Frequently asked questions

What Freeza does, what it costs and what happens to your data. Something missing? Write to hi@freeza.app.

Getting started

What is Freeza?

A photo album for your freezer. When something goes in, you take a picture. Freeza records when, shows you how long it has been in there, and lets you check from the couch what is actually still down in the chest freezer. No typing, no categories, no barcodes. The photo is the entry.

Do I need an account?

No. Freeza works on your iPhone or iPad without signing up, without an email address, without an account. Everything stays on your device.

You only create an account when you subscribe to Freeza Plus or join a freezer somebody shares with you. Even then it is just your email address — there is no password.

Is it really free?

Yes. Everything that happens on your phone is free and stays free: photos, compartments, storage times, reminders, trash, export. Two freezers. No expiry date, no ads, no trial that runs out.

Freeza Plus costs money because it needs a server: sharing with other people, syncing across devices, the web app. Read on for what that costs and why.

Which devices does it run on?

iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later. Freeza Plus adds a web app for any browser — that is how household members on Android or a desktop join in.

There is no Mac app and no Android app. See Sharing and households for what that means in practice.

Which languages?

German and English. More will follow once Freeza is available in more countries.

Free and Freeza Plus

What do I get for free?

Everything on one device:

Photos as entries, straight from the camera or your library
Freezing date recorded automatically, age on every tile
Age colours — the longer something sits, the more its badge changes
“Use up by …” dates and a weekly reminder
Compartments and the freezer map: drawers, baskets, chest layers
Quantities: four portions in one photo, take one out, the count goes down
Notes and note search
Trash with restore for 30 days
Export of everything as a ZIP
Works without a signal — in the basement, in the garage
Two freezers

What does Freeza Plus add?

Everything that needs a server:

Sync between your iPhone, iPad and the web app
Sharing a freezer with your household via link or QR code
The web app at freeza.app/web
Activity per freezer: who put in, moved or took out what
Up to 10 freezers instead of two

Why does sharing need a subscription?

Because sharing needs a server, and a server costs money every month. When you share a freezer, your photos have to live somewhere both of you can reach them — that somewhere is a machine in Germany that we pay for.

Everything that runs on your phone alone is free. The line is drawn where the server begins. That is the whole logic.

How much does Freeza Plus cost?

€9.99 a year. That is about 83 cents a month — less than one forgotten pack of salmon. In other currencies Apple sets the equivalent.

There is no monthly plan and no lifetime purchase. See below for why.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. The first month is free. You get everything in Plus, including sharing, and can cancel at any time during the month at no charge. iOS Settings shows when your trial ends, under Subscriptions. If you do nothing, it continues at €9.99 for the year.

One trial per Apple Account.

Why no monthly plan?

A freezer turns over in weeks and months, not days. A monthly subscription would mostly produce people wondering why they were charged again. One payment a year, done.

Why no lifetime purchase?

Because the server bill is not a one-time cost. A lifetime price is a bet that you stop using Freeza before the hosting catches up — and if you don’t, we would be paying for your freezer. That is not a fair deal for either side.

Freeza Plus supports Apple Family Sharing. One subscription covers everyone in your Apple Family — up to five more people. Each of them gets Plus for their own freezers too, not just access to yours.

You turn it on in iOS Settings under your Apple Account → Family Sharing → Subscriptions.

I was given a code. How do I redeem it?

Open the App Store app, tap your picture, then Redeem Gift Card or Code. Enter the code; Plus activates in Freeza the next time you open it.

Data and privacy

Where is my data stored?

Without Plus: on your device. Nothing leaves your iPhone. There is no account, so there is nothing of yours on our server.

With Plus: on servers in Germany (Hetzner, Falkenstein), so your devices and your household can reach the same data. Emails go through mailbox.org, also in Germany. Nothing is transferred outside the EU.

Do you sell my data?

No. Never, to anyone. Freeza has no analytics, no tracking, no advertising, no crash-reporting libraries — not in the app, not in the web app, not on the website. We don’t look at your photos, analyse them, or use them to train anything. The website doesn’t even set a cookie.

The full privacy policy is written in plain language on purpose.

What happens to my photos?

When you upload a photo (Plus), we strip all metadata — location, camera, time taken — and keep a reduced version, a thumbnail and a blurred placeholder. The original is not kept. Photos can only be fetched through random addresses that expire within two days and are handed only to members of that freezer.

Without Plus, photos never leave the device.

What happens to my data if I stop using Freeza?

Without Plus: your data is on your phone. Delete the app and it is gone; keep it and it stays.

With Plus, if you let the subscription lapse: everything stays on your phone, editable. The server keeps your data for 12 months so that you can come back without starting over. A month before it is deleted, we email you.

If you delete your account: we delete it immediately — account, devices, every freezer you own with all items and photos, your memberships. Items you added to other people’s freezers stay there, no longer linked to you. Backups age out within six months.

Can I export my data?

Always, with or without Plus. Settings → Export gives you a ZIP with every photo and a data.json describing your freezers, compartments and items. On the free tier it opens the share sheet; with Plus we email you a download link that is valid for 24 hours.

We don’t gate the exit.

Is my data backed up?

Without Plus: Freeza’s data is part of your normal iPhone backup (iCloud or your computer). If you restore your phone from a backup, your freezers come with it. If you have backups turned off, nothing protects your data but the export — so export now and then.

With Plus: the server holds a copy, and any device you sign in to gets it.

Who can see what in a shared freezer?

All members see the freezer’s items, the activity (who did what, when) and the other members’ names. Your name is whatever you choose as display name; without one, others see the part of your email address before the @.

