PlantNet
Reviews and Complaints

Did not ID poison ivy. Not only that, it doesn't even have poison ivy in the library.

Great idea, but it's a terrible app. Even if it worked, the UI is terrible.

You can't vcompare your photo to the search results because you have to scroll down to view the results. Meaning there is no side-by-side view before you submit a contribution. No way to remove contributions, either. Generally, there are no clear instructions; the intro just a list of features.

It also requires your location all the time / "always." Why do you need my location every second of the day?

I had a positive experience initially, but within an hour or so the app crashed.

I had opted to delete a record I’d shared because it was a duplicate. After hitting “delete” the app went to a non-responsive white screen.

I’m debating whether it is worthwhile to delete the app and reinstall. It did a decent job with a few IDs but should not be regarded as authoritative. Can pull in species from out of area, etc. so best to confirm with a technical key.

Searching “PlantNet crash” yields nothing useful (just a couple of scammy-looking sites with no meaningful remedy). Will update if circumstances change.

This app is the only one I used when I was working in a commercial greenhouse. I’d have customers bring up plants to purchase and want to know their names. I have pretty extensive knowledge but there would always be a plant that I couldn’t remember or something new that I couldn’t identify. This app has given me correct answers when most others wouldn’t. The option to select what part of the plant the image is from is awesome for nature hikes as well. In early spring there aren’t always leaves on some trees in my area but it would narrow down the options. Thanks to the app developers for creating something so useful and intuitive.

The app is really a wonderful resource and is fairly accurate. The problem is the human error factor. It compiles positive identifications that people upload-but people sometimes don't look close enough and log a false positive- so a bunch of photos are associated with an Inaccurate id in perpetuity. Generally the app has the correct ID within its top five, and perhaps a double check online by users would make it perfectly accurate... I do not hold my breath. The simple fact that it is free, gives it a pass, and with a little bit of diligence on our parts, it could be the greatest resource out there. Overall 5 stars, with a grain of salt as the idiom goes-lol.

I use this app together with another app. This helps me narrow down or confirm this app’s identification. PlantNet seems to be right most of the time, which cannot be said for some other apps... I wish, however, that the app makers would amend a feature: under the information section that comes in the plant’s description, the “Uses” section would be more accurate and scientifically based. It is not valid to state that a plant is a “weed”, particularly if it is native to an area, possibly experiencing decline in numbers due to habitat destruction, and essential for ecosystem function. Even if a plant is successful and aggressive (sometimes obnoxiously so), it is not a weed if it is native.

Think about the number of times you have been somewhere and have seen an intriguing plant and wondered what it was. Well, now you don’t need to wonder. All you need do is snap a picture, send it into the ether, and wait for an identification to return. I like the probability feature that the identity is a given plant. It is a bit surprising that the vagaries of producing a photo are generally good enough for identification. I have found it to be generally accurate using plants for which I know the identity. This certainly has made walks in the woods more interesting, especially as you monitor plants as they develop. This is an outstanding app and it is free. For some reason I haven’t found a way to donate from the USA.

This is a wonderful app for all types of flowers and foliage both for wildflowers and flowerbeds. For walking in the woods or just around the neighborhood, this is easy to use and filled with the information you’re looking for.
Two years later I’m still very happy using this app for identifying plants, I’ve tried a few other apps and was absolutely amazed at how unsure and inaccurate they were at identifying the simplest of plants. There were also no other pictures from others to compare to or even anything other than one choice of what they thought it might be. Example: I took a picture of my 50+ yo variegated snake plant and got this with no picture. “Unsure 6% odds it may be a cactus.”
No thanks , I’ll stick with what works, this app is GREAT!

Writing this to help development. I’ve used this app a few years but haven’t used in last 6 months months or so until recently. It used to be extremely accurate in id’ing my pics with a plant - I’m not looking up any unusual plants, I just forget the names of common plants. however the past few times ( in the last month or two), the app does not come close to identifying a match. It seems to be related to a change to this auto flora filter that wasn’t there before but I really don’t know. I’ve noticed when I expanded outside the US flora it found my plant last time. Which is odd considering I’m in the US! But in any case, something has changed that is impacting accuracy that I’ve not experienced in the past. Maybe it’s just dumb luck ( or unluck) but it may be worth the feedback.

