About RockLens

What the app does

Take a photo of a find and RockLens gives a best match and two alternatives, each with a confidence label, plus checks you can try at home. You can save each specimen with its photos, notes and, if you choose, where you found it. The first 3 scans are free, and Premium includes up to 50 scans per day. RockLens runs on iOS 17 or later.

How we write the guides

Each guide answers one question a collector is likely to have, such as whether gold-colored grains are pyrite or whether a heavy, dark rock could be a meteorite.

The facts come from published sources: university geology departments, geological surveys, museums and gemological institutes. Each source is linked next to the claim it supports. When an article uses a worked example that isn’t a real specimen, it says so, and we don’t present examples as our own test results.

We keep safety advice proportionate. The guides don’t give procedures for acid tests or grinding, and they don’t estimate what a specimen is worth.

An identification from a photo, from our app or any other, is a lead. Confirming a possible meteorite or a valuable gem needs someone who can examine it in person, and the guides say who to ask.

Who publishes this site

RockLens publishes these guides and makes the RockLens app, which is why the guides link to it. Articles are published under the RockLens name.

Updates and corrections

If you spot a mistake, email hello@rocklens.org. We check reports against the sources and correct factual errors. When an article changes in a meaningful way, it shows an Updated date under its title.

Contact

For questions about the app or the guides, email hello@rocklens.org or visit support. The privacy policy explains how scan photos are handled.