# Whale Alert — Reducing Ship Strikes

> App to report whale sightings and reduce vessel collisions with marine mammals. (iPhone/iPad app by Conserve.IO.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whale-alert/id911035973 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Conserve.IO](https://appshunter.io/developer/651453353)
- Category: Navigation, Education
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.50/5 from 220 App Store ratings · 39 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 14.1 · 128 MB
- Languages: American English, Canadian French, European Spanish
- Released: 2014-09-05
- Data updated: 2026-08-30
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whale-alert/id911035973/reviews.md

## What is Whale Alert?

Protect Whales. Prevent Collisions. Join the Effort.

Vessel strikes are a leading cause of whale injury and death around the world. With the Whale Alert app, you can help keep whales safe—whether you're a mariner, recreational boater, beachgoer, or scientist.

Whale Alert turns your sightings into action. 

Report live, dead, or injured whales, stay informed about speed zones and regulations, and view whale activity on an interactive map. Every report contributes to a safer ocean for whales and people.

Key Features:
- Interactive Map: View recent whale sightings from professionals and citizen scientists, acoustic detections from buoys and gliders, and aerial survey data.
- Real-Time Alerts: Get notified when you're near recent whale activity or areas of concern.
- Report Sightings: Log sightings of living, dead, or injured whales and report marine hazards or vessel strikes.
- Whale ID Guide: Identify whale species accurately using an in-app identification tool.
- First Responder Connection: Quickly connect with response teams for distressed, stranded or dead whales..
- Collision Risk Monitoring: Understand your vessel’s risk based on location, speed, and likelihood of whale presence.
- Marine Rules at a Glance: Access speed limits, seasonal protections, and region-specific whale approach guidelines.
- Data-Rich Map Layers: Includes arine sanctuaries and protected areas, seasonal and dynamic management areas, U.S. marine charts, NOAA PORTS® data, and likely whale presence along the U.S. East Coast and Europe.
- Multilingual Support: Available in English, French, and Spanish.

Whale Alert is currently available in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

______________________________________

Why It Matters:
Whales are vulnerable to collisions with vessels of all sizes. In California, gray whales are the most commonly reported victims of vessel strikes. On the Atlantic coast, the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale faces a similar threat. In the Mediterranean, vessel strikes are the leading cause of human-caused death for fin and sperm whales.

Slowing down saves lives. Whale Alert empowers you to take simple, informed actions that make a big impact. By reporting sightings and following in-app guidance, you help reduce ship strikes, inform science and policy, and protect some of the ocean’s most iconic creatures.

The Whale Alert team consists of IFAW, Conserve.IO and Greenov. We are part of a global effort to reduce vessel strikes and other human activities that threaten marine mammals. Our network of partners, contributors and sponsors include NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Whale Alert — West Coast, NOAA Fisheries Service, Canadian Whale Institute, Channel Island Cetacean Research Unit, Bay of Fundy—Tidal Energy, Whale Alert Alaska—National Park Service, The Marine Mammal Center, Orca Network, Beam Reach, OceanWise, Marine Mammal Advisory Group, Ørsted and ProtectedSeas.

Download Whale Alert today and help make the ocean safer for whales—one sighting at a time.

_______________________________________
Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

## Key features

- Interactive whale sighting map
- Real-time whale activity alerts
- Report live, dead, or injured whales
- Whale identification guide
- Connect with first responders
- Collision risk monitoring
- Marine rules and speed zones

## Chart rankings

- #108 in Top Free · Navigation (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (10 of 39)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/whale-alert/id911035973/reviews.md

### 3/5 — Many alerts for one whale confirmation

*2026-07-24, version 4.4.2*

Gives many alerts over hours for one whale confirmation.  Making it seem like there's multiple.  Other than that I love the app

### 3/5 — Updates

*2026-07-12, version 4.4.2*

Just wish the updates were quicker especially on the map

### 2/5 — Lousy App

*2026-07-11, version 4.4.1*

I’ve been trying to report a whale sighting a number of times but a month later and it still doesn’t show up.

### 5/5 — Retired

*2026-06-19, version 4.4.1*

Love this app. My guests love the rare opportunity to see the whales (Respectfully from a distance, engine/sonar  off.) I still get excited myself each time. Also gives a heads up caution while passing thru an area.

### 2/5 — Older version was better

*2025-08-25, version 4.2.3*

The new updates have made the app less user friendly as a person that enjoys seeing where whales are, when they were there, and photos of them where they were reported. Now all we see is a grey unconfirmed alert for about a day, and many times it will give error messages that data is unavailable.  I think more filters for whale types and 1 day option would be useful. Please bring back the previous functionality.