Subscription and account

In the app: add a third freezer or open Settings → Freeza Plus (with an account, also via Share). Apple’s purchase sheet appears — Face ID, done. Then Freeza asks for an email address to attach your sync to. That is your account.

The subscription itself is handled by Apple. We never see your payment details.

How do I cancel?

In iOS: Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Freeza Plus → Cancel. Or in the App Store app under your picture. Plus stays active until the end of the period you have paid for.

Cancelling during the free month means you are never charged.

What happens when my subscription ends?

Your data stays on your phone, complete and editable. Sync stops.
If you have more than two freezers, you keep them all. You just can’t add another without Plus.
Freezers you share: members get read-only access for 30 days, then an archived copy on their device.
The server keeps your data for 12 months, then deletes it (we email you a month before).

Re-subscribe within those 12 months and everything is back exactly as it was — sharing included, without re-inviting anyone. Re-subscribe later and Freeza uploads what is on your phone fresh.

I got a new phone. How do I get my data back?

With Plus: install Freeza, sign in with the same email, and your freezers download.

Without Plus: restore the new phone from your old phone’s backup, as you would for any app.

I subscribed on my iPhone — can I use the web app?

Yes. The email you entered after purchase is your account. Sign in at freeza.app/web with it and you have the same freezers. You can’t buy or manage the subscription there — that lives in the App Store.

Restore purchases — when do I need it?

If Freeza doesn’t recognise your subscription — after a reinstall, on a second device, or because you signed in with a different email than the one you attached the purchase to. Settings → Freeza Plus → Restore purchases asks Apple again. If the purchase belongs to another Freeza account, the app tells you which email, so it is never a mystery.

Can I change my email address?

Not in the app yet. Write to hi@freeza.app — we send a confirmation code to the new address.

I used Freeza without an account, then subscribed. Does my data come along?

Yes. After you sign in, Freeza offers to bring the freezers from this device into your account and uploads them — photos included — in the background. You see the progress; you can close the app and it continues.

Can I delete my account?

Yes, in Settings. We email you a link and a code (valid 30 minutes); confirm, and the account and everything in it is gone. Note that deleting the account does not cancel the subscription with Apple — do that in iOS Settings.

Freeza has exactly one way to sign in: your email address plus a code we send you. No password, nothing else to remember. Sign in with Apple would add a second path, and its hidden relay addresses would stop household members from recognising each other.

Using Freeza

Can I use Freeza for a fridge?

For the freezer part of a fridge-freezer combination, yes — pick that appliance type and the drawers are laid out accordingly. A plain fridge works too, but Freeza’s age logic is tuned for frozen food: the default “look at this” horizon is six months. Proper fridge support with cooled compartments and shorter horizons is on the list.

What are compartments?

Your freezer, as it actually is: drawers, shelves, baskets, chest layers, door bins. Pick the appliance type — upright, chest, fridge-freezer, French door, side-by-side, drawer — and Freeza lays out the compartments to match. Up to 16 per freezer.

The freezer map shows the appliance and what is where. Tap a compartment to see only its contents; drag a photo to move it. Compartments are optional — everything works without them.

How do expiry reminders work?

Every item has a date by which it should be used up: six months after freezing unless you set one. 30 days before that it shows up in the grid as “Use soon”; past the date it is marked red. If you want something gone sooner, give it a Use up by date: in a few weeks, in three months, or on a particular day.

If you turn reminders on in Settings, Freeza sends one notification a week, Saturday at 10:00, listing what is due that week — per freezer, batched. Not one ping per item, not at 3 a.m., and never a “we miss you”. Items already past their date are shown in red on screen and not announced again.

Reminders are scheduled on the device, so they arrive even if the phone hasn’t seen the internet in a while.

Can I use it without internet?

Yes — this is the point. Without Plus, nothing ever needs a connection. With Plus, everything you do in the basement happens immediately on your phone and catches up with the server the moment you are back in range. Photos you took offline upload on their own.

How many items can a freezer hold?

250 live items per freezer, plus a trash of the same size again. Up to 99 identical packages behind one photo. Ten freezers with Plus, two without.

I took something out by mistake.

Tap Undo in the bar that appears. Or open the trash — everything you take out stays there for 30 days and comes back with one tap.

What do the colours mean?

Age. A fresh photo has no colour. As the item approaches its use-up date, the badge turns stronger; past the date it is red. You know how long bread or Bolognese keeps in your freezer — Freeza just makes sure you look.

How long does frozen food keep, actually?

Freeza can’t know what is in your bag. But the item screen has a short storage guide: what −18 °C means, what the stars on the freezer compartment stand for, and guide values from Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). Treat them as what they are — guide values.

What is the QR code on a freezer for?

Every freezer has its own link. Print the QR code and stick it on the door; scanning it opens that very freezer in Freeza. Practical when there are three appliances and your hands are cold.

Does Freeza work on iPad?

Yes, with a sidebar: freezers on the left, photos on the right, All freezers across everything in one grid. Drag a photo to another compartment, another freezer or the trash.

Will Freeza stop working on my old iPhone?

It needs iOS 17 or later. Occasionally a very old app version has to be updated before it can talk to the server — the app will tell you when that is the case. Without Plus, nothing talks to the server and nothing can be forced.

Feedback

I have a feature idea.

Write to hi@freeza.app. Freeza is small enough that your email lands with the person who builds it, and good ideas have a short path into the app. Barcodes, a shopping list, widgets and photo recognition are already on the list — tell us what is missing from yours.

I found a bug.

Same address: hi@freeza.app. Tell us what you did, what you expected, what happened instead, your iOS version and whether you use Plus. A screenshot helps. If something looks like it ate your data, don’t sign out or delete the app before writing — the data is usually still there.