Wildex
Ranked 3 of 3 nature identification apps by recommenders
Gamified app that shares fun animal facts and awards points for finding rare species, which people like for getting kids outside. Critics object to ads and data tracking.
Gamified app that shares fun animal facts and awards points for finding rare species, which people like for getting kids outside. Critics object to ads and data tracking.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 10
- approval share
- 44%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun wildlife facts for kids
“Wildex gives you cute fun facts and lets you build up points for rare species finds.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” “The app informed us that they can breathe through their bottoms!”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” Cool, novel take on wildlife
“it's cool to see something taken to the next step”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” “cool idea for the app btw”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Ads and tracking
“Your 3rd party ad / tracking isn’t compatible with my desires.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” “unstoppable ads as first thing experience I see after collecting first plant completely killed the vibe for my daughter”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” “No go with all the tracking.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” Trust and data privacy concerns
“there's not a lot of confidence building, "I'm not going to harvest and sell your data" vibe here”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” “it gives location information to poachers”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” Disturbs wildlife and ecosystems
“For some, it'll be an obsession which ends up endangering them, animals/plants, and others.”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” “Hopefully it will not result in too many animals being harassed all day long.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” “an idea that disrupts ecosystems”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife” - Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: Wildex – we built Pokémon Go for real wildlife”
Other nature identification apps people recommend
The two most recommended other nature identification apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merlin Bird ID | 43 | 5 | 90% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Seek by iNaturalist | 20 | 9 | 69% | 8 | — | Approved |
| WildexThis page | 8 | 10 | 44% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
18 of the 20 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“don’t like the focus on actually endangered animals”
“it's cool to see something taken to the next step”
“Seek already does exactly the same thing that this app store listing advertises.”
“it gives location information to poachers”
“For some, it'll be an obsession which ends up endangering them, animals/plants, and others.”
“unstoppable ads as first thing experience I see after collecting first plant completely killed the vibe for my daughter”
“an idea that disrupts ecosystems”
“your app is one of those that ignores it”
“Hopefully it will not result in too many animals being harassed all day long.”
“there's not a lot of confidence building, "I'm not going to harvest and sell your data" vibe here”
“If it gets kids outside I think that is good.”
“From the screenshots to the text feels AI slop.”
“The app informed us that they can breathe through their bottoms!”
“Gamifying nature is a bad idea.”
“cool idea for the app btw”
“No go with all the tracking.”
“Wildex gives you cute fun facts and lets you build up points for rare species finds.”
“Your 3rd party ad / tracking isn’t compatible with my desires.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.