Branchoria UFO Archives UFO Archives

Find better UFO records, compare databases, and read sightings without hype.

Within UFO Archives

Can a UFO App Fix Old Data Problems?

Enigma Labs shows how modern apps try to add metadata, maps, media, and deconfliction to public UFO reports.

On this page

  • Mobile capture and metadata
  • Maps, media, and community review
  • Verification challenges that remain
Preview for Can a UFO App Fix Old Data Problems?

Introduction

Enigma Labs is one of the clearest examples of how UFO report catalogues are moving from passive archives to phone-first reporting systems. Instead of asking a witness to send a loose narrative to a database weeks later, the Enigma app tries to capture a sighting close to the moment it happens, attach useful context such as location and media, display it on a map, and let software and community review help separate ordinary objects from genuinely puzzling reports. That matters because the long-running weakness of UFO databases is not a shortage of stories; it is inconsistent, poorly structured, hard-to-verify data.

Overview image for Enigma The promise is modest but important. A mobile UFO app cannot turn every blurry light into scientific evidence. It can, however, improve the raw material: timestamps, geolocation, video, nearby reports, known-object checks, and repeatable fields. Enigma’s own reporting also shows the limits: many submissions remain self-reported, the company’s scoring methods are proprietary, and moderation is not the same thing as independent verification. [Enigma Labs]enigmalabs.ioEnigma Labs | Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting | Enigma LabsEnigma Labs | Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting | Enigma Labs | Report a UFO sighting

Why Enigma Belongs in the UFO Database Story

Older UFO catalogues usually depend on after-the-fact reporting: a witness writes a description, chooses a shape, estimates direction and duration, and sometimes adds a photograph. Enigma’s distinctive claim is that a modern reporting platform can make that process more structured from the start. Its app listing presents Enigma as a place to submit UFO, UAP or drone sightings, browse an interactive map of more than 200,000 recent and historical reports, watch videos, listen to audio stories, filter by shape, witness count, time of day and location, and search individual reports by Enigma case number. [App Store]apps.apple.comApp Store‎Enigma: What’s that in the Sky AppApp Store…

That positions Enigma between three worlds. It is partly a public UFO database, because users can browse reports and historical cases. It is partly a social app, because people can upvote, comment and receive nearby sighting alerts. It is partly a data-capture tool, because the company emphasises structured reporting, in-app camera metadata and algorithmic scoring. Wired described the launch in 2023 as an attempt to “turn UFO sightings into data science”, noting that Enigma had already incorporated about 300,000 global sightings into its system while launching a smartphone reporting app. [WIRED]wired.comSpotted a UFO? There’s an App for That | WIREDSpotted a UFO? There’s an App for That | WIRED

The timing also matters. NASA’s 2023 UAP independent study argued that progress depends on better data acquisition, advanced analysis, a systematic reporting framework and reduced stigma. The same report warned that existing UAP data often lack adequate metadata and are not optimised for scientific analysis, which is exactly the gap a phone-based reporting workflow tries to narrow. [NASA Science]science.nasa.govSource details in endnotes.

Enigma illustration 1

Mobile Capture and Metadata

The most important mechanism in Enigma’s model is not the map or the social feed. It is the attempt to capture more context at the point of observation. A conventional UFO report often contains a witness’s memory of where they were standing, what direction they faced, how long the object was visible and whether there were aircraft nearby. A smartphone can, at least in principle, record some of that context directly.

Enigma’s App Store listing says its in-app camera captures metadata “frame-by-frame” to aid the study of UAP, and that users can record directly with the Enigma camera before uploading a sighting story. It also advertises an “Identify Lens” that uses augmented reality to identify known objects such as satellites, planes, stars and planets, with the explicit goal of deconflicting sightings in real time. [App Store]apps.apple.comApp Store‎Enigma: What’s that in the Sky AppApp Store… The New Yorker similarly reported that Enigma’s camera records high-quality video with embedded metadata such as filming location and angle, and that its augmented-reality lens can identify planes, satellites and other mundane sky objects. [The New Yorker]newyorker.comThe New Yorker The Truth Is Out There, on an App | The New YorkerThe New Yorker The Truth Is Out There, on an App | The New Yorker

This is a practical response to a well-known UFO database problem. A video of a light in the sky is hard to interpret without the phone’s position, orientation, time, field of view, and information about known aircraft, satellites or celestial objects. NASA’s report stressed that metadata such as time, location and sensor observing modes are needed to characterise both the event and the sensor, and that inadequate calibration and missing metadata can turn ordinary sensor artefacts into apparent anomalies. [NASA Science]science.nasa.govSource details in endnotes.

