A new superpower for your phone's camera

You'll be happy you installed this app  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Cool Tools, by The Intelligence](#) Brought to you by: [Visible logo]()​ Have you ever needed to identify a plant, an insect, or any other type of wildlife — plant, animal, or fungus? If you have, you'll find app stores are full of applications that require a paid subscription to function. Or, you can provide a photo to an AI chatbot. But those are slower, unreliable, and prone to hallucinations. That's why I want to share an excellent, completely free, and privacy-conscious tool for identifying wildlife: plants, animals, and fungi. Whether you're just curious about the world around you or you're trying to identify a pesky weed or an unfamiliar spider, this is the tool you should turn to. I recommend you download it now so you don't get roped into a subscription later. This one is definitely staying on my phone. [Chris Hoffman, Author of Windows Intelligence] Chris Hoffman​ Author of [Windows Intelligence]()​ --------------------------------------------------------------- SPONSORED MESSAGE Before we dive in, though, do you ever feel like you are tied to a wireless plan that doesn’t work for you? Maybe you’ve been putting up with spotty service and sneaky rate hikes from your current provider for years? Well, guess what — you can throw out those old wireless plans, because you deserve way better. [Phone on Visible network surrounded by money]()​ When you switch to [Visible](), you can experience the freedom of great service at an unbeatable price — and as a Cool Tools reader, you get $20 off your first month when you use the [code VIP20](). Here is what Visible offers: ✅ Unlimited everything — data, talk, text, and hotspot — starting at $25/month 🙌 Reliable 5G and 4G coverage 🫣 No hidden fees or obligations No wonder thousands of satisfied customers have already made the switch to Visible! ➜ [Ready to enjoy obligation-free wireless that won’t break the bank?]()​ [USE CODE VIP20 TO GET $20 OFF ➜]() ​ Your plant, animal, and wildlife-in-general identifier The excellent application you need is [Seek by iNaturalist](. It's a completely free app that works without an account and doesn't collect any private data. ➜ The app is incredibly easy to use: You just have to point your phone's camera at a living creature. Seek will identify what you're looking at. ⌚ You can identify something in about 5 seconds — no accounts necessary. To get started, just install Seek for Android from [the Google Play Store]( or Seek for iPhone from [Apple's App Store](). Launch the app and choose whether to give it location permissions. Seek will work best if it knows your location so it has some idea of the critters and crops in your vicinity, but you can choose to tell Seek a location rather than giving it location access — if you prefer. Then, you just have to tap the green camera button. (Naturally, Seek will need access to your phone's camera!) Point your phone's camera at whatever you want to identify and try to get a good angle. For basic plant and animal identification, that's it! It's supremely useful. [Seek by iNaturalist identifying a flower.] You can also take photos and see more information about your discoveries. Or, if you'd like to go deeper, you can use the [iNaturalist](=) app and website — it's [more of an online community](=). 📌 Download Seek from the [Google Play Store]( or [Apple App Store](). 💰 Seek is completely 100% free. 🕶 This app doesn't require an account, [doesn't collect any data](), and stores all your information only on your phone. (Unless you choose to create an optional iNaturalist account.) Now, speaking of identifying things... ​ This Week's Cool Tools Quiz Where did the name "Spotify" come from? Remember: NO CHEATING! Anyone can look up info on the web. Stick with the spirit of the game and test your actual knowledge without searching. It's just for fun, anyway! [A marketing team with a focus group](=) [Graffiti on a building wall](=) [A random name generator on the web](=) [A misheard suggestion yelled across a room](=) Answer correctly before next Wednesday and secure your spot on the [Cool Tools Leaderboard](=)! 👉 Last week's question and answer: What was the name of the world's first web browser? WorldWideWeb. While Mosaic is credited as being the first web browser to see mainstream awareness and success, WorldWideWeb actually came along three years before it, in 1990. It was created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who’s widely known as the inventor of the web itself. 🤚 Wait! Before you go: What'd you think of this issue? [Thumbs Up](=) [Thumbs Down]( Hit the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to cast your vote and let us know. ​ Want less email? [Update your reading preferences](=) to opt out of any individual publications or unsubscribe entirely. New here and not yet subscribed? 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