The questions that actually matter

Money and account

Does it cost money?

No. No pro tier, no subscription, no adverts. You can donate, and that is the whole funding model.

Do I need to create an account?

No, and there is not one to create. No sign-in, no email address, no user id, no server.

Does it work without a connection?

Yes, completely. Barcodes are rendered on your device and the store list is already in the app.

Can I move my cards over from Stocard or Klarna?

Not directly; those apps have no export. Catima can, with an export file (.zip or .csv), and an iPhone can, with an Apple Wallet pass (.pkpass). Otherwise you scan your cards again, or pick a screenshot per card in the scanner.

Why is the app so large?

The scanner is about 20 MB of bundled models. Play delivers only the parts that match your device, so the download is smaller than the build suggests.

Will it run on my phone?

Android 8 and newer. Below Android 12 the widgets do not pick up your wallpaper colours; everything else works the same.

Will there be an iPhone version?

No, and there is no need: iOS has Bijdehand, a good app that does exactly this and the one that inspired Stapel. Stapel is deliberately Android, because the widgets, the Quick Settings tile and the proximity alerts do not exist in this form on iOS.

When can I download it?

Now. Stapel is in the Play Store, and the link is on the front page. What is finished and what is not is in the release notes.

Privacy and Google

Does the app send anything about me?

No. The promise is no network call you did not ask for, and your card data is in none of them. Every call the app can make is on the privacy page, with when it happens, what it carries and what it can give away about where you are.

Is there Google code in the app?

Yes, and I would rather say it myself. Two proprietary pieces of Google ship inside the install package, and they do different things.

• The barcode scanner (ML Kit, plus the Play Services libraries it cannot be separated from). The model is in the install package and runs on your device, so scanning needs no download and no network call.
• Google Play Services geofencing, since arrival detection moved onto it. It is off by default: leave it off and the app registers no geofence at all. It does mean arrival detection only works on devices that have Google Play Services; scanning works everywhere.

Nothing beyond that: no Google Wallet, no analytics, no advertising id, no Firebase service. That is why I say "no Google network call, no account, no analytics" rather than "no Google code". What the geofencing gets to see of your location is on the privacy page.

Will Stapel be on F-Droid?

No, and that is not going to change. F-Droid does not allow proprietary libraries and there are now two of them. The scanner alone settles it: the alternatives demonstrably read worse, and scanning is what the app is for. Dropping arrival detection would not help, and I am not promising a second build without the scanner.

Why does the app ask for background location?

Only if you switch arrival detection on, and it is off by default. Without that permission Android cannot wake the app while it is closed. There is a middle setting too: location only while the app is open.

What does arrival detection cost in battery?

A little each day, and the screen where you switch it on says the same. I quote no percentage, because I have not measured it: the work happens inside Google Play Services rather than in Stapel, so a per-app battery meter cannot read it.

Do my cards end up in my Google account?

Not through the app, possibly through Android: Auto Backup puts a copy of app data into your Google account. Nothing reaches me. You can switch it off; how is on the privacy page.

Shops and data

What if my shop is not in the database?

If it is a branch of a chain that is in the brand catalogue, pin it yourself while you are there. That asks two things: you hold that chain's card in the app, and arrival detection is on. If the chain is in no catalogue, such as the gym round the corner, it cannot be pinned and the card simply works without locations. To fix it for everyone, go to OpenStreetMap, see Contribute.

Does the app notice when a shop closes?

No, and nothing does. A closed shop stays in OpenStreetMap until a volunteer removes it. That is the most honest limitation in this product and it is set out with figures on the store data page.

Which shops are included?

Every Dutch chain has been researched by hand: most carry a card, loyalty programmes and a few memberships, and the chains that run no programme at all are listed precisely so the app does not suggest them. The foreign rows sit alongside them. Store locations ship for the Dutch chains, from Albert Heijn, Jumbo and Lidl to Praxis, Shell and Starbucks. For every other country you download them a country at a time. Which countries those are, with per-chain coverage, is on the store data page: the list grows with every rebuild and that is where it is kept up to date, not here. Any other card works fine, just without locations.

Can the app see my points balance?

No, and that integration is not coming. For a gift voucher you note an amount as text yourself; the app never pretends to know a figure it cannot verify.