Enigma’s own discussion of future tools shows how far the concept could go. In its 2024 analysis of 25,000 submitted sightings, the company said it was building ways to validate self-reported data, including triangulating an object’s velocity and position using smartphone metadata, integrating known-object data layers, adding independent sensor overlays and using AI tools to analyse video for anomalous flight patterns. [Enigma Labs]enigmalabs.ioEnigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span>Enigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span></span></span> Report a UFO sighting That is the key mechanism: the phone is not just a submission form, but a portable sensor and context collector.

Website tracks ‘USO’s — unidentified submerged objects | Jesse Weber Live

Channel: NewsNation · Views: 54.1K · Uploaded: May 2026 · Length: 7 minutes

Open on YouTube

Maps, Media and Community Review

A second mechanism is spatial clustering. Enigma’s public-facing product is built around map exploration, nearby alerts, regional sightings and feeds of popular or recent cases. Its website says users can browse a map for sightings near them and across the globe, while the App Store listing describes map filters for object shape, witness count, time of day and location, as well as hotspots such as airports, nuclear facilities and military bases. [Enigma Labs]enigmalabs.ioEnigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span>Enigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span></span></span> Report a UFO sighting
For UFO catalogues, this changes the user experience. A database row becomes a local event: “What did people near me report last night?” or “Were there multiple reports along the same flight path?” That does not prove a sighting is anomalous, but it can help users and moderators look for duplicates, clusters and mundane explanations. It also makes public reporting more immediate. Enigma says it has sent more than 560,000 sighting alerts and received more than 50,000 reports from skywatchers around the world. [Enigma Labs]enigmalabs.ioEnigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span>Enigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span></span></span> Report a UFO sighting

Media uploads are equally central. The Google Play listing says users can read witness accounts, watch sighting videos and listen to audio stories, while the iOS listing describes videos, audio accounts, written stories and a daily “Top Sightings” feed. [Google Play]play.google.comPlay Enigma: What’s that in the Sky – Apps on Google PlayPlay Enigma: What’s that in the Sky – Apps on Google Play In a conventional archive, a short text report may stand alone. In a mobile platform, the report can be paired with video, audio, comments, location, and nearby reports.

Community review is useful but risky. Enigma’s app encourages users to comment and connect with other skywatchers, and The New Yorker described the company’s ambition to create a safe space for people who feel isolated by unusual experiences. [App Store]apps.apple.comApp Store‎Enigma: What’s that in the Sky AppApp Store… That can reduce stigma, which NASA identified as a barrier to reporting; the NASA report noted that fear of ridicule and uncertainty about where to report observations can suppress useful data. [NASA Science]science.nasa.govSource details in endnotes. The tradeoff is that community attention can also reward dramatic but weak material, especially when lights, drones, aircraft and satellites are circulating in the news.

The 2024 New Jersey drone scare illustrates both sides. The New York Post reported that Enigma became a popular place for users to share and discuss videos during the Northeast drone mystery, with the company saying video uploads rose sharply and that human staff reviewed videos before posting to reduce hoaxes. [New York Post]nypost.comNew York Post Enigma's 'UFO'-spotting app soars by 74% in wake of drone mysteryNew York Post Enigma's 'UFO'-spotting app soars by 74% in wake of drone mystery The same pattern is exactly what makes mobile reporting valuable during fast-moving skywatching episodes: it can collect many reports quickly. It is also what makes caution necessary, because public alarm can produce surges of misidentified aircraft, drones, planets or satellites.

