Sentry Interactive vs NFC Reader / Writer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sentry Interactive
This app allows you to access your office or building with your iPhone or Apple Watch. Share access with others easily and securely using bank-level encryption. Multiple convenient unlock methods are available for quick entry.
- Tap to unlock office access
- Share access with email
- Apple Watch integration
- 2-factor bank-level encryption
- Convenient unlock methods
- Real-time insights
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Never worry about losing or forgetting your physical keycard or fob again, with Sentry Interactive you can store all your digital keys for multiple buildings in one place and unlock doors faster and more securely than ever using the Sentry Interactive iOS app. Designed for reliability, speed, and ease of use whether unlocking a single door or accessing multiple sites. With a simple UI design, lightning fast launch speeds, and high security and stability levels, users can unlock doors in less than 0.5 seconds using NFC tap-to-unlock technology, QR code scan, or using our iOS Widget. Access the Sentry Interactive app instantly via background NFC by simply tapping the NFC Smart Access Tile next to the door you wish to unlock. This will take you directly to the app, where you can unlock the door. Mobile credentials stored in the Sentry Interactive app are encrypted at rest and adhere to NIST cybersecurity best practices. Don’t have the Sentry Interactive mobile access software integrated with the access control systems in your buildings yet? Get in touch or find out more at https://sentryinteractive.com
NFC Reader / Writer
This utility app allows you to read, save, and share information stored on NFC tags. It can extract data like URLs, contact cards, and text messages. Note that NFC tag reading requires an iPhone 7 or newer.
- Read NFC tags
- Save tags for later
- Share tag data
- Save contacts from tags
- Open URLs from tags
- Display text messages
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With NFC Reader you can read tags, save them for later viewing, share them, save contacts, open URLs and more! Be advised: Reading NFC tags requires iPhone 7, 8, or X. FAQ: - Will my iPhone work with NFC? That depends: iPhone 7 and up supports NFC reading and NFC reading only works when NFC tags are NDEF formatted. If you're not sure what that means, you can reach out to our support for more information. - Are NFC tags RFID tags? No, NFC NDEF tags are not RFID tags - this means your gym cards, debit/credit cards, hotel cards, etc aren't readable by this app. - Will this app help me pair to my speaker/router/camera/etc? No, this app doesn't support deep integrations into NFC enabled products - this app is intended to read NFC tags and display data within those tags. Some tags contain actionable data like website URLs, text messages, geotags, contact cards, etc. If you have any questions, reach out to me at andrew@baristable.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: NFC Reader / Writer at 3.6 against Sentry Interactive's 2.6. Sentry Interactive's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. NFC Reader / Writer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Sentry Interactive asks for nothing beyond the download.
NFC Reader / Writer holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 2.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 14 and 19 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of Sentry Interactive's written reviews are positive against 16% of NFC Reader / Writer's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sentry Interactive | NFC Reader / Writer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (14 ratings) | 3.6 (19 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 13.3% of reviews | 16.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 14 | 19 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Doordeck Limited | Andrew Sowers |
Customer experience
Sentry Interactive
NFC Reader / Writer
Bugs and requests
Sentry Interactive
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
NFC Reader / Writer
Reported bugs
7 issues- App crashes immediately on launch for devices without NFC support
- NFC reading fails on iPhone 6, 6S, and SE despite claimed compatibility
- Session invalidated - feature not supported error messages
- Apple Pay popup appears when scanning NFC tags
- Unreadable symbols displayed on screen during scanning
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- App won't open on multiple device models
- CoreNFC framework compatibility issues
Requested features
6 requests- Support for older iPhone models (iPhone 6, 6S, SE)
- Ability to open amiibo files from Google Drive
- Italian language support
- Better error handling and user notifications
- Support for writing NFC tags on all compatible devices
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- Graceful handling for devices without NFC hardware
In-app purchases
Sentry Interactive
No in-app purchases
NFC Reader / Writer
- Remove Ads$1.99
Questions
Is Sentry Interactive free?
Is NFC Reader / Writer free?
Which has better reviews, Sentry Interactive or NFC Reader / Writer?
Do Sentry Interactive or NFC Reader / Writer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sentry Interactive or NFC Reader / Writer?
Other comparisons
