PlantSnap F.A.Q. - How to Identify Plants

Christmas 2023 Promo FAQ

We saw your app successfully demonstrated on the news, but how does the technology actually work?
PlantSnap uses proprietary artificial intelligence technology to identify plants in its database. Furthermore, as users submit their photos with suggestions, the technology “learns” to recognize more types of plants.
Is my information safe ?
Like you, we are cautious about sharing personal information. Rest assured we will NEVER share your information with anyone.
The camera gets stuck on the "identifying screen and shows no results. What can I do ?
Did you click “allow” when you were going through the walkthrough? PlantSnap needs access to your camera and gallery in order to function. Go to settings, privacy, photos and make sure PlantSnap is turned ON. It’s most probably OFF now and needs to be set to ON.
Why do I need to give PlantSnap permission to access my camera and gallery?
Yes, and if you do not the app will become non-responsive during the identification process! When you Snap a photo with PlantSnap, the app needs somewhere to store that photo on your phone. PlantSnap creates an album in your camera gallery called PlantSnap, where your PlantSnap photos are stored. If you do not allow access to your camera gallery, PlantSnap has nowhere on your phone to store and analyze the photos, so it will not work properly.

To make sure your have given the app your correct permissions please check this:

Apple – “Turn permissions on or off”

To do this, open the Settings app and scroll down to the list of apps at the very bottom.

Tap an app and you’ll see the permissions it wants.

You can enable or disable individual permissions for specific apps from here.

Android – “Turn permissions on or off”

On your device, open the main Settings app.

Tap Apps or Application Manager (depending on your device, this may look different).

Tap the app you want to update.

Tap Permissions.

Next to a permission you want to turn on, move the switch to the right until it turns green. If you want to turn a permission off, move the switch to the left until it turns gray.

Does Plantsnap only accept new pictures or can I submit photos from my mobile devie gallery ?
PlantSnap accepts both new photos and photos from your gallery! Just make sure your photos are in-focus and properly framed.
How can I delete images from within PlantSnap in My Collection?

Long press any image in “My Collection” then a prompt message for deleting and editing the image will show up.

Do I have to be connected to the Internet to use PlantSnap ?
In order for the app to identify images, yes, your mobile device must be connected to the Internet.  However, if you are somewhere without a connection but would like to identify a plant, simply take the photo and save them to your gallery.  When able to connect to the Internet, simply upload the photo into the app!

“The app isn’t working for me. 90% failure to identify so far.”

This is a problem with the photo you took. If the species you are trying to identify is currently trained into our algorithm, the PlantSnap success rate is 96%. PlantSnap requires closeup photos of the flowers of plants and the leaves of trees. Please watch the instructional video, read the directions on the camera screen, and read the welcome letter we sent to your email address when you registered.

Please also check our Facebook page for examples of how to frame the photos: https://www.facebook.com/pg/PlantSnap/videos/

You can also email to us the photos you are trying to identify and we will help you learn to use the app properly. support@plantsnap.net

Snap Guidelines

Here are examples of images that will not work, and an explanation of WHY they will not work.

1. Plant is too close

3. Flower not in focus

5. Sunlight / Direct light behind plant subject

7. Flower with no leaves

9. Half of flower

2. Plant is too far

4. Leaf not in focus

6. Too many other plants in the photo

8. Wilted damaged / flower

10. Middle of leaf / flower

Community voices

"Fantastic! Using this app in conjunction with my field guide helps me identify plants in no time or reaffirm my own identifications. Well done a fantastic app."

Kimberley B

"I was kinda skeptical at first... I got this app after a bad two weeks of poison ivy. The videos and tutorials have helped me make sure my success rate with the algorithm stays high- big thanks for that! As I continue to “collect” new flowers and plants that grow on my property, I’m really enjoying the fun info and feeling like I have a botanist in my pocket at all times. I would recommend for future updates: 1) mushroom and fungus descriptions to know if it’s safe for eating raw, cooking, is hallucinogenic, or deadly. The idea of knowing what’s edible out there from dandelions to whitecap mushrooms would be really cool to capture and enjoy. 2) augmented reality... live video collecting various plants and flowers, and the algorithm can be focused to know its a location based collection, so there’s no overseas plants, etc which could aid in faster live identification. This could also help see where poison ivy, poison oak, or various toxic plants are. I could see some sort of game of collecting or helping identify could help you collect points, and redeem them to have someone plant a tree... idk. Great app! Thanks!"

Brendan D