Is eBird safe to use?

eBird integrates 30 third-party SDKs spanning infrastructure, analytics, and messaging. It collects data linked to your identity including Location. It does not include any advertising or attribution SDKs. Whether this is acceptable depends on your personal privacy preferences.

What permissions does eBird need?

eBird requests 4 iOS permissions: Photo Library, Location (When In Use), Location (Always), and Location (Always & When In Use).

What data does eBird collect?

According to its App Store privacy label, eBird collects data linked to your identity including Location. It collects Contact Info, Identifiers, Usage Data, and Diagnostics not linked to your identity.

How many SDKs does eBird have?

eBird integrates 30 third-party SDKs. 6 for analytics, 1 for crash reporting, 10 for infrastructure, and 12 for other. None are for advertising or attribution.

Does eBird use Google SDKs?

Yes. eBird includes 12 Google or Firebase SDKs: Firebase Cloud Messaging, Firebase A/B Testing, Firebase Core, Firebase In-App Messaging, Firebase Remote Config Interop, Firebase Sessions, Google Data Transport, Firebase Crashlytics, Firebase Core Extension, Firebase Core Internal, Firebase Installations, and Google Utilities. These are used for cloud infrastructure and services, not advertising.

Does eBird access your location?

Yes. eBird requests location access. The developer states: "eBird needs to determine your location to give you the best checklist for data entry, and to find hotspots nearby. Location services are required for this app to function properly.".

Does eBird run in the background?

Yes. eBird registers 4 background modes, which means it can perform certain tasks when you're not actively using it.

What are some alternatives to eBird?

Other reference apps include Abide , Acorn , Aim High US Air Force , Translate AI , Curio , and Athkar . Each app takes a different approach to reference and varies in its data collection and SDK usage.

Reference · Privacy report

eBird

Free · ★3.9 · Cornell University

Is eBird safe?

It leans heavily on third-party trackers.

Our take. eBird is built with more third-party tracking code than 66% of the reference we have scanned.

Privacy footprint · vs 101 referenceModerate

Trackers from other companies6 · some

typical reference: 4

Data the app links to you1 type · little

typical reference: 1 · from its own privacy label

What it collects about you

eBird links 1 category of your data to you.

From the developer's own App Store privacy label. These are the kinds of data eBird ties to your identity.

Location

Who else is inside

It carries trackers from 1 company.

Third-party SDKs found in the app, matched to the company that publishes each. Present in the code; we do not observe what they transmit.

🇺🇸GoogleAnalytics

Firebase, AdMob and Google analytics SDKs, built to record how you use the app and serve ads.

SDKs

How it compares

Where it sits among reference.

Every one of these apps we have scanned, on the two measures above: third-party trackers it carries (across) and data it links to you on its own label (up). Toward the top right is more invasive.

Each dot is one reference app. eBird sits to the right, carrying more third-party tracking than most.

The evidence

What it's built from.

All 30 SDKs in the app, grouped by what they are for. 6 are third-party trackers.

6analytics

1crash reporting

1push & messaging

22standard libraries

6 of the 30 are third-party trackers. One is a push-notification SDK that delivers notifications, rather than tracking you across apps. The rest are the app's own code and standard open-source building blocks.

Show the full SDK list

GoogleAnalytics · USA

Firebase A/B Testing · Firebase Core · Firebase In-App Messaging · Firebase Remote Config Interop · Firebase Sessions · Google Data Transport

Push & messaging1 · notifications

Standard libraries22 · on-device

The app's own code plus open-source interface, storage and networking libraries.

How we know this

Counterspy downloads the app from the App Store and statically analyzes its compiled binary. Embedded SDKs are matched against a signature database and resolved to the company that operates each. We also read the developer's App Store privacy label, which lists the data the app says it collects and links to you. We do not run the app or intercept its traffic, so we report capabilities present in the code and the developer's own disclosures, not proven transmission. We assess privacy and data collection, not malware, security flaws, or developer intent. Reports are automated and never edited for payment. Scan v3.6.1, 2026-04-03.

Third-party trackers are advertising, analytics and attribution SDKs detected by static signature matching. Presence shows a capability is compiled in, not that it ran or transmitted data.
"Data the app links to you" is the count of data categories the developer declares as Data Linked To You in its App Store privacy label. Labels are self-reported and not verified by Apple.
Comparison across the 101 reference in our corpus. Trackers: median 4. Data linked to you: median 1.