FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is CarbonBuildup?
An iOS app for competition pistol shooters and serious enthusiasts. It tracks your firearms as collections of independently-aging parts — recoil springs, strikers, extractors, optics, batteries, the works — and ties round counts to ammo lots and chrono data so you actually know what's happening with your guns.
How is it different from Range Log / Range Stats / Armorer / RangeReady?
Most range logs treat a firearm as one thing with one round count and one "time to clean" reminder. CarbonBuildup treats it as an assembly: each part has its own service clock, its own brand, its own install date, its own history. Pair that with chrono/load tracking, insurance-rider export, and parts photos and you get something the others don't do.
Who's this for?
USPSA / IDPA / Steel Challenge shooters, anyone running a 2011 or modular Glock build, anyone who reloads, and anyone with enough guns that "I think the recoil spring is due" isn't a real answer.
What guns does it support?
It's able to support any gun - but in Version 1 the family of guns native in the software are just Glock + clones, CZ, Tanfoglio, 1911/2011, Beretta 92, Walther PDP, Canik, and AR style platforms.
Why subscription instead of a one-time purchase?
Because the app keeps evolving — parts data, chrono tooling, insurance exports, eventually long-gun support and Android. Subscription is the only model that funds ongoing work without forcing me to ship "CarbonBuildup 2" as a paid upgrade in 18 months.
Family Sharing?
Yes — Apple's Family Sharing is supported, so one subscription covers up to 6 people in your family group.
What happens if I cancel?
Your existing data stays on your device. Subscription features lock when your access expires; resubscribe and they unlock again with your data intact.
Is my data sent to a server?
No. Everything lives locally on your phone. There is no CarbonBuildup server holding your collection.
Do you sell my data? Aggregate it for manufacturers? Share it with anyone?
No, no, and no. I considered the aggregated-data-sales business model and rejected it. Firearms owners are the most privacy-sensitive consumer demographic in the country, and selling data — even anonymized — would be a betrayal of the people buying the app. I'd rather charge for the app honestly than fund it covertly.
Could the government subpoena CarbonBuildup for a list of who owns what?
There's nothing to subpoena. I don't have your data. The app stores it on your device.
What about iCloud sync? Isn't that a backdoor?
v1 has no iCloud sync. Your data lives in the app's local sandbox only. Sync is planned for a future version, and when it ships it will be opt-in and end-to-end encrypted through Apple's CloudKit — meaning even Apple can't read it. You'll always be able to keep it local-only.
How do I move my data to a new phone if there's no sync?
The Backup & Restore feature exports your entire collection — guns, parts, sessions, photos, settings — to a single JSON file you can save to Files, AirDrop, email to yourself, whatever. Restore on the new phone in one tap.
What if I lose my phone with no backup?
You lose your data. Same as any local-first app. Take a backup occasionally — the export is one screen and one tap. Also consider having iCloud back up your app data. Makes getting a new phone a lot easier.
How does parts tracking work?
Each tracked part — recoil spring, striker, extractor, etc. — has a rounds interval and a days interval. As you log range sessions, the app counts rounds against each part. When you hit ~70% it turns orange, then red, then red-outlined-yellow once you're overdue. Log the maintenance and the clock resets. Per-family manufacturer-validated defaults ship in the box; you can edit them or add custom parts.
What does "carbon buildup" even mean?
The literal stuff in your barrel after a few range trips — and the name plays on the fact that the app tracks what's accumulating in your gun (rounds, wear, fouling, parts approaching service). The logo is a benzene ring, which is the molecular unit of both gunpowder combustion byproducts (PAHs) and graphene, the structural form carbon soot takes. Yes, the brand is a chemistry joke.
Can I log reloading / handload data?
Yes. Full recipe capture: bullet brand/grain/type, OAL, crimp, powder brand/name/charge/lot, primer brand/type. Chrono sessions link to the load, and you can pull a per-load PDF with the recipe header plus every chrono session you've run with it. CSV export too.
Insurance rider?
Yes. Settings → Insurance Rider exports a PDF with owner info, each firearm + optic + light itemized with photos and declared values, with totals. You can flip a per-firearm toggle to itemize components separately (frame, slide, barrel, grip module) for modular builds. Send it to your agent for a scheduled-personal-property rider.
Does it integrate with my Garmin Xero / LabRadar / MagnetoSpeed?
Not in v1. You enter shot count, AV, ES, SD by hand. Direct chronograph import is on the roadmap.
Can I track magazines?
Not in v1. Considered and deliberately deferred — magazines have weird ownership patterns (shared across guns, retired in rotation, etc.) and I wanted to ship something focused rather than half-built.
I have 5,000 rounds on a gun I just bought. Do I have to start at zero?
No. Add Firearm has an "Approximate Round Count" field for legacy guns. The app starts the gun at that number.
A spring I want to track isn't in the defaults. What do I do?
Add it as a custom part on the firearm — name, brand, rounds interval, days interval, notes. It joins the maintenance feed like any other part.
Is this affiliated with [retailer]?
The Forecast & Analytics screen has placeholder cards for Brownells, MidwayUSA, Wolff Gunsprings, and Wilson Combat. They're generic links right now — no affiliate relationships in place, no kickback. If Affiliate links ever do go in - they will be disclosed.