Insta360 Marks Shark Awareness Day with Global Campaign to Help Protect Sharks

LOS ANGELES, July 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- This Shark Awareness Day, Insta360 is calling on divers worldwide to turn their shark encounters into powerful tools for ocean protection—by teaming up with the PADI AWARE Foundation.

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 cameras to capture perspectives that few people ever get to experience first-hand, 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 can 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 in our lifetime, scientists still don't have all the information they need 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 can  help build a clearer picture of shark and ray populations across the globe.

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. All submissions will be 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 leading 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.

Watch the full Shark Awareness Day film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca5yzLpq-r4

Learn more about the PADI AWARE Global Shark & Ray Census: https://pros-blog.padi.com/introducing-the-global-shark-ray-census-padi-awares-newest-citizen-science-program/

About Insta360

With a "Think bold" mindset, Insta360 empowers people to capture and share their lives in extraordinary ways. Recognized as a market leader and innovator, Insta360's vast lineup includes the world's best-selling 360 cameras in the X Series, the thumb-sized GO Series for everyday capture, as well as an extensive range of action cameras, gimbals, webcams, and professional photography solutions. With intuitive, AI-powered software, Insta360 simplifies the creative process, allowing users to focus on storytelling without technical barriers. Insta360 is dedicated to helping a new generation of athletes, creatives, travelers and professionals bring their ideas to life.

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About PADI AWARE Foundation

PADI AWARE Foundation™ is a non-profit public charity that drives global ocean conservation through local action. PADI AWARE Foundation engages divers and people everywhere to take conservation actions that heal and protect the ocean planet both above and below the surface, further elevating and supporting PADI's vision to achieve balance between humanity and ocean. Backed by the power of the PADI® brand and supported by the world's largest global network of 6,600 dive centers and resorts and more than 128,000 professional members worldwide, PADI AWARE Foundation leverages the collective influence of divers and the dive industry to address key threats facing the marine environment including climate change, marine habitat loss and vulnerable species protection. PADI AWARE Foundation advances its mission and the PADI Blueprint for Ocean Action through underwater citizen science, public policy, education and community grants.

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SOURCE Insta360