Getting Started

Installation

BirdNET Live is available for Android, iOS, and Windows.

Requirements

• Android: 8.0 (API 26) or later
• iOS: 15.0 or later
• Windows: 10 or later (experimental)
• ~300 MB storage for app + models

Download

Distribution links will be added when available.

First-Time App Flow

When you open BirdNET Live for the first time, the app walks through a short onboarding flow and permission setup.

1. Read the onboarding screens.
2. Accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
3. Grant microphone permission so BirdNET Live can process audio.
4. Optionally allow location permission for geotagging, Explore, Point Count, and Survey.
5. Optionally allow notifications for long-running surveys.

First Launch

1. Onboarding — Quick introduction to features and permissions
2. Terms & Privacy — Accept Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
3. Permissions — Grant microphone access (required for all modes)
4. Ready — Start identifying birds!

Home Screen Overview

The Home screen is the main hub.

Main mode cards

• mic_rounded — Live Mode
• location_on_rounded — Point Count Mode
• route_rounded — Survey Mode
• audio_file_rounded — File Analysis

Footer buttons

• tune_rounded — Settings
• search_rounded — Explore
• library_music_outlined — Session Library
• help_outline_rounded — Help
• info_outline — About

What Gets Saved

BirdNET Live automatically saves completed sessions and opens them in Session Review after processing stops.

• Live sessions save detections and, depending on your settings, recordings or clips.
• Point Count sessions save as timed point-count sessions.
• Survey sessions save the route, detections, and related metadata.
• File Analysis results are converted into a reviewable session.

Recommended Next Pages

• Read Icons & Controls if you want a quick explanation of the recurring UI symbols.
• Read Settings before changing thresholds, filters, recording behavior, or spectrogram display.
• Open the guide for the workflow you use most often: Live Mode, Point Count Mode, Survey Mode, or File Analysis.

Permissions

Permission	Required For	Optional?
Microphone	All recording modes	Required
Location	GPS tagging, Survey/Point Count	Optional for Live
Storage	Saving recordings, exports	Required for recording
Notifications	Background survey alerts	Optional