Q. WHAT IS A PROGRESSIVE WEB APP AND WHY IS THE WOW APP NOT IN THE APP STORES?
A. A Progressive Web App (PWA) is accessed directly via your internet browser. When you install the WOW app you can save the WOW app icon to your mobile device, so the experience is just like any other app. Because the WOW app is a website that behaves like an app, you can use the WOW app on desktop as well as mobile devices. PWAs are a relatively new, innovative way to deliver an app-like experience that is faster, uses less data and is easier to maintain - perfect for a citizen scientist managed, long-term project such as WOW. Large organisations such as Twitter are using PWAs.
Q. Why aren’t photos saved in my gallery/camera roll?
A. The short answer is that it’s how your camera app works. Some camera apps will save a copy of the photo to the gallery and other will not. In our experience, the camera app that comes with LG and Motorola phones will save a copy of the photo, whereas the default camera app on Samsung, Apple and OnePlus phones seem not to save a copy. On Android phones, you have the option to install another camera app, in the same way in you install any other app. CameraMX is one example of an installable camera app that, at least at the time of writing, will save a copy of photos taken to your gallery. It’s not necessary to set CameraMX as your default camera app. If you have multiple camera apps installed, your phone will probably ask you which one you wish to use to take a photo for WOW:
Android offering the user a choice of multiple installed camera apps
By selecting CameraMX to take your photo for WOW, it means that you will have a copy of the photo saved to your gallery.
To cover more technical details, WOW does not have a built in mechanism for taking photos. Instead, when you tap the button to attach a photo, WOW tells your phone that it needs a photo. Your phone then provides you with options for getting a photo (camera, gallery, etc). You’ll then take a photo (or select one from your gallery) and your phone will provide that photo to WOW. Assuming you’ve just taken a photo, it’s up to your camera app if the photo is saved to your gallery, or not. That unfortunately not something WOW can control. The “not saving a copy of the photo” behaviour is actually a feature. The rationale is when you open your camera app directly and take a photo, you obvious want to save it. But when you use your camera to capture a photo that will be sent/uploaded somewhere else (to WOW in this case) then it’s saved somewhere else, so you probably don’t want a copy cluttering up your gallery. This is not the behaviour you always want, but it’s what the developers of your camera app have assumed. It’s worth checking the settings of your camera app, you might be able to turn this behaviour on/off.
Q. WHY IS WOW A Progressive web app and not a native Apple/android app?
A. The WOW app is something that needs to be maintained by the community. This means it needs to be easy to maintain and use technologies that will run for a long time with minimal modification.
Benefits of PWAs:
no special technology required to develop; they’re just webpages
no fee for SDKs. This is important when maintainers might be volunteers.
one codebase for all devices (keep cost and effort low for the community)
cheap to host
desktop devices are still included, which native apps would not allow.
freedom of technology choices. There are many way to build a webpage.
stands a better chance of "just working" with no updates. Native apps require rebuilding against new SDKs, otherwise the disappear from the stores.
There are some tradeoffs we have to live with too:
lack of control at integration points (GPS from photos)
less control over runtime: many browsers, many versions, changing conditions. The web is not a single platform, it’s many.
people are not used to apps that don't come from the app store. This will shift as more companies offer PWAs.
There is some more technical discussion about this in with the code.
Q. Can I go back and add the WOW icon to my home screen after I’ve installed the WOW app?
Yes, there are a number of ways to do this, depending on your browser. Instructions here
Q. WILL THE WOW APP WORK ON MY MOBILE DEVICE?
A. The WOW app will be compatible with most mobile devices and operating systems released as long as they have been updated since 2018. This means older devices with recent updates should work. The WOW app has been tested on iPhones running iOS 11.3 (released 2018) and newer; and Android phones from Samsung, Oppo, LG and Google running Google Chome 60+, Firefox 55+ and Samsung Internet 8.2+ (all released 2017-2018). The app has also been tested on a range of desktop browsers including Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox. We recommend using the most recent web browser available for your device, but as long as your device has been updated since 2018, it should work. Please contact us if you are having difficulty accessing the WOW app and we will trouble-shoot with you info@wildorchidwatch.org.
Q. CAN I UPLOAD PHOTOS AND OBSERVATIONS FROM MY DSLR CAMERA OR HISTORICAL DATA COLLECTED BEFORE THE WOW APP?
A.Yes, please do! Instructions for “How to upload observations to the WOW project in iNaturalist” are at this link. You can upload bulk information or just one or two sightings at a time, so long as you have the minimum information including photos and location.
Q. WHY ISN’T THE WOW APP RECOGNISING MY LOCATION?
A. There are a number of potential reasons for this, and the WOW app will guide you though any issues. Please ensure that your phone ‘location services’ are turned on:
Android: Settings: Connections: Location: High accuracy
Apple: Settings: Privacy: Location Services: On.
Also please ensure that your phone apps which are accessed by the WOW app (camera and browser) have permissions turned on:
Android: Settings: Apps: Camera: Permissions: Camera, Location, Storage and Apps: Chrome/Safari (or whatever browser you use): Permissions: Camera, Location, Storage
Apple: Settings: Privacy: Location Services: On. Camera: While Using the App. Safari Websites (or your preferred browser): While Using the App
Please contact us if you are having difficulty accessing the WOW app and we will trouble-shoot with you info@wildorchidwatch.org.
