Support

When you take or choose a photo, Spore sends it securely to our server, which passes it to our identification provider, Kindwise. Kindwise compares it with its trained model and returns the most likely species with a confidence score. Spore then shows the matches from its species guide, with key features, edibility and safety information, and look-alikes to compare against. The photo isn’t stored by us.

Accuracy depends a lot on the photo and the species. Spore shows a confidence level with every result — treat it as an estimate, not a guarantee. Even a high-confidence match can be wrong, and some dangerous species are nearly impossible to tell apart from edible ones by photo alone.

For the best results:

• photograph one mushroom at a time, in good natural light and in focus;
• show the cap, the underside (gills, pores or teeth) and the whole stem including its base;
• check the look-alikes Spore suggests and compare the features listed for each.

No — not on Spore’s word alone. Spore is a learning and research tool. Never eat a wild mushroom unless a qualified expert has checked that specimen in person. When in doubt, throw it out. See our Terms of Use for details.

The species guide and your journal are stored on your phone, so you can browse them offline. Identifying a photo needs an internet connection; if you’re offline, Spore can save the find so you can identify it once you’re back online.

The free plan includes three identifications per day; the allowance resets each calendar day. Spore Premium removes the daily limit and unlocks the foraging map, the season calendar and your full journal history (the free plan shows your 10 most recent finds). Look-alike comparisons, safety information, the species guide and saving finds offline to identify later are free for everyone. Premium is available as a yearly subscription or a one-time Lifetime purchase; current prices are shown in the app.

To keep the service fair and protect it from abuse, very high usage from a single device or network is limited for everyone. If you see a message that today’s limit has been reached, please try again tomorrow, or contact us if you think it’s a mistake.

Make sure you’re signed in to the App Store with the same Apple ID you used to buy Premium. Then open the Premium screen in Spore and tap Restore. Premium unlocks as soon as Apple confirms the purchase.

Subscriptions are managed by Apple. On your iPhone, open Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions, choose Spore and tap Cancel Subscription. Cancel at least 24 hours before the renewal date to avoid being charged for the next year. Deleting the app does not cancel the subscription. Premium stays active until the end of the period you’ve paid for.

Payments are handled by Apple, so refunds are too. Request one at reportaproblem.apple.com. We can’t issue refunds directly, but we’re happy to help if something isn’t working.

Photos you identify are sent to our identification provider and are not stored by us. Your journal, saved photos and the locations of your finds stay on your phone. Spore has no accounts, no analytics and no tracking. Read the full Privacy Policy.

Your journal lives only on your device: delete entries in the app, or uninstall Spore to remove everything. To be removed from our email list, use the unsubscribe link in any email or write to hello@sporeapp.co.