Citizen science website, biodiversity observations, species identification, research-grade data, nature app, community science, conservation, and global wildlife records

iNaturalist

iNaturalist is a nonprofit website and app where people record observations of wild organisms, get help with species identification, and contribute biodiversity data used by researchers, conservation groups, educators, and naturalists.

Website

inaturalist.org is the main public website for iNaturalist, with mobile apps for field observations.

Organization

iNaturalist is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that became independent in 2023.

Scale

The homepage reports 300 million-plus observations and 550,000-plus documented species.

iNaturalist is a nonprofit citizen-science website and app for biodiversity observations, species identification, and research data.View image on Wikimedia Commons

What iNaturalist is

iNaturalist is a website and mobile app for sharing observations of wild plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms. A person can upload a photo or sound, add the place and date, receive species suggestions, and invite other naturalists to confirm or improve the identification. The official iNaturalist app is available on the App Store and Google Play for field observations from a phone.

From sighting to observation

The basic unit on iNaturalist is an observation: evidence that someone encountered an organism at a particular time and place. Useful observations usually include a photo or sound, a date, a location, and an initial identification. The platform then connects that record to maps, species pages, projects, and community review.

Community identification

iNaturalist combines automated suggestions with human review. Computer vision can propose likely species, but the public record depends on people adding identifications and comments. When enough identifiers agree and the record meets data-quality rules, an observation can become research grade.

Scientific data flow

Research-grade observations can be shared with biodiversity data systems such as GBIF when they meet licensing and quality requirements. That makes iNaturalist more than a personal nature journal: many records become part of datasets used to study species ranges, seasonal timing, urban biodiversity, invasive species, and conservation priorities.

Projects, places, and learning

Projects let schools, parks, research teams, local communities, and event organizers gather observations around a place, species group, survey, or challenge. Casual users can also explore nearby organisms, follow identifiers, compare species pages, and learn from discussions attached to real observations.

Why it matters

Biodiversity is difficult to monitor because living things are spread across countless backyards, roadsides, parks, farms, beaches, and forests. iNaturalist turns ordinary encounters into records that can help reveal where species live, when they appear, and how communities notice ecological change.

Limits and privacy

iNaturalist is not a guarantee that every identification is correct, and it is not meant for dumping external datasets or mapping nonliving features. Location privacy also matters: the platform can obscure sensitive coordinates, but people should still think carefully before sharing observations from private property, vulnerable species sites, or places where access is restricted.

WHOIS domain data

Data pulled: June 1, 2026View current WHOIS record

Domain: inaturalist.org
IP address: 20.69.173.116
Registrar: Network Solutions, LLC
WHOIS server: whois.networksolutions.com
Referral URL: http://www.networksolutions.com
Created: November 16, 2004
Updated: November 27, 2025
Expires: November 16, 2030
Nameservers: ns1.slicehost.net (69.20.95.4); ns2.slicehost.net (65.61.188.4); ns3.slicehost.net (69.20.95.4)
Domain status: clientTransferProhibited
Contact privacy: Registrant and technical contact details are listed through Perfect Privacy, LLC / Network Solutions private registration.

Key concepts

Observationa record of an organism encountered at a time and place, usually supported by a photo or sound.
Community IDthe taxon that reflects agreement among identifiers on an observation.
Research gradea quality status for observations that meet evidence, location, date, wild-organism, and community-identification rules.
Projecta collection of observations organized around a place, event, survey, institution, species group, or community goal.

Website features

Upload observations from the browser or mobile app, then edit dates, locations, evidence, and identifications.
Explore species, maps, places, projects, leaderboards, taxa pages, and nearby observations.
Use identification tools and community comments to refine uncertain records over time.
Download or access observation data where licensing, quality grade, and privacy settings allow it.

Common misconceptions

iNaturalist is not only an AI identification app; human identifiers and community review are central to the platform.
Research grade does not mean perfect; it means the record meets iNaturalist's current quality and agreement rules.
The site is for observations of organisms, not general mapping of landscapes, trash, rocks, pets, people, or security-camera events.
A public observation may reveal location patterns, so privacy settings and sensitive-species rules are part of responsible use.

Open questions

How can community science platforms keep data quality high as observation volume keeps rising?
Which species and regions remain underrepresented because fewer people observe, photograph, or identify them?
How should platforms balance open biodiversity data with risks to sensitive species and private locations?
What role should automated identification play when expert human identifiers are scarce?