Stundenbuch
A German Liturgy of the Hours reader with advance downloads, reading aids and prayer-time reminders.
For German-speaking people seeking Catholic daily prayer texts, including newcomers to the practice.
By Katholischer Hub fur Innovation und Medien e.V.
- Platform
- iOS
- Category
- Book
- First release
- 26 October 2013
- Store ratings
- 8 (US)
- Research captures
- 10
Design review
Observed choices, what they mean, and what still needs checking.
Access & cost
A German privacy statement from the publishing association opens with two buttons, Bestätigen (confirm) and Nicht jetzt (not now).
Captured flow · 28 October 2026Attention & control
A warning states that notifications are disabled for the app on the device, so reminders will not arrive.
Scoped review · 28 October 2026Trust & care
Source boundaries, privacy and safeguards need further review. No app-wide assurance is implied.
Evidence incompleteOffers are dated iOS observations in USD where captured. Eligibility, country and platform can differ. Existing settings are not installation defaults.
Where the observed choices sit
Each row is one scoped observation of a specific flow, not a grade for the whole app.
No practice has been placed on the scale yet.
2 areas reviewed, not yet placed6 areas not reviewed yetReview notes
Works against: a choice subverts the person’s agency. Respects: it respects people and safeguards. Restores: a practice restores at a cost freely borne by the builder. Price, Christian branding or a free tier alone do not place an area. How we review.
Screens
10 reviewed screensCaptured app states, distinct from the publisher’s promotional images. Dates and versions belong to each screen; this is not a complete app walkthrough.
Features and patterns
What the reviewed screens show this app doing. A missing entry does not mean a feature is absent.
First use
Stundenbuch opens a privacy statement with confirm and defer actions. Stundenbuch describes displaying the complete texts and repetitions of the liturgy of the hours. A German privacy statement from the publishing association opens with two buttons, Bestätigen (confirm) and Nicht jetzt (not now). The frame shows the choice, not what either choice changes.
First useOther apps with first use (89)3 supporting screens
How much text at once
Stundenbuch opens a horizontal font-size slider above the Compline reader toolbar.
How much text at onceOther apps with how much text at once (31)
Notifications and reminders
A warning states that notifications are disabled for the app on the device, so reminders will not arrive. Below are a bell-tone toggle and individual reminders for each hour (Invitatorium 7:00 AM through Tageslesungen 9:00 PM), all off.
Notifications and remindersOther apps with notifications and reminders (61)
Prayer
Stundenbuch describes displaying the complete texts and repetitions of the liturgy of the hours. Stundenbuch presents the day, liturgical labels and nine prayer or reading routes. Stundenbuch displays an invitatory with response markers, psalm selector and text navigation. Stundenbuch presents the October 25 prayer schedule on a gray content background. Stundenbuch displays the opening responses and public confession text for Compline. Stundenbuch opens a horizontal font-size slider above the Compline reader toolbar.
PrayerOther apps with prayer (34)6 supporting screens
Progress and streaks
Mein Gebetsweg (my prayer path) shows 1 prayer day, current and longest series of 1 day, and history since 27 October 2026. The text says each filled square is a day on which the app was opened, and that older usage data is anonymized for privacy. Counts reflect research use on this device, not prayer practice.
Progress and streaksOther apps with progress and streaks (35)
- Download
- Free download · US store
- Access
- Access requirements unverified
Cost, access & publisher model Sources and details
Practical facts, separate from the design assessment. Checked 25 October 2026. A free download does not establish free access to all content.
- App download
- Free download · US · Store source
- Subscriptions
- Subscription status unverified
- Store in-app products
- None declared on the retrieved listing; other payment routes remain unverified
- Donations
- Not verified
- Advertising
- Not verified
What access does payment cover?
The retrieved sources do not establish which capabilities require payment. This is unknown, rather than a claim that the app is free or paid throughout.
Free samples, a free tier and the complete library are different scopes. Store and publisher evidence is separate from the dated captured-flow review in Design review. Coverage varies by offer and platform.
Publisher funding and business model
No source-backed funding or business-model summary is available in this profile yet.
