This page is published by the maker of the Waffenschrank app. The “Waffenschrank” column shows, based on our own review, how our app handles each point, as of (app version 2.6.0). We do not name or review other apps here.
In short
How we judge a gun inventory app: it stores your data on your device first and works without an account. It lets you get your data back out in open formats and imports the spreadsheet you have been keeping. It knows your country’s deadlines and permit types and cites the legal provision and the date it was checked. It tracks your ammunition and deducts the rounds you fire. Whatever it syncs or backs up over the internet, it encrypts before the data leaves your device, and it tells you what the provider can still see. And it says up front what is free, what costs money and how to cancel.
The criteria at a glance #
Check every app you are considering against the same points. The third column shows how to do that without any technical expertise. These points are our own selection; also check whatever else matters to you, such as price, features and store ratings.
| Criterion | Why it matters | How to check it in any app | Waffenschrank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Works without an account, stores data on your device first | A list of serial numbers and storage locations is an attractive target. Data that lives only on your device is not sitting on any provider’s server. | Install it and add a gun without signing in. Then check the privacy policy for where the data is stored and when it leaves your device. | Yes Everything lives on your device first, in the web app in your browser. An account is optional; you need one for things like device sync and the account backup. |
| End-to-end encryption for sync and backup | “Encrypted” can also mean encrypted in transit but readable by the provider. Only a key created on your device keeps the contents unreadable to the provider. | Search the privacy policy for “end-to-end” and read what the provider can still see. If the provider can reset a forgotten password and recover your data, the key is not yours alone. | Yes The app encrypts device sync and the account backup on the device (AES-256-GCM), with a key derived from your protection password. We do not have that key: we cannot read the contents as long as your protection password is strong and different from your account password — your account password is sent to the server every time you sign in; your protection password never is. The server does see the envelope unencrypted: email address, size, timing and identifiers; if any device on your account still runs an app version older than 2.3, it also sees how many entries you keep in each area. Backups to iCloud (iPhone, iPad) or Google Drive (Android) are also encrypted before they leave the device. |
| Export of your own data | If you cannot get your data out, you cannot switch apps — and you are left without it if the app is discontinued. | Before you enter all your data, run an export and open the file in a spreadsheet program. If a category, a field or the photos are missing, you find out now rather than when you switch. | Partly Free as CSV: the guns in your inventory, ammunition, training, targets and the list of documents. The exception: anything outside the main firearms tab (such as air guns) and guns you have sold are not in any CSV, only in the backup file — its own format, which Waffenschrank reads back in. It holds every entry in the app but no photos or documents; those are included only in the automatic backups. |
| Import from spreadsheets | If you have been keeping a spreadsheet, you do not want to retype it — and retyping serial numbers introduces errors. | Import a copy of your spreadsheet as CSV and see whether you can map the columns yourself and whether the app flags duplicate entries. | Yes The app reads CSV and Excel files (.xlsx) for guns, ammunition, permits and training. You map the columns, and it flags duplicates. |
| Your country’s deadlines and permit types, with source and review date | A deadline without a source cannot be checked, and one without a date may be out of date since the last change in the law. | Open a deadline you know from your own permit or official notice and see whether the app cites the legal provision and its date. If your country is not on the list, the app may be applying another country’s law. | Partly Legal catalogs for 22 countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Czechia, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Slovakia, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, Luxembourg, Hungary, United States, and Canada), each legal section with its source and date. In the United States, federal law plus the law of 8 of the 50 states; in Canada, federal law plus Québec’s own rules. For other countries the app has no legal data; for the remaining states and provinces it covers federal law only. The search across competition rulebooks covers Germany only. |
| Ammunition inventory that tracks usage | An inventory you have to update by hand is out of date after a few trips to the range. | Add a box, log a range visit with the rounds you fired, and check whether the count goes down. | Yes When you log a range visit with ammunition, the app deducts the rounds from your inventory; you set a low-stock threshold per ammunition type. You can also add boxes by scanning the barcode, at no charge; the web app has no scanner. |
| Platforms and language | The app has to run where you need it, and in a language you read well enough to be sure about deadlines. | Check the store listing for the required system version, and whether the tablet or browser version has the same features. | Partly iOS 16.4+, iPadOS 16.4+, Android 7.0+, Web, in 16 languages. In the browser there is no device sync, no barcode scanner and no photo background removal, and the browser can delete stored data when space runs low or if the site goes unused for a long time. If you use the browser, make your own backups regularly. |
| Clear costs | If you find out weeks later that export or backup costs money, your data is locked in. | Read the pricing information before you install: what is free, what costs money, is it a subscription, and how do you cancel? If any of these answers is missing, ask before you enter your data. | Yes Free: inventory, deadlines, training log, export as CSV and backup file, device sync, and backup to iCloud (iPhone, iPad) or Google Drive (Android). Pro adds tools on top, such as receipt scanning, reloading, dossiers and the account backup. Pro is a subscription; the billing periods available in your country are shown with the prices. You buy and cancel it in the app through the App Store or Google Play, and it runs to the end of the period you have paid for. See pricing |
| Ads and tracking | Advertising and analytics components send usage data to third parties. With a firearms app, simply using it reveals something about you. | Search the privacy policy for advertising, analytics and crash reporting services; read the “App Privacy” section in the App Store and “Data safety” on Google Play. | Yes No ads, no sale of data and no analytics components in the app: we do not analyze how you use it. Apple and Google collect statistics themselves and show us only aggregated figures without names or identifiers, for example on downloads, purchases, active devices and crashes. Crash reports only with your consent; versions before 2.2.1 send a permanent installation identifier with the update check and, once after a crash, the error message. At launch the app checks for updates via Cloudflare. The purchase service (RevenueCat, USA) is contacted only if a purchase is already known on the device or you open the Pro page; versions before 2.2 contact it at every launch. |
| Who is behind it | You should know who you are trusting with your data and be able to reach them. In the EU, the law requires every provider to publish a legal notice and a privacy policy; what counts is what they say. | Look for the legal notice and the privacy policy: is there a postal address, a contact for privacy questions and a named server location? | Yes The provider is tap & type UG (haftungsbeschränkt) in Luckenwalde, Germany; postal address, phone and email are in the legal notice, and privacy questions go to kontakt@waffenschrank.app. Account, sync and account backup are hosted by Supabase (Supabase Pte. Ltd., Singapore) in the EU region in Frankfurt, Germany; access from outside the EU is possible. The website is served via Cloudflare. Other service providers (purchase processing, crash reporting, email delivery) are listed in the privacy policy. |
What no app replaces #
- Official permits and records. What counts are the documents and entries issued by the authorities and the certificates issued by clubs or associations. An app records what they say; it does not replace the paper originals.
- What the authorities tell you. How a deadline applies in your case is for the authorities to decide. What your permit or notice says takes precedence over any calculator.
- Legal advice. An app can cite provisions; it does not assess your individual case. For that you need a lawyer.
- The safe itself. An app knows what is stored where. That alone does not mean it is stored securely.
Sources for this page #
We checked every statement in the “Waffenschrank” column ourselves against the app’s source code (version 2.6.0, as of ). The privacy statements restate the privacy policy and go no further. Countries, languages and system versions are taken from the app’s catalogs and build configuration.
Is anything here out of date? Write to kontakt@waffenschrank.app.