Spotter
Get the app

Snap it. Know what it is, and whether it’s safe.

Photograph a plant, mushroom, bug, bird, rock or fossil, in the yard or on the trail. Spotter names it, shows the field marks that prove it, and rates it for people, dogs and cats, with the lookalikes to watch for. One clear answer, not a page of search results.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Free · 5 IDs a day · Premium $29.99/yr · iPhone & Android

Or try a photo free on this page, no download

A real Spotter run: a photo of orange mushrooms becomes Jack-o'-lantern Mushroom, Omphalotus illudens, 95% likely match, tagged Toxic.
  1. Photo
  2. Named
  3. Safety
  4. Lookalikes
Plate 1 · A real run, 18 seconds, trimmed only for waiting time

Recently identified Parasol Mushroom · Fungi

You found something. Is it dangerous?

It usually starts with something small, in the yard or on a walk, and a question you can’t answer from the picture alone.

A search app gives you a name and ten links. You still don’t know if it’s safe.

One photo in, a field-guide entry out

The same three steps for a mushroom, a bird or a rock. Here, the clip’s jack-o’-lantern.

  1. Step 1: Snap it

    Take a photo, or add up to 3 from different angles. The camera roll works too.

    A cluster of bright orange mushrooms growing from the leaf litter on a forest floor.
    Plate 2 · The photo

  2. Step 2: Know what it is

    The name, how sure Spotter is, and the field marks it based that on, so you can check them yourself.

    Spotter result: Jack-o'-lantern Mushroom, Omphalotus illudens, 95% likely match, tagged Toxic, with the field marks it saw: bright orange funnel-shaped caps growing in a tight cluster at the base of a tree, smooth orange stems.
    Plate 3a · 95% likely match, field marks

  3. Step 3: Stay safe

    Risk for people, dogs and cats, and the lookalike it gets mistaken for. The free result flags it Toxic; Premium gives the full tab.

    Spotter's Safety tab for the Jack-o'-lantern: High lookalike risk, frequently mistaken for the edible chanterelle. Humans high, Dogs high, Cats high, each with symptoms.
    Plate 3b · Safety tab

Try it on your own photo, right here

No account, no download. Upload or take a photo of anything outdoors and see what Spotter makes of it.

One clear subject works best.

Or tap a sample

Saved results from real runs, so they don’t use your free tries.

Your photo isn’t stored. It’s shrunk, stripped of location data and checked by Google’s Gemini model, then discarded. 3 free tries a day per visitor. Privacy

Your result

Shows up here: the name, how sure Spotter is, and a short overview. Then what the full field report in the app adds.

The answers a search result leaves out

Five questions people bring back from the yard and the trail, each answered by a real Spotter screen.

Premium

Is it toxic to my dog?

Every entry rates the risk for people, dogs and cats separately, with the symptoms to watch for. Lily of the valley, a common yard plant, is high for all three, down to the water in a vase. The free result already flags it "Deadly".

Spotter's safety ratings are information from an AI model, not medical or veterinary advice. If a person may have swallowed something, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 (US). For a pet, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a consultation fee may apply).

Get Spotter to check yours
Spotter's Safety tab for Lily of the Valley: Dogs, high, extremely dangerous for canines, even small amounts; Cats, high, highly toxic to felines, even the water from a vase. Symptoms listed for each.
Plate 4 · Lily of the Valley, Safety tab

Premium

What could I be confusing it with?

Spotter lists the lookalikes and how to tell them apart, and says when a lookalike is the dangerous one. Photograph a golden chanterelle and the toxic jack-o’-lantern is the first thing on its list.

Get Spotter to check yours
Spotter's Similar Species list for the Golden Chanterelle: Jack-o'-lantern, a toxic lookalike with true, thin gills that grows in clusters on wood; False Chanterelle; Deadly Galerina, a lethal mushroom with a ring and dark spores.
Plate 5 · Golden Chanterelle, Similar Species

Premium

Does it belong here?

