How We Work: The Files-You-Own Model

InventoryByHand is built on one rule: the inventory is a file you own, not an account you rent. The app runs on your phone or computer, your list stays on that device, and the copies that keep it safe are files in places you choose.

No account, no server copy

There is no sign-up, no password, and no copy of your inventory on any server of ours. We cannot see your list, sell it, lose it in a breach, or delete it — because we never hold it. When you open the app, it works from the data on your own device, and it works with no internet at all.

Install first

On a phone, the first step is always to add the app to your Home Screen. An installed web app opens like any other app — and on iPhone it matters for a second reason: Safari can delete a website's stored data after 7 days without interaction, and a web app added to the Home Screen is exempt from that rule, checked October 2026. Installing takes seconds and is the difference between data the browser may clear and data it keeps. On Android, the app requests persistent storage in Chrome, and regular use supports it.

The backup rhythm

1. Export the full file after every 10 new items, or after any work session, whichever comes first.
2. Export again at least every 30 days while the list is being built, and once a year after that.
3. The app shows the date of your last backup on its home screen, so the gap is visible, not guessed.
4. Keep exported copies in at least two places, and at least one copy outside your home — in email, in cloud storage, or with family at another address.

Open formats only

Your file uses formats anyone can open: a spreadsheet file for the list, ordinary photo files for your pictures, and a printable report document. No special program is needed to read them, and this company does not need to exist for you to open your own inventory in ten years' time. If you ever stop using the app, you keep everything that matters — because it was always a file, never a login.

Why local, said plainly

The other common design holds your records on a company's server, behind an account, for as long as the company lasts and the account stays paid. Companies close. When Centriq, a home-records app, shut down in January 2026, it deleted its users' data — people who had kept the only copy of their home records inside that service lost them on the company's schedule. A local file has no company's schedule. It is lost only if every copy you keep is lost, and keeping copies is a habit this app teaches and reminds you about, not a subscription you have to maintain.

Start with the free template to see the fields, then keep the finished list the way this page describes: installed, exported, and stored in places you control.