Review Insights · Google Play
BirdNET
Stefan Kahl · 13,056 ratings · ★ 4.0
4.0
★★★★★
13,056 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 25 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"bird"
7 negative reviews mention this · 28% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Only picks up a fraction of the birds at any one time. Misidentified blackcap as garden warbler and song thrush as mistle thrush. Merlin Bird ID is much much better." - Simon Norris
2
"birds"
6 negative reviews mention this · 24% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Only picks up a fraction of the birds at any one time. Misidentified blackcap as garden warbler and song thrush as mistle thrush. Merlin Bird ID is much much better." - Simon Norris
3
"identify"
4 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Birdnet can't identify any bird songs or calls without an internet connection. Useless when you're offline. On the plus side, at least it does detect your location on an android phone, which makes it less useless than Merlin." - Mattt Wilson
4
"merlin"
3 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Only picks up a fraction of the birds at any one time. Misidentified blackcap as garden warbler and song thrush as mistle thrush. Merlin Bird ID is much much better." - Simon Norris
5
"record"
3 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This is a really complicated app for me. I downloaded it a few days before I actually used it only to find out that it had been running the whole time. When I did use it to record I couldn't easily figure out how to seperate what sounds I w…" - Jan Brown
6
"sounds"
3 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This is a really complicated app for me. I downloaded it a few days before I actually used it only to find out that it had been running the whole time. When I did use it to record I couldn't easily figure out how to seperate what sounds I w…" - Jan Brown
7
"human"
3 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "This app was amazing when I first downloaded it years ago. But now it thinks every bird noise is human. Uninstalled and reinstalled the app, check the microphone. Nothing helped." - Everett Grosskopf
8
"doesn"
3 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Doesn't recognise ANY bird you record. I tested it with a pigeon and it couldn't even identify that. I gave up and uninstalled" - Julie Adams
📋 All 25 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Only picks up a fraction of the birds at any one time. Misidentified blackcap as garden warbler and song thrush as mistle thrush. Merlin Bird ID is much much better.
too confusing
can't actually use my microphone, I only get static.
This app was amazing when I first downloaded it years ago. But now it thinks every bird noise is human. Uninstalled and reinstalled the app, check the microphone. Nothing helped.
Absolutely pathetic!!!!
i thinks a loud crow in a tree very nearby is a mallard. even my two year old knows what a crow sounds like. useless
Doesn't recognise ANY bird you record. I tested it with a pigeon and it couldn't even identify that. I gave up and uninstalled
can't even describe a sound that i put on
doesn't work, a crow or raven in the garden , opened app & says a Canada goose, then a human voice. really
This app is absolutely terrible. No matter how many birds you record it's a 1 out of 10 that you may get a response. Otherwise, it's sorry it can't identify. Crazy & frustrating.
all my phone records are static and crunchy noises. even if I can catch a bird song, the static makes it unidentifiable. I've tried multiple settings. videos can clearly capture all sounds with no issue.
too complicated. merlin is much better!
it once was ok but last times I used it it told it was human when a bird chirped clearly. Thankfully another could help me. bye bye!
I deleted this app because it wanted my location,
"RUBBISH"!!
I've had this app for a few years without any issues. Suddenly, 4/3/25, I'm having issues, and the app responds with "Sorry, we are having technical problems. Please try again in a few minutes.". It's been going on for hours now!! Disappointed..
Doesn't show you what it is identifying in real time. Must submit and wait a few seconds for a response. Worst of all it can't even identify a cardinal!
Cant hear a cal fall away and can only guess
CANNOT BE PLAYED AFTER ONCE USED
I hate this app so much it literally. Fake because my birds were singing and one night translated, it says nothing like a bird I may literally is a bird singing. my birds 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
Not much good in the UK. This app consistently misdentifies birds which are resident in the Americas and Asia only.
This is a really complicated app for me. I downloaded it a few days before I actually used it only to find out that it had been running the whole time. When I did use it to record I couldn't easily figure out how to seperate what sounds I wanted identified and couldn't find a way to clear everything to start from new.
Birdnet can't identify any bird songs or calls without an internet connection. Useless when you're offline. On the plus side, at least it does detect your location on an android phone, which makes it less useless than Merlin.
not working. lately not picking up ANY of the birds I am submitting!!
Changed my review as it seems none of these apps are any good at genuinely identifying birds calls or songs.
Sentiment summary
70%
Positive (4-5★)
8%
Neutral (3★)
22%
Negative (1-2★)