# Merlions: Your Network. Your Pride. Merlions is a free, offline, account-free mobile app for remembering business contacts. It scans business cards on the phone, turns voice or typed notes into contacts, notes and follow-up reminders after you confirm them, finds people by the context you remember, and shares your own business card as a QR code. Data is stored on the phone in an encrypted database. Made by Testware Informatics. Website: https://merlions.app Publisher: Testware Informatics Last updated: 2026-10-16 ## At a glance - **Price:** Free for life, no contact limits, no in-app subscription - **Platforms:** iPhone first; Android is in progress - **Account:** None needed. There is no Merlions server - **Where data lives:** On your phone, in an encrypted database - **Internet:** Not needed for contacts, notes, search or reminders - **Ways to add people:** Voice, typing, business card scan, or someone’s QR card - **Reminders:** Local phone notifications, no calendar account required - **AI:** No paid AI or chatbot. Commands are parsed on the phone - **Ads and tracking:** None. No analytics, ad or tracking SDKs - **Google:** Optional. Google Drive backup if you turn it on - **Made by:** Testware Informatics ## What it does ### Voice capture with confirmation Hold the mic and describe who you met. Merlions turns it into a contact, note or follow-up and shows a preview; nothing is saved until you confirm. Every voice action can also be typed. ### Business card scanner Scan the front and back of a visiting card. Text is read on the phone, every field is editable before saving, duplicates are detected, and the photo is deleted after review. ### Search by context Find people by what you remember, such as “who asked me for a quotation?”. Results show the note that matched. ### Follow-up reminders Turn promises into reminders on the phone. Swipe right to edit, left to delete, tick to complete. Today, upcoming and overdue views. ### My card (digital business card) Create your own business card and share it as a QR code, a contact file or a message. It works without internet and the other person does not need Merlions. ### Privacy by construction No account, no server, no ads or trackers. Encrypted local database, private notification previews, App Lock with Face ID, Touch ID or passcode. ### Optional Google Drive backup Back up to a hidden app folder in your Google Drive. Each upload is downloaded again and verified before it counts. ## How it works 1. Capture: scan a visiting card or someone's Merlions QR, or say who you met. Every field lands on a review screen and nothing is saved until you press Continue. 2. Remember: your network is searchable by name, company, phone, tag or anything in your notes, sorted A–Z, by recently added, recent activity or what's due. 3. Follow up: Home shows today's schedule, latest notes, the next thing due and a follow-up checklist. 4. Share: show your own QR business card; any phone camera can save your contact, even offline. ## Privacy - No account and no Merlions server. - The local database is encrypted; the key is kept in the iOS Keychain. - No analytics, advertising or tracking SDKs; no paid AI. - Business card photos are processed on the phone and deleted after review. - Notification previews hide names and notes by default. - Known limitation: backup files are not encrypted yet. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is Merlions? Merlions is a free mobile app that remembers the people you meet for work: who they are, what you talked about and what you promised them. You add people by voice, typing or scanning their business card, and Merlions reminds you to follow up. Everything stays on your phone. ### Is it really free? Yes. The core app is free for life with no contact limits. There’s no subscription tier hiding the useful parts, and no paid AI behind it to pay for. Merlions is a complimentary productivity app from Testware Informatics. ### Do I need an account? No. Open the app and start. Google is only involved if you choose to connect it for a specific feature, like Drive backup. ### Where is my data stored? On your phone, in an encrypted database. Nothing goes to a Merlions server, because there isn’t one. You can export a backup file or delete everything from Settings. ### Does Merlions work offline? Yes. Adding contacts, notes, search, follow-ups and reminders all work with no internet connection. Your QR business card also works offline. ### Can Merlions scan business cards? Yes. It reads the front and back of a visiting card on the phone, lets you check and edit every field, warns you about duplicates, and deletes the photo after review. ### How do I share my own business card? Create your card once under My card, then show its QR code or share it as a contact file or message. Any phone camera can save your contact from the QR, even without internet, and the other person doesn’t need Merlions. ### Does voice get things wrong? Sometimes, which is why Merlions never saves what it heard without showing you first. You can edit the transcript, and anything you can say, you can also type. Speech uses your phone’s speech recognition, which may run on Apple or Google servers unless on-device recognition is available; the app tells you which. ### Does Merlions use AI? Not in the chatbot sense. There is no paid AI service and nothing is sent to an AI model. Spoken or typed commands are turned into actions by a rule-based parser on the phone, and you confirm every change. ### Is it a CRM? No. There are no pipelines, deal stages or team features. Merlions is a personal memory for the people you meet and what you owe them, closer to a smart address book than to sales