Florida man creates app to help users identify dangerous snakes

What kind of snake is this, and can it hurt me? It's a common question and social media post.

That's why Florida businessman Jason Compton helped develop SnakeSnap, an app to identify whether snakes are dangerous.

Compton wanted to answer for others the questions he had about snakes.

"We had a snake in our swimming pool -- my son found it," Compton said. "I was tired of not knowing what they were and I couldn't educate my children."

Around central Florida, it's not uncommon to come across a snake of some sort while out for a walk or doing yard work. Compton wanted to provide people with new knowledge and peace of mind.

SnakeSnap allows users to take a photo of the snakes they encounter and send it to a team of experts through the app.

"We've assembled a team of biologists, herpetologists, toxicologists, medical doctors," Compton said. "It comes in to our email box, actually, and we have 15 people waiting, so we can respond in seconds."

Compton said, sometimes, the photos are not all that great, so multiple experts look at the picture before answering.

"We manually identify these currently -- artificial intelligence with snakes is difficult -- so it's not 100% accurate every time," Compton said.

If a snake is venomous, Compton's team can even send someone to pick up the snake. Using your location, you can also get information of the type of snakes residing around you and what they eat.

"We have every snake in the nation on our website," said Compton, who now sees snakes differently. "I see them in a whole different light, they're beautiful creatures, and I'm really learning how important they are."

Compton helps the app helps users change their perspective as well.

"The fear kind of goes away, and they realize okay, we'll let that snake live out in the garden now and we won't harm it," he said.