Enigma illustration 2

Scoring Reports Without Overclaiming Them

Enigma’s most distinctive database feature is its attempt to rate reports. The company says every submitted sighting is automatically scored from 1 to 100 by a proprietary multivariate model, with higher scores intended to represent both greater certainty around the event and greater anomalousness of the object. Enigma also says there is no human input into that score, that the method is a work in progress, and that it is refined as the company learns more. [Enigma Labs]enigmalabs.ioEnigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span>Enigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span></span></span> Report a UFO sighting

This is useful because a large public database needs triage. Once a platform has tens of thousands of submissions, researchers and moderators need ways to find cases with richer media, more precise context, multiple witnesses, unusual movement or fewer obvious conventional explanations. Axios reported that Enigma uses AI to generate a score intended to help determine whether an uploaded video is truly unidentifiable or likely to be a plane, satellite or other known object. [Axios]axios.comApp shows unexplained objects travel Michigan skiesApp shows unexplained objects travel Michigan skies

The problem is transparency. A proprietary score may help Enigma sort its own database, but outside researchers cannot fully evaluate it unless they know the variables, weighting, training data, error rates and false-positive behaviour. The New Yorker reported that Enigma’s machine-learning score is based on factors such as credibility and unidentifiability, and gave examples where ordinary-looking reports received low scores; but that still leaves the scoring system as a guide rather than an independently auditable classification. [The New Yorker]newyorker.comThe New Yorker The Truth Is Out There, on an App | The New YorkerThe New Yorker The Truth Is Out There, on an App | The New Yorker

Enigma’s 25,000-report analysis is careful on this point. It says a human moderator reads every submission, that 64% had been approved at the time of publication, and that unapproved reports were usually missing coherent detail, required fields or media. But it also states plainly that the analysis is based on self-reporting and that Enigma did not independently verify the information. If a witness described an object as triangular, or said it was detected on radar or night vision, Enigma counted that claim as reported rather than as confirmed. [Enigma Labs]enigmalabs.ioEnigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span>Enigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span></span></span> Report a UFO sighting

UAP Science vs. Speculation | Alejandro Rojas

Channel: Tim Ventura · Views: 3.5K · Uploaded: March 2024 · Length: 1 hour 1 minute

Open on YouTube

Verification Challenges That Remain

The hard problem is that better reporting is not the same as proof. Enigma can improve collection, but it cannot automatically solve the central weaknesses of UFO data: witness error, ambiguous video, missing calibration, deliberate hoaxes, duplicate reports, social contagion, and the ordinary complexity of the sky.

Misidentification remains the largest practical issue. Enigma itself warns that reports describing a “light” should be treated cautiously, because point lights in the distance may be stars, satellites or planes. In the same 25,000-report analysis, circles or spheres were the most commonly reported shapes, while “light” was the second most common category. [Enigma Labs]enigmalabs.ioEnigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span>Enigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span></span></span> Report a UFO sighting Axios made the same point in local reporting on Michigan sightings, noting that most objects are explainable and that satellite launches can increase misidentifications. [Axios]axios.comApp shows unexplained objects travel Michigan skiesApp shows unexplained objects travel Michigan skies
Platform bias is another limitation. Enigma’s own analysis says 71% of its collected sightings came from the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and attributes that distribution partly to platform bias: the products were then only in English, and the app was only on iOS. [Enigma Labs]enigmalabs.ioEnigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span>Enigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span></span></span> Report a UFO sighting That matters for anyone treating the database as a map of where UAP “happen”. It may instead be a map of who has the app, who speaks the supported language, who is culturally comfortable reporting, and who is looking up at the right time.
Privacy is also part of the mechanism, not a side issue. A mobile UFO report may contain a user account, device location, images, audio or video. Enigma’s privacy policy lists categories of personal information that may include identifiers, geolocation data, and audio, electronic, visual or similar information, and says personal information may be processed for purposes such as service operation, analytics, fraud prevention and notifications. It also says no internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. [Enigma Labs]enigmalabs.ioEnigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span>Enigma Labs Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting Enigma Labs</span></span></span> Report a UFO sighting A stronger UFO database is therefore also a more sensitive database.

Finally, there is the gap between public reports and calibrated sensor networks. NASA’s UAP report emphasised multiple well-calibrated sensors, sensor metadata, environmental context and clear evidence thresholds. It noted that apparent UAP can become sensor artefacts once calibration and metadata are properly examined. [NASA Science]science.nasa.govSource details in endnotes. Enigma’s phone-first model can help by collecting more standardised civilian observations, but it does not by itself provide the controlled, multi-sensor evidence that would be needed to resolve the strongest cases.

