Download the CitSci mobile app for iOS and Android

When collecting data for your citizen science projects, flexibility is key. Sometimes you need a paper datasheet and sometimes you need a mobile app. With CitSci, you and your team can do both. And you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars and loads of time to create a custom mobile app – you can just use CitSci. Check out a few of the things you can do with the CitSci app!

Register

New to CitSci? Create your CitSci account on the app or on our website. Either way, your accounts will be connected. Your profile information will be viewable on the website on your My Profile page.

View All Projects

Scroll through and check out all CitSci projects. (Well, since there are over 1000 projects, maybe just check out a few of your favorites by searching for a topic you like.) 

Join a project 

When you find a project that looks interesting to you, ask to join! Keep in mind that many of our projects are member or place-based and may have training requirements. A project manager might reach out to you before accepting your request to join their project.

View My Projects

Don’t want to scroll through all the projects on CitSci? No problem! You can view just projects you are a member of on the My Projects page.

Add observations to your projects

Once you’re a member of a project, take your mobile device out during your next data collection event and use it to record your observations.

Collect observations offline (and online too of course!)

Whether you’re offline or online, you can use the app to collect data. Because many of our projects work in areas that do not have good cell or wifi connection (think forests, fields, and communities in many parts of the world), the CitSci app collects all data as if you are offline. When you add an observation it will be saved to your phone. When you are in an area with good cell or wifi connectivity, go into your My Observations page from the menu in the upper left hand corner. Then, click on the gray cloud icon next to each observation to upload your saved observations to the CitSci website manually.

Find and view your location on Google or Apple maps

The CitSci app will automatically use the default maps software on your device (generally Google Maps on Android and Apple maps on iOS) to show your location when adding an observation so you can verify you are in the right spot. If you need super high accuracy location data in remote locations, you may want to consider using a high-quality GPS unit in addition to your phone to acquire the best location information.

Edit observations that haven’t been submitted yet

All of the observations you record using the mobile app are automatically saved to your mobile device until you upload them to the cloud. Because of this, you can make edits to observations saved to your device until you upload them to the cloud. If you remember a note you wanted to add or have a typo to fix, you can do that right on your mobile device before uploading your observation.

We’ve also made the app easier to use by improving the interface and navigation – but we won’t bore you with all the details. Download the app today and take a test drive yourself! And watch for even more improvements and new features (like data viewing capabilities) in the next release.

Looking for a custom citizen science app?

If you’ve tried our app and still really want your own custom app, check out the Leave No Trace (Android or iOS) app we’ve built leveraging the CitSci app infrastructure. Then talk to us about how we can build your organization a custom citizen science app.