I wanted to ask if there’s an option for obscuring geoprivacy/time/date by default? I’ve read through some of the topics and it seems that the majority of the concerns are about the species being observed, for very valid reasons. However, for users like me who live in countries with security concer…

Thanks, so basically it’s not possible according to staff: “Because iNat is fundamentally about sharing information , it’s not possible to set a default geoprivacy to obscured or private. It needs to be done on an observation-by-observation basis, via batch editing on upload in the web uploader, or v…

welcome to the forum you can obscure any and all of your observations if you wish [image]

Thanks, I guess I should have been more specific. I know when uploading from a computer we have this option, however, I take most observations on my phone and I’ve been uploading one observation at a time and painstakingly obscuring each one.

I was wondering more if there’s an option in the account settings which automatically obscures all your observations by default when you upload (from pc or phone).

see: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/changing-default-geoprivacy/14207/3 also: https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/automate-geoprivacy-with-user-defined-geofences/700 https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/option-to-hide-time-show-just-the-date/4469

I think that this mindset comes from a position of privilege to freedom and security, we don’t have that option in the majority of countries in the world. I hope that someday it will be possible, thanks again.

yup… it may also be worth noting that the best way to achieve maximum privacy is to refrain from posting at all.

Of course, that is an option, and in no way does my previous statement about privilege imply malice, usually when you’re privileged enough to live in a safe country it just means you’re unaware of other’s way of life and struggles in places where security is an issue (I’ve lived in both). I started…

How specific are you with your locations? Are there locations that you can generalize and use over again that you can save as an obscurred pinned location?

Most of my locations are completely different, and I take most observations or at least a picture with my phone to get an accurate location and be able to go back and observe them throughout the seasons. It’s especially helpful for a lot of the Mammillaria cacti we have here which are minuscule and …

But definitely will look into your suggestion for more regular areas, thanks for the tip.

Default Obscure Account Settings?—iNaturalist User Safety

General

pisum August 2, 2021, 3:50am 5

see:

https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/changing-default-geoprivacy/14207/3

also:

https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/automate-geoprivacy-with-user-defined-geofences/700
https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/option-to-hide-time-show-just-the-date/4469

Beyond Anonymity: Revealing Your Inaturalist Identity Offline

Topic		Replies	Views
Changing default geoprivacy General	22	3881	August 23, 2020
Opt-in obscure all observations at varying levels as a privacy setting General	3	821	November 18, 2020
Option to hide time (show just the date) Feature Requests otherprivacy	19	2826	November 22, 2022
Clarify geoprivacy terminology and guidance Feature Requests web , android-app , geoprivacy , mobile-app	31	3445	August 13, 2025
Automate geoprivacy with user-defined geofences Feature Requests geoprivacy	55	5202	July 20, 2025

Default Obscure Account Settings?—iNaturalist User Safety

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