Seismometer phone app detects quakes

The researchers behind an app that turns a smartphone into an earthquake detector say they have been thrilled by the take-up and performance of their citizen science network.

MyShake, external was launched for Android devices in February and has now been downloaded over 200,000 times.

Enabled phones have recorded hundreds of quakes all over the globe since then - some as small as Magnitude 2.5.

Prof Richard Allen, external from the University of California at Berkeley discussed the app's development with our correspondent Jonathan Amos.