Sometimes the app auto scans things while I'm trying to scan something else and by the time I get whatever pop-up out of the way (same observation or challenge complete, etc) the thing I was actually trying to scan goes away into the wild :( other times I try to scan something 1ft from me, getting multiple angles and still no scan, it just stays on the second to last bubble never able to get the final result. I know what the species is too because I see it on the home page at the location I'm at. It would be nice to just go "okay you can't scan this, I'll just upload the picture I got and set it to this species" or at least have a way to let you pick it if it looks similar to one you're labeling it as. The species I've had that issue with is the Great-Tailed Grackle. I've been scanning different ones for 4 days now and still haven't been able to get Seek to get it but have the most clear picture of one. Sometimes the animals are super well camouflaged too and Seek just can't see them at all. It's frustrating sometimes but overall the app has been working fine and has had no problems. Plants work more compared to animals it seems. Can't really get bugs like ticks and mosquitos, but I guess I can blame my camera for that one. iPhone 12. This review would be 5 stars if it wasn't for those small issues I have. All in all amazing app and I use it all the time now.

I have taken obvious pictures that won’t connect and many that connect to the wrong species. For instance, I took a picture of an obvious bumblebee from nearly every angle with no luck and an Asian lady beetle pupa was connected to a zigzag ladybird. Bugs aside, I did recognize a few errors with plants. It would be better to have a “this is wrong, let me suggest a correction” option. Also, it is so difficult to focus the camera. It connects a blurry image, but refuses to connect the image when I spend far too much time trying to focus. I end up leaving the app to use the native iPhone app. All that said, I do realize how new this type of matching technology is so I can only deduct one star and continue taking pictures of everything nature brings me. One more thing, it would be nice to have poisonous stuff highlighted. Very cool app. *edit—it should tag photos with what Seek identified them as and have the ability to cycle through photos based on identification. I’m trying to snap pictures at different stages, so I know what is what when it is time to cleanup the yard. It would also be nice to have the pictures document which plants most attract beneficial insects.

Appstore won’t let me format an easy to read review, but I have tried my best. ***PROS***: 1.) Free, no Ads (donations likely main source of revenue) 2.) Identify Plants/Animals 3.) Participate in community events 4.) Catalog/record observations to app 5.) App contributes to human desire to understand and observe nature ***POTENTIAL IMPROVEMENTS***: 1.) Allow direct download of observations from app 2.) Display “safety pop-up” upon opening the app, not when accessing camera (allows for faster capture of observations) 3.) Add option to toggle phone flashlight while using camera 4.) Allow additional features that are only available to registered users to non-users. Mining personal data should not be required for some of the features that are withheld from non-registered users. ***Additional improvement***: (no clue how viable this is): Optional download of data relating to local wildlife (user location would be required) to the users device. Allowing for the device’s hardware to mitigate the need for a strong internet connection.