Your Old Memory Cards Could Help Scientists Save Our Oceans

This Shark Awareness Day, Insta360 is teaming up with the PADI AWARE Foundation to turn underwater footage into a valuable resource for ocean conservation.

For years, divers around the world have used Insta360 cameras to document extraordinary encounters beneath the surface. This Shark Awareness Day, Insta360 is inviting its global diving community to give those moments a new purpose, showing that the footage they capture can do more than tell incredible stories. It can also become a powerful tool for conservation.

At the heart of the campaign is a short film featuring four creators from the global Insta360 community, including an Emmy-winning wildlife cinematographer, a shark photographer and politician, a 360 enthusiast and VR advocate, and a shark conservationist. Using Insta360 X5 and Insta360 Ace Pro 2 to capture perspectives that few people will ever experience firsthand, they reveal a side of sharks that many have never seen before.

The film reflects a belief at Insta360 that the moments people capture can do more than preserve memories—they can change perceptions. By bringing audiences face-to-face with sharks through immersive storytelling, Insta360 hopes to challenge long-held misconceptions, inspire greater appreciation for these remarkable animals, and encourage more people to play a role in protecting them.

"We've always believed that new perspectives have the power to change the way people see the world," said Max Richter, Co-Founder and VP of Marketing at Insta360. "This campaign is about showing sharks through the eyes of the people who know them best. We hope those stories inspire more people to appreciate these incredible animals and the important role they play in our oceans."

But changing perceptions is only part of the story. Some of the footage divers have already captured could also contribute to the wider effort to protect our oceans. To do this, Insta360 is supporting the PADI AWARE Foundation's Global Shark & Ray Census (GSRC), one of the world's largest citizen science initiatives dedicated to sharks and rays. With one in three shark and ray species threatened with extinction, scientists still don't have enough information to understand where many species are being seen—or where they've gone quiet. Meanwhile, divers around the world have spent decades documenting underwater life, creating an invaluable archive of footage, photographs and dive logs that could help build a clearer picture of shark and ray populations.

As part of that effort, Insta360 is encouraging divers to take part in the PADI AWARE Shark & Ray Discovery Challenge, launching on August 2, 2026. The challenge invites participants to revisit previous dives and contribute confirmed shark and ray sightings through the Global Shark & Ray Census, where every submission is verified by researchers at James Cook University.

"There is a myth that only scientists can do science—that's not correct," said Dr. Andrew Chin of James Cook University, a researcher collaborating with PADI AWARE on the Global Shark & Ray Census. "Scientists have worked with divers to describe new species and find places where they didn't know they existed. The footage and observations sitting on our cameras and SD cards are incredibly valuable."

This Shark Awareness Day, Insta360 is encouraging divers to look at the moments they've captured in a new light. Whether through storytelling or scientific research, every dive has the potential to make a difference.

Learn more about the PADI AWARE Global Shark & Ray Census here.

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