Tack
Tack is an AI photo culling application made for bird and wildlife photographers.
What Tack is
Tack is an AI photo culling application made for bird and wildlife photographers. It detects animal eyes, including those of herons, hawks, lions, elephants, and deer, then scores sharpness in the eye region instead of judging the background. The application accepts JPEG files and RAW formats such as CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG, ORF, and RW2. For Lightroom workflows, Tack writes XMP sidecars that identify sharp images as Picks and softer images as Rejects. Analysis runs locally, and the maker says photographs are not collected or transmitted. License validation sends the license key to check activation, while image and file information are not sent for that check. Optional error reporting can provide crash logs and diagnostics. Tack runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its perpetual license includes one year of updates and support, with continued updates available separately after that period.
Good
- Detects bird and animal eyes
- Scores sharpness on the eye region
- Supports listed RAW formats and JPEG
- Writes Lightroom-readable XMP sidecars
- Processes photos locally
Watch out
- No free plan or free trial
- Continued updates cost $39 a year after year one
- The listed one-time price is $79,129, paid once
Who it suits
Tack suits bird and wildlife photographers who need eye-focused sharpness scoring and Lightroom-compatible culling. It also fits photographers who require local image processing across desktop operating systems.
Verdict
Tack combines wildlife subject detection, eye-region sharpness scoring, RAW support, and Lightroom export. Local processing keeps photographs on the computer, while the perpetual license includes only the first year of updates and support.
Plans and prices
From Tack's own pricing page, checked 8 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Continued updates | $39 a year | Continued updates after the first year · Optional, after year 1 |
| Tack | $79,129, paid once | Mac, Windows, Linux · All RAW formats supported · 1 year of updates & support · Works forever after year 1 · One-time purchase; optional $39/year for continued updates after year 1 |
The facts
Each one read from Tack's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Eye detection
- Its AI detects bird and animal eyes, including on herons, hawks, lions, elephants, and deer.checked 8 Oct 2026
- File support
- It supports RAW formats including CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG, ORF, and RW2, and also accepts JPEG files.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The maker describes Tack as built specifically for bird and wildlife photographers.checked 8 Oct 2026
- License limits
- The terms grant a perpetual, non-transferable license for personal computers and personal or commercial photography, with updates included for one year.checked 8 Oct 2026
- License validation
- License validation sends the license key to check activation status; the policy says image data and file information are not transmitted for this validation.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Lightroom integration
- Tack writes XMP sidecars that Lightroom reads, flagging sharp shots as Picks and soft ones as Rejects.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Local data handling
- The privacy policy says Tack does not collect or transmit photographs, and image analysis happens locally on the computer.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Offline processing
- The maker says analysis runs locally and photos never leave the user's computer.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Optional diagnostics
- Crash logs and diagnostic information may be received if the user opts in to error reporting.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Payment processing
- The privacy policy says Polar.sh handles licensing and acts as merchant of record, while Stripe processes payments.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Tack is an AI photo culling application designed for bird and wildlife photographers.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Refund policy
- The maker offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and says customers can request a full refund within 30 days of purchase.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Sharpness scoring
- Tack scores sharpness on the eye region rather than the background.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Support
- The contact page says the maker typically responds within 24 hours and lists [email protected] for support.checked 8 Oct 2026
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