I Am Bird

About I Am Bird

My friend Margaret from my gardening club told me about this app. She knows I like watching the birds at my feeder, so she thought I’d enjoy it. I’ve had it on my Samsung phone for about five weeks now. It’s not really a game with points and levels, which is fine by me. It’s more like a little peaceful getaway you can carry in your pocket. Last Tuesday, when it was raining too hard to go out, I spent a good half hour just flying around the virtual forest. It was a nice break from the news. It does exactly what it says: it lets you be a bird. For a free app, that’s a pretty neat trick.

Features & Highlights

The best part is how simple it is to start. You open it up, pick a bird from a nice big picture list—I always go for the cardinal because I love the red color—and then you just tilt your phone to fly. You don’t have to tap all over the screen or remember any special buttons. Tilt left to go left, tilt right to go right. I could figure it out immediately. There’s a mode where you can make a bird appear in your own living room through the camera, which made my grandson laugh when he visited. They also have little fact cards about each bird. After I flew as a blue jay, I read that they can mimic hawk calls. I didn’t know that! It’s a quiet way to learn a little something.

User Experience

I appreciate an app that doesn’t make me feel stupid. The menus are big and clear, with words I understand like “Fly” and “Birds.” I didn’t have to create an account to try it, which is always a plus. I don’t like giving out my email for everything. Flying feels smooth and the scenery is beautiful, all green trees and blue skies. Sometimes, if I fly too fast into a dense area of the digital forest, the picture on my phone will hiccup for a second. It’s not a big deal, it just catches me by surprise. They have little tasks you can do, like finding hidden flowers, but I mostly ignore those. I’m happy just soaring around. It’s very calming.

Pricing

It’s free, which is the main reason I gave it a shot. You can download it and fly with plenty of different birds without spending a dime. I did see there were options to buy special feathers or rare birds, but they’re tucked away in a shop menu. The app doesn’t pester you with pop-ups asking for money, and the ads are just small banners at the bottom that don’t get in the way. I’ve never felt pressured to buy anything. For a no-cost app, it feels generous. I’ve unlocked two new birds just by flying around a bit each day, which feels like a nice little reward.

Updates & Support

This is where I had my one real frustration. A few weeks ago, the app updated and my favorite meadow landscape seemed to disappear. I couldn’t find it in the usual spot. I looked for a “Help” section and sent a message using the form they provided. I explained the problem simply: “Can’t find the Sunny Meadow after the update.” It took four days to get a reply. When it came, it was a very general message about checking my internet connection and restarting my phone. I’d already done that. It didn’t address my specific question at all. I felt a bit brushed off. I eventually found the meadow myself—it had been moved to a new menu—but the support experience left a sour taste.

Security & Privacy

I’m always cautious about what apps I install. I Am Bird seems fine on this front. When I first opened it, it asked to use my phone’s motion sensors for the tilt controls, which makes sense. It didn’t ask for anything alarming like my contacts or location. I poked around in my phone’s settings, and the app isn’t listed as using much data in the background. Since I didn’t make an account, they don’t have any of my personal information. That gives me peace of mind. It feels like a simple, standalone toy that doesn’t need to know anything about me to work.