Questions and answers
The short answers, each with a link to the page where it continues. If your question isn't here, each feature's page also says what that feature doesn't do.
01
What it is
What is HomeItemFinder?
It’s an app for organizing a move. You log each box and take photos of what goes inside; later you search for the item, and the app tells you which box it’s in and where that box is.
Does it work without internet?
Yes. You can view, search and add items and photos with no connection; the app syncs when you’re back online.
AI suggestions and dictating notes need a connection.
What devices does it work on?
Any phone or computer with an up-to-date browser. You can install it on your home screen and use it like an app.
There are no versions in the app stores yet.
Is it only for moving?
No. A project holds boxes and what goes inside them — for a move, but also in the garage, a storage room, the attic or a storage unit. You say where each box is, and search finds anything in any of them.
02
Adding items
Do I have to type a name for every item?
No. The photo is the only required field. The description, category and notes are optional — and if you want, the AI suggests them from the photo.
How many photos can an item have?
Up to five. One is almost always enough; the others are for things that need more than one angle — the label on an appliance, what’s in a bag, the pieces of a set.
Can I import a list I already have in Excel?
Not yet. Each item goes in through a photo, in the app. The other direction does work: a move’s items can be exported to Excel and CSV, on the plans that include it.
Can I save an item's barcode?
Yes: on the item’s screen, you type in the digits printed on the packaging. But the barcode doesn’t fill anything in on its own — the app has no product database, so the name, brand and category are still up to you, or to the AI, from the photo.
03
Labels and QR codes
Do I need special paper to print the labels?
No. The labels come out on A4 sheets, eight to a sheet, and print on an ordinary printer — on plain paper, to cut out, or on pre-cut sticker sheets. To make the print line up with the cuts, there’s a calibration for each printer, which you do once. The app prints on A4 only, so if your printer uses Letter paper, check the print preview first.
What does someone see if they scan the QR code on a box that isn't theirs?
Nothing. If they aren’t signed in, the app asks them to sign in; if they’re signed in to another account, it says the box wasn’t found — a label in plain view on the moving truck or in the storage unit doesn’t show what the box holds. The scan is recorded in the box’s history and, on the plans that include it, the owner gets an email when the person scanning isn’t signed in to the app — at most one an hour.
Do the NFC tags work on an iPhone?
For reading, yes: hold the iPhone to the sticker and the box opens. To program a new sticker for a box, you need an Android phone, in Chrome. You buy the stickers yourself, separately.
04
With your family
How many people can use the same move?
It depends on the plan. The Members page tells you how many seats are left before you invite anyone. Each person joins with their own account, through an invite sent to their email.
What can each person I invite do?
It depends on the role you give them. The owner does everything, including inviting and removing people. An editor creates, changes and deletes boxes and items — it’s the role for whoever is packing. A viewer sees everything and changes nothing. You can change a person’s role at any time.
Can the other members see my email?
No. The members of a move see each other’s names, and nothing else. Each person’s email and phone number are theirs alone.
05
Privacy
Who can see my photos?
Only the people the owner invited to that move. Photos are kept in private storage, and location data is removed on your phone before the photo is uploaded.
If you turn on AI suggestions, the item’s photos are sent to Google to generate the suggestion. It’s optional, and it’s off by default.
Does the AI see my photos?
Only if you turn it on. AI suggestions are off by default, and you turn them on separately on each device. When they’re on, the item’s photos are sent to Google, which generates the suggestion — your name, your email, the move’s name and the addresses are not sent. With the “Suggest with AI” button, nothing goes into the item until you approve it; with automatic suggestions, the AI fills in the item and marks it “Review AI” until someone checks it.
Where is my data stored?
The database and the photos are hosted in Frankfurt, Germany. Some services the app uses may process data outside the European Union — sending emails, backups and, if you turn them on, AI suggestions and dictation, which use Google — and every provider is named in the privacy policy.
Can the HomeItemFinder team see my stuff?
Not the content. The people who run the platform see accounts, numbers and dates — how many boxes, how many items, how much space — and never the photos, the descriptions or the box names. Every lookup they make is logged.
06
Plans and account
Is it free?
You can create an account and start for free, with no credit card. The free plan has limits — on projects, items, boxes, people and AI suggestions, and on how long your data is kept. The current figures are on the pricing page.
Paid plans aren’t on sale yet.
How do I delete my account?
By request, by email — the terms of service and the privacy policy explain how. There’s no button for it in the app yet. Deleting a move, on the other hand, is something you do in the app.
Can I take my data with me?
On the plans that include it, each move’s report comes out as a PDF, and its items in Excel and CSV — the pricing page says which plans. The list of what’s in each box prints on any plan. Downloading all your account data at once is done by request, by email; you can’t do it in the app yet.
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