [Sydney Uni](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sydney-uni/id542003075) | — | Free | Education | ## More apps by NSW Department of Primary Industries - [Drought Feed Calculator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drought-feed-calculator/id921986324) - [NSW WeedWise](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nsw-weedwise/id966457643) - [FishSmart NSW - NSW Fishing](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fishsmart-nsw-nsw-fishing/id1092320415) - [Wagyu Feed Calculator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wagyu-feed-calculator/id1462157803) - [Drought & Supp Feed Calculator](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drought-and-supp-feed-calculator/id1466907686) All apps by NSW Department of Primary Industries: https://appshunter.io/developer/476014891 ## Related topics [sharksmart](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sharksmart) · [sharksmart wa](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sharksmart-wa) · [sharksmart pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sharksmart-pro) · [finwave](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/finwave) · [shark week](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shark-week) · [shark tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shark-tracker) · [nsw department of education](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/nsw-department-of-education) · [sharktivity by awsc](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sharktivity-by-awsc) · [shark tracker free](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shark-tracker-free) · [sharktivity shark tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sharktivity-shark-tracker) · [dorsal](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dorsal) · [sharktivity](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sharktivity) · [tagged sharks](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/tagged-sharks) · [ocearch shark tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ocearch-shark-tracker) · [dorsal shark reports](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/dorsal-shark-reports) · [shark activity app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shark-activity-app) · [shark sightings](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shark-sightings) · [ocean shark tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ocean-shark-tracker) · [shark week tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/shark-week-tracker) · [ocearch global shark tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/ocearch-global-shark-tracker) --- *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 2026-08-29.*