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Open the app and complete the one-time safety acknowledgment. Then tap Identify, and either take a photo or choose one from your library. Photograph the insect from a safe distance — use your camera’s zoom rather than stepping closer, and do not approach a stinging insect near its nest. Within seconds you’ll get a risk verdict, the identification, look-alikes, and a concrete next step.

Every result names a risk class rather than affirming an all-clear:

• Stinging — can sting; a sting may trigger an allergic reaction.
• Disease-vector — can transmit disease (e.g. mosquitoes, ticks).
• Structural-pest — can damage a home (e.g. termites).
• Biting — can bite.
• Benign — no danger flags found. This is not an all-clear — see below.
• Unknown — the app could not identify it confidently; treat it as if it could sting or bite.

When more than one hazard applies, the most serious one is shown as the headline class, and the supplementary hazards still appear in the result.

No. No app can tell you an insect poses no danger. A “Benign” result is an AI identification, not an all-clear. Almost any insect can bite or provoke an allergic reaction, benign-looking species have dangerous look-alikes, and any identification can be wrong — including in the dangerous direction.

Do not handle an insect with bare hands, and never use a result to decide it is fine to touch, hold, or pick one up.

Confidence is shown in plain language — High, Medium, or Low — never as a percentage. A number could read as false precision. A Low or Unknown result should be treated as if the insect could sting or bite until a qualified expert confirms otherwise.

The identification is generated by an AI vision model and is an educational suggestion that can be wrong, including confidently wrong. Photo quality, angle, lighting, life stage, and species mimicry all affect the result. Always verify with a qualified professional before relying on any identification, and never handle an insect or make a health or pest-control decision based on the app alone.

This is the one call with real financial stakes — mistaking a termite swarmer for a flying ant can mean an infestation goes untreated. When the app sees a winged ant or a termite swarmer, it shows the distinguishing features: termite swarmers have straight, bead-like antennae, a broad waist with no pinch, and two pairs of wings of equal length that extend well past the body; winged ants have elbowed antennae, a pinched waist, and front wings longer than the hind wings.

If a termite swarmer is possible — especially indoors — contact a licensed pest-control professional for an inspection. Swarmers found inside are a strong sign of an active, established infestation. The app is an aid to the call, not a substitute for a professional inspection.

If a severe allergic reaction develops — trouble breathing, swelling of the throat, tongue, or lips, tightness in the chest, dizziness or fainting, a rapid or weak pulse, or widespread hives — treat it as a medical emergency. Call your local emergency number (911 in the United States) immediately and use an epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPen) if one is available. Do not wait to identify the insect, and do not “wait and see”; a severe reaction can occur even with no previously known allergy. In the US you can also reach a poison-control center at 1-800-222-1222.

For a tick, remove it promptly with fine-tipped tweezers, gripping as close to the skin as possible and pulling straight out without crushing, twisting, or burning it. Watch over the following weeks for an expanding or bull’s-eye rash, fever, or aches, and see a doctor if any appear. The app’s guidance is general educational information only and is never a substitute for professional medical care.

No — never. Unlike some identifier apps, Flying Bug Identifier collects no location, region, or country of any kind. An insect’s ability to sting, bite, spread disease, or damage a home does not depend on where you are, so the app has no reason to know your location. It does not request the location permission and does not read GPS.

You use the app anonymously — no account, no login. When you run a scan, your photo’s location metadata (EXIF GPS) is stripped before upload, and the photo is sent to our backend for AI inference (it is stored on Cloudflare R2 and processed by the openai/gpt-5-mini vision model, provided by OpenAI and run on Replicate). Uploaded photos auto-delete after 30 days, and your scan history is stored only on your device. Our AI provider does not train its models on your content. There are no ads and no cross-app tracking. See the Privacy Policy for full detail.

Open Settings → Delete All Data in the app. This purges your local scan history and requests server-side deletion of your uploaded photos ahead of the automatic 30-day schedule.

Camera (to photograph an insect) and photo library access (only for the photo you pick). The app does not request location permission and does not read GPS.

Free: 3 lifetime scans, each with the full risk verdict, sting/bite information, structural-pest and flying-ant-vs-termite call-out, disease-vector flag, and the anaphylaxis emergency block. No ads, on any tier.

Premium: unlimited scans, follow-up chat about the bug you photographed, and full scan history. Premium is $7.99/month or $59.99/year (with a 7-day free trial on the annual plan).

Core safety information is never paywalled — the risk class, sting/bite information, the termite call-out, the disease-vector flag, and the anaphylaxis → 911 block are shown on free scans too.

Yes — the annual plan ($59.99/year) includes a 7-day free trial. Unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends, it converts to a paid annual subscription. You can cancel during the trial to avoid being charged.

Open Settings → Restore Purchases in the app. This re-applies your active subscription if you previously purchased one on the same Apple ID.

Subscriptions are managed by Apple. Open the iOS Settings app → your name → Subscriptions, select Flying Bug Identifier, and tap Cancel Subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you keep Premium until then. Deleting the app does not cancel a subscription.