Enigma illustration 3

What Enigma Changes, and What It Does Not

Enigma’s main contribution to UFO report databases is procedural. It tries to make reports faster, richer, more structured and easier to compare. The app combines submission, media capture, mapping, alerts, known-object deconfliction, moderation, scoring and community review in one workflow. That is a meaningful evolution from older catalogues that often store reports as isolated text entries.

The platform also reflects a broader shift in UAP culture. NASA and AARO have pushed the language of data, safety, reporting and analysis, while Enigma translates that mood into a consumer app. AARO says it leads the US government’s UAP work through a rigorous scientific framework and data-driven approach, while also noting that a public reporting mechanism is not yet generally available through AARO itself. [AARO]aaro.milOpen source on aaro.mil. In that gap, private platforms such as Enigma become public-facing collection points.

The caution is that Enigma should be read as an upgraded reporting layer, not a final authority. Its database can help researchers find clusters, compare witness descriptions, inspect media and identify likely misidentifications. Its app can nudge users to capture better context before a sighting becomes a memory. But its reports remain a mixture of self-reported experiences, moderated submissions, algorithmic triage and community attention.

The best way to understand Enigma, then, is as a live experiment in improving the front end of UFO data. It does not fix every old problem in UFO catalogues. It does show what the next generation of those catalogues is likely to look like: mobile, mapped, media-rich, metadata-aware, socially reviewed and increasingly shaped by automated deconfliction tools.

Enigma UFO Tracker: Recent UAP Sightings & Congressional Hearings Explained | Talking Strange

Channel: Talking Strange · Views: 141 · Uploaded: December 2024 · Length: 55 minutes

Open on YouTube

Amazon book picks

Further Reading

Books and field guides related to Can a UFO App Fix Old Data Problems?. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.

BookCover for UFOs

UFOs

By Leslie Kean

Gives credible context for why improved reporting tools matter in a field long shaped by testimony and official uncertainty.

See on Amazon
BookCover for Everybody Lies

Everybody Lies

By Seth Stephens-Davidowitz

Fits the app-based reporting angle by showing both the promise and pitfalls of large user-generated datasets.

See on Amazon
Browse more on Amazon: The UFO Experience UFOs The Signal and the Noise

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

eBay marketplace picks

Marketplace Samples

Example marketplace items related to this page. Use the search link to explore similar finds on eBay.

Using USA
Browse more on eBay.com

Example items shown for inspiration; availability and pricing can change. Branchoria may earn a commission if you purchase through outbound eBay links.

Browse more on eBay.co.uk

Example items shown for inspiration; availability and pricing can change. Branchoria may earn a commission if you purchase through outbound eBay links.

Endnotes

  1. Source: enigmalabs.io
    Title: Enigma Labs | Report a UFO sighting25K Sightings & Counting | Enigma Labs
    Link: https://enigmalabs.io/blog/25k-sightings

  2. Source: wired.com
    Title: Spotted a UFO? There’s an App for That | WIRED
    Link: https://www.wired.com/story/spotted-a-ufo-theres-an-app-for-that/

  3. Source: science.nasa.gov
    Link: https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/uap-independent-study-team-final-report.pdf

  4. Source: enigmalabs.io
    Link: https://enigmalabs.io/

  5. Source: enigmalabs.io
    Link: https://enigmalabs.io/about

  6. Source: play.google.com
    Title: Play Enigma: What’s that in the Sky – Apps on Google Play
    Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?hl=en_GB&id=com.enigma.mobile

  7. Source: axios.com
    Title: App shows unexplained objects travel Michigan skies
    Link: https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2024/11/12/app-shows-unexplained-objects-travel-michigan-skies

  8. Source: enigmalabs.io
    Title: Enigma Labs | Report a UFO sighting Privacy & Data Practices | Enigma Labs
    Link: https://enigmalabs.io/privacy

  9. Source: aaro.mil
    Link: https://www.aaro.mil/

  10. Source: aaro.mil
    Link: https://www.aaro.mil/Submit-A-Report/

  11. Source: science.nasa.gov
    Link: https://science.nasa.gov/uap/

  12. Source: nasa.gov
    Title: nasa to release discuss unidentified anomalous phenomena report
    Link: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-release-discuss-unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-report/