It is awesome to find an app free (as of today) of marketing and other nuisances with monetizing modern practices that -most of is I suppose- I so personally dislike. OK, leaving that statement behind. This site (both in the app and the web) offers a no brainer method to learn about plants (in all their splendor here, there, and everywhere) and share your local biodiversity with others which -it is earlier for me to assure but I trust is the goal- as sharing their photos and expertise help me to become more comfortable with learning about my local plant biology. I also need to thank modern smart phone cameras for allowing a user friendly way into making the transition from picture to app fluent without much steps (obviously this is not a feature of the app but of the smart phone) between snapping the picture and uploading it to my account. Keep it commercial free.

I didn't bother reading the description, having been given the name of the app when I Googled for "Shazam for plants," so I didn't realize that the app can't identify plants in North America. However, that does not influence this review.

I like the fact that you can take pictures of different parts of the plant to aid in identification. This really helps when you have several different flowers that are similar, but their leaves are quite different.

On the other hand, using the app seems complicated and non-intuitive. Perhaps because a "group of scientists" was involved?

Lots of photos, and links to Tela Botanical and Wikipedia for most, if not all, of the 6124 species of plants included in the app's database. I'd like to see the app use a Safari Web View, particularly because the in-app browser doesn't have navigation buttons.

In all, rating three stars for a Good app.

I downloaded this app based on a recommendation from a nice lady I met at a landscape supply store. I very foolishly had high hopes this would be useful. Not the case at all. I always check the app privacy data before downloading anything. It didn’t seem too concerning. I do keep my phone reasonably secured. Even with my VPN turned off and JavaScript enabled, plus allowing cookies( just not cross site tracking), the app could not properly load. Why? Why wouldn’t it function? Why would I get “Technical error” as it tried to load the list of flora? Was it trying to do something else in the background and couldn’t? That’s usually the case. It is a free app and who knows what devious code it runs behind the scenes.
Nothing is truly free and this app doesn’t seem to work unless you open every door in you device to it. I won’t do that and neither should you. Negative 5 stars. Seems like malware to me. Beware.

I’ve always been in love with the natural world and this app has opened a whole new door to it for me. It’s only the 2nd app like this I’ve tried but Plantnet has exceeded my expectations. Only a couple small deviations I’ve found so far that if worked out could help take away one of the ?’s when trying to identify a plant and improve the over all quality When I search a identical picture of a plant from my LG phone and IPad I get two different results. For example, I had 5 results on the LG and 11 on the iPad. I believe the lesser number of results is always the same to the larger but why two different results? Also little more detail about the environment where they originated, uses, lifespan, are they threatened or endangered and a short summary how to care for would be amazing! It’s a great app though. Well done Plantnet! Can’t wait to continue growing my collection and discovering more of this near secret world of botany around us all.

I’m a total novice so I can’t follow all the Family/ Genus stuff. It’s over my head. But the app lends itself to basic use too by listing the common names. My favorite part though is when you search a plant, the options offer pics of the flower, leaves, bark, etc.. There’s even a Wikipedia tab so you can read about the plant which can help in identification. Because it’s user driven, there’s good and bad. The good: TONS of submitted photos. The bad: Not all the submitted pics will be of the advertised plant (just means someone made a poor identification and “contributed” it to the database). This can fool you into thinking it’s something it’s not. It’s also up to the user network to “validate” everyone’s observations. Sadly there’s no flora-genius overseeing the thousands of contributions to determine the accuracy. That’s just wishful thinking. You’re relying on someone plant-savvy to stumble across your contribution and choose to validate you. Overall a kickass app. And it’s free! I’m learning slowly, but learning a lot.

I see now too late that I have downloaded an app that doesn't have any use in the United States where I live. I am very disappointed to see here that people say it has no North American plants.