software. ### iPhone or Android? Merlions is launching on iPhone first. Android is in progress and will follow. ## Business card scanner (https://merlions.app/business-card-scanner/) Merlions scans the front and back of a business card on your iPhone, shows you every field to check, and saves the person to your network. The text is read on the phone, nothing is saved until you confirm, and the photo is deleted after review. ### Is the Merlions business card scanner free? Yes. Scanning is part of the free app, with no limit on how many cards you scan or how many contacts you keep, and no subscription. ### Does it upload my business card photos? No. The text is read on the iPhone itself, there is no Merlions server to upload to, and the photo is deleted once you have reviewed the fields. ### Can it scan the back of a business card? Yes. Scan the front and the back. Merlions merges both into one contact and removes repeated numbers or emails. ### Does the scanner work without internet? Yes. Reading the card, checking the fields and saving the contact all work offline. ### Can Merlions read a QR code business card? Yes. If someone shows you a QR code with their contact details, Merlions reads it into the same review screen with the same duplicate check. You can also make your own digital business card. ### Can I export the contacts I scan? Yes. Settings has Export CSV and Export JSON, so your contacts are never locked in. ## Digital business card (https://merlions.app/digital-business-card/) Create your card once in Merlions. Show the QR code, and the other person points their phone camera at it to save your contact. There is no link to open, no website in between and no internet needed. ### Is the Merlions digital business card free? Yes. My card is part of the free app. There is no paid plan and no limit on how often you share it. ### Does the other person need the Merlions app? No. They point their phone camera at your QR code and save you as a contact, or open the contact file you send them. ### Does my digital business card work without internet? Yes. The QR code is made on your phone and contains your details directly, so neither phone needs a connection to save the contact. ### What format does the QR code use? A standard vCard 3.0 contact card, the same format phones use for contact files. ### Can I scan someone else's QR business card into Merlions? Yes. Merlions reads vCard 2.1, 3.0 and 4.0 and MECARD QR codes into a review screen, checks for duplicates, and saves only when you confirm. ### Where is my card stored? Only on your phone. It is included in your Merlions backup file so you can restore it on a new phone. ## Personal CRM (https://merlions.app/personal-crm/) Merlions remembers the people you meet for work: who they are, what you talked about and what you promised them. It reminds you to follow up, finds people by what you remember about them, and keeps everything on your phone. ### What is a personal CRM? A personal CRM is an app for keeping track of the people in your network: notes on what you talked about, what you promised, and reminders to follow up. It is aimed at individuals rather than sales teams. ### Is Merlions a CRM? It is a personal CRM, not a sales CRM. There are no pipelines, deal stages or team features. It is closer to a smart address book with notes and reminders. ### Is Merlions free? Yes. The app is free for life with no contact limits and no subscription tier. ### Does Merlions sync between my phone and computer? No. Your network lives on your phone in an encrypted database. You can export a backup file, CSV or JSON, or turn on Google Drive backup if you want a copy off the phone. ### How many contacts can Merlions handle? There is no limit. Contact lists and search are indexed and have been benchmarked with 50,000 contacts. ### Is my data private? Yes. There is no account and no Merlions server, no analytics or ad SDKs, and the database on the phone is encrypted. App Lock can require Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. ## Networking follow-up guide (https://merlions.app/guides/networking-follow-up/) The follow-up is where a good conversation turns into a working relationship, and it is the step most people skip. Here is when to send it, what to put in it, and seven templates you can copy and adapt. ### How soon should you follow up after a networking event? Within one working day is a good default, and within two days for casual meetups. If you promised to send something, send it the same day if you can. ### What should the subject line of a networking follow-up email be? Name the event or the topic you discussed, for example “Great meeting you at [event name]”. It tells them at a glance who you are and why you are writing. ### How many times should you follow up if there is no reply? Once more, about five to seven working days after your first message. If there is still no answer, let it go. You can reconnect later with something genuinely useful. ### Should I follow up by email, LinkedIn or WhatsApp? Use the channel they gave you or used with you. Email suits anything with detail or attachments. LinkedIn or WhatsApp suits a short, friendly note, especially the same day. ### What if I can't remember what we talked about? Be honest and keep it short: say it was good to meet them at the event and ask what they are working on. Next time, write one detail down straight after each conversation. ### How do I remember details about everyone I meet? Capture one detail and any promise right after each conversation, then set a reminder. A personal CRM such as Merlions does this on your phone: scan their card, add a note by voice or typing, and get reminded to follow up.