I like getting photos of mushrooms because they’re cool, but I know some people will use this info to collect some edible species. I have no idea which mushrooms are in danger of this, so I was wondering if I should obscure all mushroom locations? When I do obscure a location, it would actually be…

[image] rynxs: Any record can be compromised. it’s not that any record can be compromised. the issue is that none of your records were ever really protected. all those recommendations you made for protecting locations are like putting all sorts of locks and bars and such on your front door an…

Are you talking about data breaches? If someone gets a hold of my iNat data, they’re going to get a lot of really nice parking lot coordinates with huge inaccuracy ranges, if that makes it any better.

Note, that date and time is obscured in the web version but not in the app (I filled a bug report about that) so it is still available. Also, all EXIF data including precise time and location from your photos are saved by iNAT and can be inspected by pressing (i) under the photo. So, you are meant t…

[image] rynxs: Are you talking about data breaches? no. [image] rynxs: If someone gets a hold of my iNat data, they’re going to get a lot of really nice parking lot coordinates with huge inaccuracy ranges if you’re recording very imprecise locations as your true locations, that’s simi…

[image] pisum: this is not true if your observation is obscured. this is one of the true protections that iNat’s obscuration feature provides. Oh, good I was incorrect. The part with the time in the app still stands.

Are you able to make recommendations on how to “lock the backdoor?” Is this just a general cryptic warning about putting information out onto the internet? I’m not experienced with computers and code beyond normal use, but I know you are, so if you have anything to add it would be very much apprecia…

there is nothing that you can do to lock the back door in this analogy. the best advice is still simply to not post locations if you need them to be 100% protected. explaining the problems in any detail only helps the bad guys and won’t lead you to better advice than that which has already been prov…

You should only obscure a location if you have a specific reason to – and if you do obscure, try to use the least restrictive means possible. The main problem I run into is obscuromaniacs, who obscure almost everything they report, which defeats the purpose of citizen science and making data public…

I move my observations off my private property so I don’t have iNat trespassers!

So you intentionally post fake data to iNat, isn’t that against the rules? Obscuring is of course fine, but I think putting in false locations is something that you should not do. Would a few interested naturalist be such a detriment to your property anyway? I just can’t imagine myself declaring an…

How to decide which observations to obscure

General

Topic		Replies	Views
Obscuring locations - reasons and etiquette General	23	2545	August 30, 2022
Public or obscured location? General	24	971	November 24, 2024
Danger of locations on iNaturalist General	21	5723	November 25, 2019
Should more observations be obscured automatically? General	35	1132	August 18, 2024
Auto Obscuring Critically Endangered organisms? General	30	441	February 1, 2026

How to decide which observations to obscure

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