Point at any plane.
Know what it is.
Tap once. Tail ID reads the tail number and shows you the aircraft — make, model, year, specs, owner, and history. Instantly.
Free · No ads · No login needed to identify
One tap from curious to certain.
Point
Frame the aircraft in the viewfinder. Near or far, on the ramp or rolling by — the tail number just needs to be in shot.
Tap
One tap captures the frame. AI vision reads the registration even when it's small, angled, or partially hidden.
Know
A full profile lands in about a second — make, model, year, engine, performance, owner, and where it's been.
Everything about the airplane. Nothing you don't need.
AI vision identification
Reads tail numbers that humans squint at — small, angled, sun-washed, partially hidden — then cross-references millions of public aircraft records.
The full profile
Engine, horsepower, cruise speed, range, seats, weights, dimensions, owner where public, recent ADS-B activity, airport footprint, and a media gallery.
Pro-grade camera
Pinch zoom with 0.6× / 1× / 2× / 5× stops, lens + resolution controls, video mode, stabilization, HDR, and a target that stays level as you turn.
Your personal logbook
Every capture joins your aviation log. Earn achievements for new makes, rare types, and first-ever photos of a tail.
Speaks your language
Auto-detects your phone's language across 20 locales — English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, and more.
Built for spotters
Batch capture, no upload caps, originals preserved. Whether you shoot on a phone or a 600mm lens, your archive is welcome and credited.
Part of the Tail family.
Tail ID shares one aircraft database with TailPhotos, TailVideos, and TailExchange — the photo, video, and marketplace network for general aviation. Identify a plane here, and you can follow its photos, footage, and for-sale history across all four.
How your photos are used
Plain and up front, before any fine print:
- You own every photo and video you capture. Always.
- By contributing, you grant the Tail family a license to host, display, and attribute your media on the aircraft's pages across the Tail family of apps — Tail ID, TailPhotos, TailVideos, TailExchange, and any future Tail properties — always under your name.
- We never sell your media, hand it to advertisers, or give it to data brokers.
- You can delete any contribution at any time from the app.
Full detail in the Terms and Privacy Policy.
Questions
Does it work on airliners and military aircraft too?
Yes — anything with a visible registration. Coverage is deepest for general aviation and business aircraft, and growing across airliners and warbirds.
Do I need an account?
No. You can identify aircraft with zero sign-up. An optional passwordless login unlocks your logbook and achievements.
How accurate is it?
Very — but aircraft data comes from public sources (FAA registry, ADS-B, platform contributions) and isn't guaranteed. Never use it for safety-critical decisions.
What does it cost?
Free to download and identify. No ads.
Which phones are supported?
iOS 16+ and Android 9+. A camera is required.
Know every plane you see.
Or open tailid.app/open on your phone — we'll route you to the right store.