BirdNET App Privacy Policy

Contact us

Email: ccb-birdnet@cornell.edu

The types of information we collect

We only collect information that we need to provide full functionality of the BirdNET app. This includes a random device identifier (ID), name and email address of our users (optional information), GPS location and audio recordings.

Device ID

We create a random device ID during the first start of the BirdNET app. We use this ID to assign audio recordings to a specific device. Given the device ID, we will delete all user data from our servers if requested.

Name and email address

By submitting audio recordings, users agree that all recordings are licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0. Users can claim the authorship under CC BY-SA 4.0 by stating their name and/or email address. This information is voluntary and we will never share that information with third parties for any other use than licensing. We will use submitted audio recordings for research purposes only with respect to the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

GPS location

We use eBird.org checklist data to reduce the number of plausible bird species for a specific area. The GPS location of the mobile device helps us to identify bird species that are known to occur in an area at a given time of the year. This helps us to increase the detection quality of the BirdNET app significantly.

Audio recordings

BirdNET is an artificial neural network that identifies bird species by sound. Our servers process small audio snippets recorded with the BirdNET app to detect and recognize bird sounds. We store all submitted recordings on our servers. Therefore, we advise users not to submit any audio recordings that they might consider private. The collection of audio data helps us to improve BirdNET and we will use those recordings for research purposes only.

Storage duration

All stored data is for research purposes only and will be deleted by us when it is no longer needed for this purpose. We share the stored data in anonymized form only and for research purposes only. The collected data will help us to study the spatio-temporal distribution of bird species.

External links

This app contains links to other sites that provide additional information about bird species as well as map data (OpenStreetMap). If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that site. Note that we do not operate these external sites. Therefore, we strongly advise you to review the privacy policy of these websites. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.