Have been reading the thread linked below, which is already closed, so I can’t comment there. https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/project-is-not-reporting-my-observations/82194/3 Seems OP @tim122 had some observations that were not included in a specific project. That problem was “solved” by manipulat…

[image] tom_reichner: It boggles my mind that someone may not be able to find where they were on a map. To be fair, people make observations in very different ways. There are folks who blaze away - taking photos of all kinds of organisms (plants, bugs, birds, etc.). They might also want to…

[image] rcavasin: Fools are far more creative than the folks who design the systems they (mis)use. :rofl: what a great insight! Hilarious! But unfortunately, all too true.

[image] rcavasin: Of all the various approaches to entering location data that iNat supports, I would favour yours (no surprise, since it is the same as mine). You are in control, and aware of what is going on. There’s less likelihood of the kind of “silent” error that can occur when the lat/lon…

[image] bazwal: This approach seems to have a “noisy” built-in error, since it just uses an approximate centroid for the whole route. True. If you feel that extreme precision is necessary or desirable, then this isn’t the method for you. My observations don’t go into iNat, and in fact, I us…

[image] rcavasin: I’ve seen cases where the iNaturalist app records a completely incorrect location for an observation because it recorded the location where the app re-connected with the internet Using the iNat app: This can only happen if you take the fotos without coordinates, and then cre…

[image] mreith: Using the iNat app: This can only happen if you take the fotos without coordinates, and then create new iNat records using the pre-recorded fotos while sitting at the wrong place. I can’t say as they weren’t my observations. It may have been earlier (buggier) versions of the …

[image] bugbaer: As much as I and many of us value accuracy and precision, I think it is also worth remembering that a lot of older specimens in natural history collections only have county (or state!) locations recorded. But I think we’re talking about different things here. If a specimen j…

[image] rcavasin: If you’re submitting an observation using the web interface and you enter “Pinery Provincial Park” as a location, the default lat/long that gets filled in by iNat coincides with the spot where the park name is displayed on google maps. The default uncertainty is just over 185m. …

The problem I have with most discussions on accuracy is the fact that your GPS does not locate the subject! The GPS in your phone or Garmin etc calculates your position - it has no way of knowing which direction you were facing or distance from you to the subject. [Screenshot_20250805_170032_YouT…

I try to imagine a scenario in which the difference between the location of the organism and the observer has any relevance. Most herb, insect and other small animals observations are from nearby anyway. So larger distances between observer and organism seem to be just a problem with trees, mammals…

Accuracy circle delivers important context to geocoordinates

General

deboas July 28, 2026, 12:44pm 49

It was to help diagnose cases like this that I created this feature request, but it didn’t get much traction.

Topic		Replies	Views
Alarming location accuracy issue General	45	1703	November 16, 2024
Having an accuracy radius on your location can be important to some data users General	103	3242	December 5, 2024
Location Accuracy too easily bypassed? General	40	4030	December 15, 2020
Deliberately posting false or inaccurate information General	64	4852	July 9, 2023
The importance of location precision General	47	3263	January 2, 2022

Accuracy circle delivers important context to geocoordinates

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