Q. What happens if there is no internet connection when I create an observation using the WOW app?
A. The WOW app is designed to handle this. All your observations will be stored in a queue on your phone and uploaded next time you open the app and there is an internet connection. So if you've been out in the field, with no phone coverage, remember to open the app when you get home.
If you are not able to upload location from the photo and your device can’t geo-locate due to poor coverage, you can put in location manually (e.g. from another app). The WOW app has two different modes: basic and detailed. Basic mode is the default and doesn't show the manual lat/long input feature, however if you switch to detailed mode, you'll see that feature appear. You can switch to detailed mode by either:
In the settings menu, toggling the option on (see image below)
Or, when you're creating an observation, if you scroll to the very bottom, you'll see the same switch to toggle detailed mode
Q. Why is my Observation slow to upload/ only partially uploaded? What should I do if only some of my photos are visible with the observation in iNaturalist?
A. Observations are automatically uploaded to iNaturalist in a number of small pieces. This means that if you look on iNaturalist before everything is uploaded, some photos or question answers might not be visible yet. Mobile devices do their best to conserve battery, which for the WOW app means that observations often aren't uploaded when the screen is turned off. Having the screen on will help uploads happen sooner and faster.
Q. how can I report an error or problem with the wow app?
A. WOW is created in partnership with citizen scientists and orchid enthusiasts for community. The WOW team appreciate your input! If you encounter an error with the WOW app and would like to report it to the tech developers - please go to the menu icon (three blue horizontal lines, circled in green here). Select “Report problem” (ladybug icon, circled in red here). Please give a description of the issue in the “Report details” box.
Q. WHAT ARE THE WOW ‘TERMS OF SERVICE’ AND ‘PRIVACY POLICIES’?
A. WOW is a project within iNaturalist, so iNat policies apply to the WOW. You can read them here: iNaturalist Terms of Service https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/terms and iNaturalist Privacy Policy http://www.inaturalist.org/pages/privacy
Q. How can we make sure that orchid habitat is protected when using the app?
When using the Wild Orchid Watch app citizen scientists will be asked to “Remember that orchids grow in highly sensitive environments, so please stay on the track or path, tread carefully and take only photos home with you”.
We recommend the publication “Ethical Nature Photography in Tasmania, NRM South”, which provides guidelines for best practice principles in nature photography. These guidelines are highly relevant for data collecting using the WOW app, and are applicable to all states in Australia.
Q. How will sensitive information about orchid locations be protected?
A. Orchid locations will be collected through the app. All orchid sightings submitted via the WOW app will have geoprivacy set to ‘obscured’. We strongly recommend using the WOW app in conjunction with the Wild Orchid Watch Australia project - Users submitting observations via the iNaturalist website ‘bulk upload’ (instructions here) or iNaturalist app or iNat website will need to manually select the ‘obscured’ location.
When a WOW app user logs into iNaturalist and looks at a map of orchid locations in the WOW project, they will see a 0.2 x 0.2 degree latitude rectangular cell (about 20 x 20 km, or 400 km2) encompassing the hidden true coordinates.
An added layer of data protection built into the iNaturalist platform is "taxon geoprivacy"; the locations of all taxa with an IUCN equivalent status of near threatened or higher, are automatically obscured. More information about iNaturalist and location data here.
Q. Who will have access to sensitive data?
Users will always have full access to their own submitted records.
Other iNaturalist users will only be able to view ‘obscured’ location data for all orchid records, regardless of whether the species is listed as a sensitive species on state managed lists or not. For simplicity, all orchids are considered sensitive.
iNaturalist will securely store all accurate orchid locations. This data will only be directly accessible to state government data mangers and WOW project curators.
When a research scientist, NRM land manager, or environmental consultant would like access to the detailed data, they will be required to apply via existing protocols as managed by relevant state government agencies. It will be up to the state/territory government data managers to assess the application and release the sensitive data for the specified taxa/locality of interest. Please see the Wild Orchid Watch Sensitive Species Guidelines here.
Q. Will I be acknowledged for photos that i share?
A. Yes, All photographs submitted to the WOW project are set to the default Attribution-NonCommercial- 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC 4.0 AU), “Attribution — To use the images, you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licencor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes”. This gives anyone (including iNaturalist, the WOW project, other iNaturalist users, and authorised state and territory environment data custodians) the legal right to use your content without asking for your permission if they abide by the terms of the licence.
Please see these documents for more: Information about Use of Contributed Photographs.
Q. How can i be part of the WOW community?
A. Download the WOW app to join the WOW project on iNaturalist!
Q. how is my online privacy protected?
A. Wild Orchid Watch is an iNaturalist project and the iNaturalist Privacy Policy applies to all information submitted using the WOW app.
Excerpts from the iNaturalist Privacy Policy: “When You post an Observation on iNaturalist, We may collect Your User ID, latitude and longitude of the site of the Observation, the place name of the site of the Observation, the date and time of the Observation, the metadata associated with image or sound files, the app You used to contribute data, and the time zone of the site of the Observation.”