### 1/5 — Whales on the freeway?!

*2025-08-04, version 4.2.3*

For the last few weeks, I get notifications several times a day (while I’m driving on the freeway, in a restaurant, at home, etc) that I’m about to hit a whale. The notifications are getting a bit annoying. I kept the app hoping updates would fix, but it’s been a bit now. Deleting and hoping this gets resolved!

### 1/5 — The app is now unusable

*2025-08-02, version 4.2.3*

Used to be an incredible app but it is now completely broken and unusable. I have the iPhone 16 Pro and this app is barely functional now with the new updates. Not sure what they optimized this app for, but it is broken on iPhones now

### 1/5 — Crashes

*2025-07-11, version 4.2*

The app was great before they updated it and changed the interface, yes it lagged before but now it is completely unusable. It freezes the second I try to do anything to the map and then crashes. Save yourself some sanity and don’t use this app

### 5/5 — Whales

*2025-07-03, version 4.2*

W sigma rizz approved

### 3/5 — Great data, with usability issues

*2025-06-22, version 4.2*

First: so appreciative for this free app. The data is uses is great, as is the ability to report through it. I’ve used it to stay aware of whales I’ve come across in the Puget Sound. After the most recent update, it seems the API call to get the whale sightings is blocking. You can’t do anything with the app on the first 15-30 seconds and when you try to move the map it freezes. A feature that allows you to filter by species or time seen would be great!

## Frequently asked questions about Whale Alert

### What does the Whale Alert app do?

The Whale Alert app is designed to protect whales by reducing the risk of vessel strikes. It allows users to report whale sightings, receive real-time alerts about whale activity and relevant regulations, and view an interactive map displaying whale presence and data. It also offers tools for identifying whale species and connecting with marine response teams.

### What are the key features of Whale Alert?

Key features include an interactive map showing whale sightings and acoustic detections, real-time alerts for nearby whale activity, the ability to report sightings of live, dead, or injured whales, a whale identification guide, and a direct connection to first responders for distressed marine mammals. It also offers collision risk monitoring and access to marine rules and speed zones.

### Is Whale Alert free to use?

Yes, the Whale Alert app is available for free. It does not have any associated costs for download or usage, and it does not display advertisements or offer in-app purchases.

### Where is Whale Alert available?

Whale Alert is currently available in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The app also supports multiple languages, including English, French, and Spanish, to cater to a wider user base.

### How does reporting whale sightings help?

Reporting whale sightings through the app contributes valuable data to a collective effort to protect whales. This information helps inform scientists, policymakers, and mariners about whale locations and movements, enabling the implementation of speed zones and other protective measures to reduce the risk of collisions between vessels and whales.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.4.2 — 2026-07-11

Bug fixes & improvements:
• Location accuracy fixes
• Settings now shows the correct app version in the footer
• Feedback form now sends all attached screenshots, not just the first
• Map alert toggles (managed areas & nearby whales) now require Location Permission to be on
• Alert toggles are disabled when location access is off
• Sighting map pin updates correctly when you change the location on a sighting report form
• Stale location data is cleared if you revoke location permission
• Improved reliability of in-app messages 
• Better handling when whale sighting reports upload after being saved offline
• Additional English, French, and Spanish strings for profile menu and species search

### 4.4.1 — 2026-06-17

Bug fixes & improvements:
• Settings now shows the correct app version in the footer
• Feedback form now sends all attached screenshots, not just the first
• Map alert toggles (managed areas & nearby whales) now require Location Permission to be on
• Alert toggles are disabled when location access is off
• Sighting map pin updates correctly when you change the location on a sighting report form
• Stale location data is cleared if you revoke location permission
• Improved reliability of in-app messages 
• Better handling when whale sighting reports upload after being saved offline
• Additional English, French, and Spanish strings for profile menu and species search

### 4.4.0 — 2026-02-27

- Improved performance and stability
 - Improved "Report Sighting" process
 - Faster map, sightings, and zone loading
 - Improved zone details
 - In-app feedback and support

### 4.3.9 — 2026-02-15

- Improved performance and stability
 - Improved "Report Sighting" process
 - Faster map, sightings, and zone loading
 - Improved zone details
  -In-app feedback and support

### 4.3.8 — 2026-02-12

- Improved performance and stability
 - Improved "Report Sighting" process
 - Faster map, sightings, and zone loading
 - Improved zone details
 - In-app feedback and support

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## More apps by Conserve.IO

- [Manatee Alert](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/manatee-alert/id654462272)
- [Monarch Migration - Tracking Monarch Butterfly Migration](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monarch-migration-tracking-monarch-butterfly-migration/id1023464725)
- [Ocean Alert](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ocean-alert/id1457113771)

All apps by Conserve.IO: https://appshunter.io/developer/651453353

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*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 2026-08-30.*