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Frequently asked questions

How do I get started?

Create a rack, then add bins to it. Stick a Cubby NFC tag and a printed QR label on each rack and tub, and use Write NFC tag to program the tag in one tap. Then open a bin and start adding what's inside. You only have to tag a bin once.

How do I add an item to a bin?

Open the bin and tap Add item. Point the camera at the item and Cubby uses on-device Vision to suggest a name instantly. If the shot looks blurry it flags it so you can retake — but you're never blocked from saving. Accept the suggestion, edit it, or type your own, set a quantity, and save. You can add a note or capture a product barcode too.

What is Enhanced Recognition (AI naming)?

An optional upgrade over the built-in Vision suggestion. Turn it on in Settings → Enhanced Recognition and Cubby downloads a small AI model once (about 1.2 GB, from Apple's servers) that then runs entirely on your phone. It looks more closely at what you photographed and can turn a vague suggestion like "container" into something specific like "Vlasic dill pickles." It never overwrites a name you've already typed, and every photo it analyzes stays on-device — see the privacy policy for the full picture. You can delete the downloaded model any time from the same Settings screen.

What's the difference between the NFC tag and the QR code?

They do the same thing — open the bin or rack — by different means. The NFC tag is the fastest: hold an iPhone near it and Cubby opens, even from the lock screen. The QR label is the universal fallback that also works on iPad and on any phone's camera. Every label also prints a short human code like BIN-12 so you can always find a bin by hand if a scan fails.

Tapping a tag doesn't open the app — what's wrong?

Tap-to-open uses NFC, which is available on iPhone (not iPad). Make sure NFC tag reading is on and hold the top of the phone to the tag for a moment. If the app still doesn't open from a tap, use the QR label or the BIN-12 short code instead, and scan the QR from inside Cubby. Newly programmed tags can take a few seconds to register.

How do I scan items in and out?

Open a bin and use scan-in to add an item or increase its quantity, and scan-out to remove one or decrease the quantity. To relocate something, move the item to another bin. Every change is recorded in the activity feed so you can see the history of any bin or item.

How do I print labels?

Open a rack or pick bins, choose Print labels, and Cubby builds a single PDF you can send to a printer over AirPrint or save to Files. Pick the Avery letter-sheet grid for a page of labels, or single-per-page for a roll label printer.

Can I use Cubby on more than one device?

Yes, optionally. Turn on iCloud sync in Settings and your inventory syncs across your own devices through your own private iCloud account — there's still no Cubby server and no account to create. It's off by default. Separately, your data is included in your device's standard encrypted iCloud Backup (if you have that switched on at the system level), so it can restore onto a new phone either way.

Which devices does Cubby work on?

iPhone and iPad running iOS 26 or later. Tap-to-open NFC needs an iPhone; QR scanning, short codes, and everything else work on iPad too.

Is my inventory private?

Yes. Storage, item identification, QR generation, and search all run on your device. There are no accounts and no analytics. The only things Cubby ever sends or fetches are an optional product-barcode look-up (just the scanned barcode) and, if you turn on Enhanced Recognition, a one-time AI model download from Apple — both switchable off in Settings, and neither ever includes your photos or inventory. NFC tags hold only a link that identifies a bin — never its contents. See the privacy policy.

Report a problem

Email contact@abhijitbansal.com with your device model, iOS version, and what happened. Screenshots and the steps that led to the issue help a lot.