Authors: Cihlová, Anna; Jarić, Ivan;Roll, Uri;

The increase in people’s digital interactions via smart devices also generates accessible and voluminous nature-related content. Dedicated nature-related apps (i.e., nature apps) can increase human-nature interactions for the benefit of both and provide valuable scientific insights. However, the true potential of nature apps for ecology and conservation remains limited. Here, we assessed currently available nature apps and their attributes to better understand how their impact can be maximized. We used 178 nature-related search keywords in the Google Play Store and obtained 3151 apps, of which 1723 were classified as nature apps (after further assessment). Recent years have seen an increase in nature app downloads. However, their average ranking with users was lower than those for all apps in the Google Play Store. Many apps were dedicated to promoting people’s outdoor activities, natural-history interactions, and education. Apps dedicated to birding and nature watching were the most popular. Attributes such as virtual reality, species recognition, or gamification made apps more popular with users, however, their implementation in nature apps is still low. Our findings can help both scientists aiming to use insights from nature apps to better understand human-nature relationships, and nature app developers to develop apps providing richer nature engagements.