A while ago my older brother took some photos of a butterfly, and since he knew about my observations in iNaturalist and wanted to help out, he asked if his photos could be submitted from my account, and this is not the only instance of this. So I want to ask if its fine to do so, even with credit.

Posting observations by others is not recommended on iNat, but a couple individual observations will be tolerated. I agree that it is best to encourage others to make their own iNat accounts and post from there. @thomaseverest ’s explanation is a good one. I would also note that, while organizationa…

Generally guidelines say that the account should reflect one’s own experiences with nature. There are cases to be made for accounts specifically for museums or collections including observations of those collected specimens, but if you did not see, hear, or otherwise experience the organism, I would…

I know it is against iNat guidelines, but I do have a few observations on my account where the photos were taken by one of my sons. He will never make his own account! And for whatever reason, I wanted the sighting recorded. These are clearly labelled as “Photo by Matt….”.

I have a couple of observations by friends- with their permission, labeled as such and they expressed that they have no interest in joining iNaturalist themselves. I try not to make a habit out of it but for certain important observations I assume the scientific value exceeds the cost of using the p…

It’s fine. It’s slightly discouraged, but people have been doing it for a while. There are even “duo” accounts where two people both post to it. It might be in the guidelines, but it doesn’t become an issue unless you start uploading tons of them that way.

Is it fine to submit observations by family members?

General

thomaseverest April 11, 2026, 3:37am 4

Similar thread (and my thoughts) here:

https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/can-i-post-photos-taken-by-others/49500/5?u=thomaseverest

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Is it fine to submit observations by family members?

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