The Regions tab shows where a species is native, where it was introduced and whether it is invasive. Common buckthorn, photographed in DeForest, Wisconsin, comes back invasive in North America, with what it does to the plants around it.

Get Spotter to check yours
Spotter's Regions tab for Common Buckthorn: introduced range North America, habitats such as woodlands and forest edges, and an Invasive Species card: invasive in North America, forms dense thickets that shade out native plants.
Plate 6 · Common Buckthorn, Regions tab

Rocks, minerals and fossils too?

Yes, in the same app. Rocks get hardness, luster, colour and streak; fossils get the species, age and formation. Here, a Lake Superior agate and an Elrathia kingii trilobite from Utah’s Wheeler Shale, both named correctly.

Get Spotter to check yours
Spotter's physical properties for a Lake Superior Agate: gemstone, hardness 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale, vitreous to waxy luster, red, orange, yellow, brown and white, white streak.Spotter result for a fossil: Trilobite, Elrathia kingii, 95% likely match, tagged Extinct, with field marks: three-lobed body, segmented middle section, rounded head shield.
Plate 7 · Lake Superior Agate properties; Trilobite result

Can I keep track of what I find?

Every new species goes on your life list with the date you first saw it. Discover shows what is in season near you this month, from iNaturalist sightings, and birds come with recordings so you know them by ear next time.

Get Spotter to check yours
Spotter's life list: 9 species across plants, wildlife, fungi and geology, each with the date it was first seen.
Plate 8 · Life list, first 5 of 9 species

One app instead of a search bar and four subscriptions

Google Lens is free and names almost anything. The single-subject apps are good at their one subject. Here is what each actually gives you.

Spotter compared with Google Lens and single-subject identifier apps
SpotterGoogle LensSingle-subject appsPictureThis, Picture Insect, Picture Mushroom, Rock Identifier
What one photo gets youA field-guide entry: name, confidence, the field marks it saw, safety flagMatching web results, sometimes an AI OverviewA name and a species page
Safety for people and petsPeople, dogs and cats rated on every entry, with symptoms (Premium); a safety flag on every free IDOnly what the search results sayPictureThis: yes, for plants. Insect and Mushroom: some species. Rocks: not applicable
Dangerous lookalikesLookalike risk plus how to tell them apart (Premium)NoPicture Mushroom and Picture Insect: yes. PictureThis: in some entries
Plants, animals, mushrooms, rocks and fossilsAll in one appAny photo, no field guideOne subject per app
Life list of your findsYesSearch history onlyYes, per app
Free5 IDs a day, every dayFreeLimited; the daily cap isn’t published
Price for everything$29.99/yr covers every subjectFree$29.99 to $39.99/yr each; about $150/yr for all four

Checked 2026-10-12 on the US App Store and each app’s own help pages. App stores list several price points; these are the usual yearly prices. Sources: PictureThis, Picture Insect, Picture Mushroom, Rock Identifier, Google Lens. More detail on our app comparisons.

Google Lens, PictureThis, Picture Insect, Picture Mushroom and Rock Identifier are trademarks of their respective owners. Spotter is made by Real Blue Software LLC and is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by them.

People are naming things with Spotter right now

253 different species catalogued so far, across plants, animals, fungi, rocks and fossils. The newest:

Photos are iNaturalist reference photos of each species, never a user’s own photo. Names are what Spotter returned.

Made in Wisconsin by one developer you can email

Spotter is designed, built and run by Derek Gauger at Real Blue Software, a small software company in Wisconsin. That includes the app, the identification service behind it and this site. Questions, wrong results and refund problems go straight to him at dgauger@realbluesoftware.com. More about who makes Spotter

Built on open nature data

  • iNaturalist: sightings near you and reference photos
  • xeno-canto: bird and animal recordings, credited to each recordist
  • Wikimedia Commons: photos in our field guides
  • Identification by Google’s Gemini model. It can be wrong, which is why every result shows its confidence and field marks.

Free every day. $29.99 a year for everything.

The free version is not a trial: 5 identifications every day, each with its safety flag. Premium is for when you want the whole entry.

What’s free and what Spotter Premium adds
IncludedFreePremium
Identifications5 a day, every dayUnlimited
Name, confidence score and the field marks it sawYesYes
Safety flag at a glance ("Toxic", "Deadly", "Safe to handle")YesYes
Reference photos and animal soundsYesYes
Life list, history and collectionsYesYes
Full Safety tab: people, dogs and cats, with symptoms—Yes
Dangerous lookalikes and how to tell them apart—Yes
Range: native, introduced, invasive—Yes
Care, properties and behaviour tabs—Yes

One subscription covers plants, animals and insects, mushrooms, rocks and fossils. The single-subject apps (PictureThis, Picture Insect, Picture Mushroom, Rock Identifier) usually charge $29.99 to $39.99 a year each on the US App Store (checked 2026-10-12).

  • AnnualBest value

    $29.99/yr

    Billed $29.99 once a year until you cancel. That’s about $2.50 a month.

    7-day free trial for new subscribers.

  • Monthly

    $4.99/mo

    Billed $4.99 every month until you cancel.

    7-day free trial for new subscribers.

  • Lifetime

    $59.99 once

    One payment. No subscription to cancel.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

You subscribe inside the app, through the App Store or Google Play. Cancel anytime in your App Store or Google Play subscription settings, at least 24 hours before a trial or period ends to avoid the next charge. US prices; other countries are priced by the store. Checked 2026-10-12.

Before you install

Something else? Support answers it, or email Derek.

How accurate is it?

Every result shows a confidence score and the field marks Spotter based the name on, so you can check them against what is in front of you. Adding 2 more photos from other angles (up to 3 per ID) settles most close calls.

Results are generated by an AI model and can be wrong. For anything that matters, like a pet that ate something, confirm with an expert.

Can I use it to decide if a mushroom or plant is safe to eat?

No. Spotter is for identifying and learning, and its safety notes are there to tell you what to stay away from. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom on the strength of an app.

If a person may have swallowed something, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 (US). For a pet, call your vet or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a fee may apply).

What happens to my photos and location?

In the app, your photos are saved with your account so your history and life list work. You can delete any identification, or your whole account and everything in it, from the Profile tab.

Location is only used if you allow it when you take a photo, to favour species that are actually found near you. Photos tried in the web demo here are not stored at all. Details are in the privacy policy.

Do I need an account?

For the app, yes: you sign in with Apple, Google or an email address, so your history and life list follow you to a new phone. The web demo on this page needs no account.

What does Premium cost, and how do I cancel?

Spotter is free with 5 identifications a day. Premium is $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $59.99 once for life. Monthly: 7-day free trial for new subscribers. Annual: 7-day free trial for new subscribers.

You subscribe through the App Store or Google Play and cancel there, in your subscription settings, anytime. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription.

Why use Spotter instead of Google Lens or ChatGPT?

Both can put a name to a photo. Lens shows matching web results; ChatGPT answers whatever you think to ask. Spotter gives you the same field-guide entry every time: how sure it is and why, a safety rating for people, dogs and cats, the lookalikes to watch for and where it is native or invasive. And it keeps your finds in a life list.

Does it work without signal?

Identifying needs a connection. Out of range, take the photo anyway and identify it from your camera roll when you have signal again.

What can it identify, and on which phones?

Plants, trees, wildflowers, birds, mammals, insects, spiders, reptiles, mushrooms and other fungi, rocks, minerals, fossils and shells. Spotter is on iPhone, iPad and Android.

Free field guides for every kind of find

All 77 field guides · 256 field notes

Next time you find something, you’ll know.

Free with 5 identifications a day and no card. Premium from $4.99/mo or $29.99/yr.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play