  13. Source: play.google.com
    Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?hl=en_US&id=com.enigma.mobile

  14. Source: aaro.mil
    Link: https://www.aaro.mil/UAP-Cases/Official-UAP-Imagery/

  15. Source: wired.com
    Title: nasa ufos aliens report 2023
    Link: https://www.wired.com/story/nasa-ufos-aliens-report-2023/

  16. Source: apps.apple.com
    Title: App Store‎Enigma: What’s that in the Sky App
    Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/enigma-whats-that-in-the-sky/id1548371173
    Source snippet

    App Store...

  17. Source: newyorker.com
    Title: The New Yorker The Truth Is Out There, on an App | The New Yorker
    Link: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/01/29/the-truth-is-out-there-on-an-app

  18. Source: nypost.com
    Title: New York Post Enigma’s ‘UFO’-spotting app soars by 74% in wake of drone mystery
    Link: https://nypost.com/2024/12/18/business/enigmas-ufo-spotting-app-soars-by-74-in-wake-of-drone-mystery/

  19. Source: enigmalabs.io
    Link: https://enigmalabs.io/explore

  20. Source: enigmalabs.io
    Title: 12000 uap sightings and counting
    Link: https://enigmalabs.io/blog/12000-uap-sightings-and-counting

  21. Source: enigmalabs.io
    Link: https://enigmalabs.io/library

  22. Source: enigmalabs.io
    Title: data transparency1
    Link: https://enigmalabs.io/blog/data-transparency1

  23. Source: facebook.com
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/journalsentinel/posts/enigma-labs-has-created-an-app-allowing-users-to-post-unidentified-aerial-phenom/878482007648607/

  24. Source: facebook.com
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/NewsNationNow/posts/enigma-labs-collects-videos-submitted-by-people-who-have-seen-ufos/873020898438262/

  25. Source: war.gov
    Link: https://www.war.gov/UFO/

  26. Source: f4.fund
    Link: https://f4.fund/startups/enigmalabs

  27. Source: cbinsights.com
    Title: Enigma Labs
    Link: https://www.cbinsights.com/company/enigma-labs

Additional References

  1. Source: youtube.com
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVuO_yu1eWk
    Source snippet

    UAP Science vs. Speculation | Alejandro Rojas...

  2. Source: youtube.com
    Title: Website tracks ‘USO’s — unidentified submerged objects | Jesse Weber Live
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiSqxzktor8
    Source snippet

    Governments Using AI To Decode Massive UFO Databases | WION Podcast...

  3. Source: youtube.com
    Title: Governments Using AI To Decode Massive UFO Databases | WION Podcast
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adCsqd_-M94
    Source snippet

    The Hidden Government UFO Programs with UAP Gerb...

  4. Source: youtube.com
    Title: UAP Science vs. Speculation | Alejandro Rojas
    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3FWYZ8zYcM
    Source snippet

    Website tracks 'USO's — unidentified submerged objects | Jesse Weber Live...

  5. Source: facebook.com
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/NewsNationNow/posts/a-video-sharing-platform-run-by-enigma-labs-is-storing-images-of-unidentified-an/873015845105434/

  6. Source: nowsecure.com
    Link: https://www.nowsecure.com/marc-app/enigma-whats-that-in-the-sky-ios/

  7. Source: abcnews4.com
    Link: https://abcnews4.com/news/nation-world/fact-check-team-pentagon-releases-new-ufo-files-but-no-evidence-of-aliens-found-extraterrestrial-military-space-nasa-particles-declassified-mars

  8. Source: facebook.com
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/8272719901/posts/10161444376884902/

  9. Source: ralphbuncheinstitute.org
    Link: https://ralphbuncheinstitute.org/nasa-unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-independent-study-team-report/

  10. Source: facebook.com
    Link: https://www.facebook.com/NewsNationNow/posts/a-crowdsourced-website-that-collects-information-about-sightings-of-uaps-has-com/999306182476399/

Topic Tree

Follow this branch

Parent topic

UFO Archives

Related pages 14

More on this topic 5