Also I am really annoyed that they did not offer the privacy setting options to have GPS tracking only when using the app. Instead they have it set to collect data on where we are even if the app is off.

There is no excuse for the app to need the GPS tracking to be always on when it is not in use. I feel the same way about the Waze app not giving the option to only track our GPS when we have the app on. Having GPS constantly on without the choice to not have it always on causes me to have to turn it on and off a lot if I want to use such an app, so I probably will delete the app because it's too much trouble.

I am really surprised that I was told of this app and it turns out it's apparently not meant for people in the United States. What is it doing in the app store for United States IPhones?

If you put in the north American plants so I can use it in the US, and you add the option to not be GPS tracked except when the app is in use, I will rate it highly.

Have tried a few of these plant identification apps over the past 6 or so years. Honestly I feel like they all use very similar photo recognition software, if not the exact same. So they all do a pretty swell job (including this app) at locating the correct plant species via a user uploaded photo. However, this app is free and takes donations to stay afloat, rather than subscriptions. This fact alone causes me to like this app way more than the rest. I like being given the option to support this app, when it is financially feasible for me and my budget. I think this method will bring grow the community within the app, and strengthen the membership as a whole. The one suggestion I have is to maybe clean up the interface. It’s a little clunky, and awkward. Not too user friendly in all aspects, although it is in a few. In some areas there are more options to choose from where there needs to be less, and in other areas there are less options to choose from where there needs to be more. There should be more regions to choose from when saving your identified plant photo & information. Otherwise it’s a solid app, and I am happy with my download... thank you! Cheers!

The app freezes when you go through the galleries to correct the MANY misIDed plants, and the “top” rated identifiers on there would rather nitpick about silly things than make sure the species gallery actually has correct photos in it for the app to compare uploads to. For example - Aloe squarrosa has nothing but Aloe juvenna photos in it. Try and upload some correct squarrosa photos from the internet so at least the app has SOMETHING accurate in there? Nope, they remove it. Find other users plants that ARE Aloe squarrosa that the app misidentified and correctly ID them? Nope, they’ll remove those too. But will they do anything about the juvenna photos in the squarrosa gallery? Also no. And most of those “top” IDers have almost nothing but mislabeled plants they’ve uploaded too…the point it just to have tons of uploads, whether or not they are correct I guess. Some users go through and blindly validate EVERY suggested ID, whether it is correct or not. I have corrected over 28,000 photos on this app.

There are 600+ species of Aloes and countless hybrids, this app has about 120 species in its database...I’m sure with many of the genera (especially cacti and succulents) on there it’s similar. Many names also that they have are older botanical names. It might be helpful to get a general idea of genus sometimes, but beyond that it is not going to be accurate..no app can be with all the cultivars and hybrids out there. Too many people trust these ID apps too much.

A 100% free app with no Ads or in app purchases!
(I rarely take the time to write a review and have no affiliation with this app or it’s developer’s) I wanted a free app that could identify plants growing in my garden. I gave up after deleting a half dozen or more that were inaccurate, Ad driven, or just plain didn’t work. My wife suggested I break down and buy one so I searched for suggestions. A review from a highly reputable tech page had PlantNet at the top of their list so I gave it a go but with low expectations since it was “Free” app. I IMMEDIATELY LIKED THIS APP! On the surface it came off as a user friendly guide to help identify plants growing in my Garden and simple enough to navigate that my elderly mother might even enjoy it. Digging deeper I was stunned (still am) by the resource it placed in the palm of my hands. It’s amazing! I might not understand a lot of it, (ok 99%) as I’m a novice gardener at best, but coming across one of Darwin’s sketches of a plant I’ve had for years was surreal. There’s pages of information on every single plant recognized by the scientific community with hyperlinks to university study’s, scientific publications, even occasional original journal entry’s by the explorers searching the globe for new discovery. At this point the tips to keep them alive in spite of my propensity for killing them slowly is just an added bonus. All this for every plant in the scientific database. I’ve used it to create a catalog of what’s in my yard. Adding details that I find interesting. It’s taken my new love for gardening to a whole new level. In a industry driven by the almighty dollar, It’s refreshing to find an app that’s funded by individual contributions, grants, and powered by Volunteers. Please don’t stop what your doing! You have made my wife happy and me in the dirt. Sincerely, Mike Jones from Raleigh NC

It does a good job identifying the plant but once you hit gallery it doesn’t allow you to go back into your photos. It only shows the previous flower or plant that you wanted identified, so you can’t get any more photos from your camera identified and you cannot delete the old photo. So essentially once you ID one photo you’re done.