The organization’s complete current funding mix and revenue are not established here. App payments, donations and capital raised describe different things; they do not determine an ethical assessment.
Organization profile and funding sourcesStore facts checked 25 October 2026 (version 5.12.14). Ratings are not downloads or active users. App-specific revenue and active users have not been verified; see the organization profile for separately scoped figures.
Store reviews
Store reviews offer useful questions to investigate. These retrieved samples are self-selected, vary by platform and do not establish the experience of every user.
Illustrative reading
Selected reviews are very old and report opening failures, including in a four-star review; no present-state verdict follows.
Based on 2 selected review excerpts, which may be historical; not a full thematic analysis. Review source
Review samples, reading and sources
- Google PlayEnglish / US requested
No written reviews in this retrieved sample fall within the recent window.
View Google Play listing- Google PlayGerman / DE requested
27 written reviews within the 180 days ending 25 October 2026.
4–5 stars: 223 stars: 21–2 stars: 3
View Google Play listing- Apple App StorePublic review page · default order
4 selected excerpts returned; these may be older and are not a recent or random sample.
Returned dates: 24 March 2014 – 15 February 2019.
View Apple reviews
Collected 28 October 2026. Up to 50 newest Play reviews per requested language/storefront before the date filter. Requested locale does not establish residence; streams may overlap and must not be added together. Star counts describe ratings, not text sentiment or ethical quality. Methods and limitations.
App Store screenshots
View the store listingPublisher-supplied images from the US App Store, checked 25 October 2026. Promotional artwork may include captions or composites; it shows how the publisher presents the app.
Show all 4 publisher imagesHide publisher gallery
Scroll to browse all 4 images. Select an image to open it at its sourced size.
Review notes
Reviewed, not yet placed
Evidence was gathered for these areas, but it does not yet support placing a choice on the frame.
Money and access
A German privacy statement from the publishing association opens with two buttons, Bestätigen (confirm) and Nicht jetzt (not now). The frame shows the choice, not what either choice changes.
Still to check:Activate an approved Apple in-app trial only with owner authentication; record entitlement, cancellation and expiring state. Distinguish the displayed quote from the Apple confirmation sheet and from actual charges.
Attention and agency
A warning states that notifications are disabled for the app on the device, so reminders will not arrive. Below are a bell-tone toggle and individual reminders for each hour (Invitatorium 7:00 AM through Tageslesungen 9:00 PM), all off. Mein Gebetsweg (my prayer path) shows 1 prayer day, current and longest series of 1 day, and history since 27 October 2026. The text says each filled square is a day on which the app was opened, and that older usage data is anonymized for privacy. Counts reflect research use on this device, not prayer practice.
Still to check:Distinguish existing account settings from first-install defaults. Observe delivered notifications over time; verify pause, refusal and recovery behavior without manufacturing personal activity.
Not reviewed yet: Truth and spiritual authority, Privacy and dignity, Formation and relationships, Care and inclusion, Craft and repair, Stewardship and accountability.
The ten principle questions For your own design review
These questions guide discernment; they are not ten scores for this app.
- Keep the Word distinct, and teach it truly
- Can a reader always tell Scripture from our words, and our words from a machine’s?
- Never speak for God
- Would we put our own name under this sentence, or are we borrowing God’s?
- Design for the most vulnerable first
- Who is the most vulnerable person likely to use this today, and what will they see?
- Welcome before you ask, and guard what is told in confidence
- If a friend read everything we keep about this person, would the person be glad?
- Feed the flock, not on it
- Does this serve growth in faith, or only the usage numbers?
- Make room for rest, and say when it is enough
- Where does our product stop, and does it ever tell someone they have done enough?
- Send people to God and to one another
- When someone closes what we built, are they closer to God and to other people?
- Plant and water; leave the growth to God
- What would we stop measuring if we believed growth is God’s?
- Make it well, as an offering
- Would we offer this to God as it is, and could the person with the least sight, time or reading ease use it?
- Hold it with joy and trembling, before God and others
- Who outside the team holds us to account, and who prays for the people who use this?
Use this in your own work
Start with the observed choice, then ask how your own implementation serves people. The evidence is a design example, rather than an app-wide recommendation.