On the web (no idea how to do it on the app):
- Hover over the photo until the “i” in a circle appears
- Click the “i”. A page with info on the photo appears.
- At the bottom of this page, under the photo specs, find & click the link that says “Flag this photo”.
- A popup will appear for you to select for the reason you are flagging it. In this case, you will choose "Copyright Infringement " and click okay.
- Optional, but I always do this: go back to the photo info page. Click on your flag. Leave a comment with why you believe the observer does not own the photo and/or a link to where you found the original photo. It makes it easier for the flag reviewer.
- Optional: leave a comment on the observation or send a DM explaining that using someone else’s photos is not allowed and linking to the TOS (or, more gently, to the FAQ: https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/help#observations8 ). It may be that the user is new to iNat, a student or simply was unaware. We want to correct behaviors, not scare people away from the site.
- Repeat for each stolen photo.
It takes a while to flag them all if they are a repeat offender, but the admins and curators do notice the flags.
Example of comments I leave on flagged photos:
