“Bait and switch… — After I purchased the app, they switched to an annual subscription model. Total money grab.”
Independent automated assessment · 2 signal sources · 503 reviews scanned · analyzed 2026-10-04.
4.3 ★6,930 ratings
—Downloads
4+Age rating
1843 MBApp size
FreeIn-app purchases
About this app
iBird Pro with Percevia™ is a self-contained, take-anywhere-no-Internet-required app that turns your iPhone into a field guide to birds of North America, the United Kingdom, and Hawaii. iBird is superior to other birding apps because of the following features:
NO INTERNET REQUIRED: Unlike many birding apps today, iBird Pro has a built-in database so that you can use the app anywhere, even with no Internet access.
Get ready for a thrilling avian adventure with iBird Pro, the ultimate birdwatching companion that transforms your iPhone into a dazzling field guide! Unleash the power of iBird Pro, the birding aficionado's dream come true, and explore the magnificent world of birds across North America, the United Kingdom, the enchanting island nation of Palau, and the tropical paradise of Hawaii.…
Preview
Real screenshots from the store listing.
Independent evidence report
Evidence and review signals
This is where the page changes from an app-store listing into an evidence report: findings, important reviews, pricing and a dated history.
Which version this describes
When we ran this analysis, and what the store lists now.
This analysis describes version 13.5.12 of the app, analyzed 2026-10-04 . The app may have changed since.
The store currently lists version 13.5.12, updated 2026-07-02.
What we measured
Each line is a measurement published as a measurement, never a verdict.
Each line is a measurement, published as a measurement. Where we have not looked, the line says so rather than reading as a zero.
Developer replies to reviews
Replies to fewer than 1 review in 20
Price in the store description
States no price and billing period
Cancelling, in the store description
Does not say how to cancel
Themes reported by reviewers
1 theme reported
Counted from the reviews we have read for this app. "No theme reported" means no theme reached our reporting threshold — it is not a finding that nothing is wrong with this app, and we do not say it is.
Five-star share of ratings
65–79% five-star
Arithmetic on the stores' own published rating counts. It says nothing about why the ratings fall where they do.
In the package we scanned
No package has been scanned for this app, so nothing is published about what it ships. That is an absence of evidence about the app, not a finding about it.
Graded bands · predicate set 1.4 · how these are measured
What the analysis found
App-specific findings, grouped by what each one rests on. How they are graded lives on its own page.
One source only — shown, not confirmed 2
A single kind of evidence. We publish these because withholding them would be the bigger distortion, and we do not treat any of them as a finding we stand behind.
Reported by users: Reports that the ads misrepresent the app
Reviewers repeatedly report that the app is not what its advertising showed. We never see the ad creative itself, so nothing we collect can corroborate or refute this — it is published as an attributed user report: what reviewers say, and how many of them said it.
What we saw: Misleading advertising: raised by 14 distinct reviewers (2.8% of 503 reviews scanned)
Reported by users: States a price, or offers a one-time purchase
The app's own text offers a one-time or lifetime purchase, or reviewers report that the price is stated clearly.
What we saw: Reviewers report clear pricing: raised by 6 distinct reviewers (1.2% of 503 reviews scanned)
Highlighted reviews
Representative public review excerpts shown as user reports, not Appworthy audit evidence.
“Bait and Switch — Paid for lifetime subscription, 2009. Paid for expansion, 2018. Developer switched to subscription only in 2023. Now, developer is back to offering a lifetime subscription but will not restore access for those who have…”
“Bait and switch — A batrayal to those who supported this business by PURCHASING the app, only to later be forced into a subscription. Not even the best birding app to begin with….I will now remove it from my device. Goodbye Ibird Pro!”
Assessment & version history
App changes and Appworthy events in one timeline.
Store listing updated to version 13.5.12.
What this app sells
Useful store-disclosed pricing, kept below the app listing.
Business modelFree
Prices and terms as disclosed by the store listing.