Have you tried Seek?

Last year, iNaturalist released a new version of their Seek app. Seek uses image recognition technology - technology based on observations submitted and identified by users like you! - to instantly recognize commonly recorded organisms. The previous version of the app required the user to first take a photo to even determine whether it was identifiable. Now, users simply point their camera at something unknown, and the screen overlay provides “immediate feedback about what you see and the specificity with which Seek can identify it.”

This app was developed as kid-safe: no registration is involved, and no user data is collected. Location services must be allowed; however, this data is obscured and never stored in the app or sent to iNaturalist (unless you link the two apps). It’s an even easier tool for families to use while exploring nature together.

At first, I was resistant to using Seek - if everyone switches over to this cool instant recognition tool, our biodiversity data collection will seriously decline! Fortunately, this is not the case. If you’re an iNaturalist user, it is easy to log into the Seek app with your information, and upload those Seek observations onto your iNaturalist page! The apps will work together and make it easier for you to use which app you’d like to learn about nature, and share it with others.

If you’re curious about Seek, head over to https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app to learn more about the app, watch a quick video, or download the user guide.

Have you tried the app? What are your thoughts? Do you have questions? Share them below!

Posted on June 19, 2020 10:37 PM by khkartchner