I’ve been using this app since last summer (2019) and I really liked it back when it worked for me. I’ve been trying to use it unsuccessfully for at least two months now, the app will NOT open. It starts to open and then just kicks me back to my phone’s home screen. I have emailed the app designers for help, no answer. At this point the app is useless to me. Too bad.

Took crystal clear photos of common flowers and the app could not identify a single one. Not only that, it didn't even present any of them on the provided pictorial list.

Here are the flowers I tested:

Pink Peonies
White Peonies
Mountain Laurel
Tulips
Impatiens
Hydrangeas
Zinnia
Nasturtiums
Tiger Lily

The app has serious potential, but as of now, it's useless. :-/

First of all, there were multiple insoluble problems with login and account formation.

So, I tried to as guest. Which leads me to second issue:

You cannot use the app at all if you do not share geolocation. I’ve never seen another app where you can’t manually enter location if you don’t want to give this access. But, not here.

Sorry, deleted. Too bad, I really like the website.

No idea what changed but all I get are errors when I open the app: “An error occured while loading
observations
No response from server or No network
available”

If I get the the image library section to identify, I get: “ An error occurred while uploading images
No response from server or No network available
TECHNICAL ISSUE”

I hope this is fixed. I clearly have internet as I’m able to post this review…

I downloaded this app, set the location to US and immediately submitted a picture of a rose as a test run. The app failed to recognize one of the most easily recognizable flowers in the world. It's disappointing, because a point and shoot plant identification app would be enormously useful and fun to play with.

Also this app hasn't been updated in over a year, so I'd assume the developers quit trying to make it work. Oh well.

I wouldn’t even give this app half a star (it wont let me give it zero). Honestly this app pathetic and doesn’t work at all. I took a picture of a plant i knew to test it and it gave me a billion options (none of which was the right one). I then tried another plant (entirely different from the one before)taking a picture only to find the EXACT answers it gave me for the last one. I refreshed it but the answers stayed the same. Don't waste your time with this app it is completely useless.

I decided to try this app today and when I opened it all I had to do was to snap a shot and it identified the plant very accurately. I was able to add all plants to My Plants section however, when I went to open it again later, the whole home page had changed and my list was gone and so was the My Plants section at the bottom. I tried taking a pic again and this time it became a four-step process having to pic Family or Genus etc. don’t know why it changed but I wouldn’t pass this app on to anyone based on my experience.

It does have plants in the USA. You just have to change the settings. It has nice photos, but they are not in alphabetical order so are useless for looking up a plant. It has categories by family groups, but how many of us non-botanists use Latin family names for plant groups? So, that part is useless for me. There is no search tool. You can't put in "rose" etc and get a photo of a rose. I didn't try the photo ID application. I don't know if that works or not. It is a good idea, but needs lots of improvements. I'm deleting it.

I was very excited to use this app, although I've come to hate it. The search engine, application and sharing of observations made are definitely confusing and inaccurate. There is absolutely no simplicity or helpful interaction with plant names or searches. The validity of what's posted is not validated or resolved through professional opinion nor is the search engine or manual placement of plant names easy to apply. Please change this up! I love the idea and concept of this app! It needs to be made easier for plant lover's that Don't have a keen eye!

I couldn’t find the way to create my own library

Just downloaded this app. It won’t save a photo for identification. Very disappointed.

Liked the app until this. Might seem petty but I’m doing away with all support of wokeness. I’ll find another app.

The app didn’t consistently work… but it was well enough to keep until the company decided to make an unnecessary move on the subject of sexuality. This is a plant app. Pass. No thank you. Deleted.