Hunting apps in 2026: a comparison of digital tools

On 20 January 2026, at 5:30 in the morning, attackers broke into the FNC’s (Fédération nationale des chasseurs, the national hunters’ federation) hunting licence validation portal. Personal data exposed. A declaration to the CNIL (the French data protection authority). A criminal complaint filed.

A few weeks later, data from the SIA (Système d’Information sur les Armes, the national firearms registry) appeared on specialist forums. A compromised gun dealer account was reportedly behind the breach.

And yet, on 25 March, the same FNC launched ChassExam: a free mobile app, 400 official questions, mock exam mode with a timer. Bronze, silver and gold badges to track your progress.

Three events in under three months. French hunting is entering the digital age, with all the promise and risk that brings. This guide covers the tools available in 2026, compares what they actually do, and tells you what to put in place so you are not caught off guard.

Updated: April 2026

Five criteria for assessing a digital hunting tool

Before comparing apps, here are the criteria that actually matter for a hunter or a society chairman.

1. Functional scope: does the tool cover the right need? Preparing the exam, validating a licence and managing driven hunts are three separate tasks. No single app does everything.
2. Data security: hosting in France or the European Union, GDPR compliance, encryption of personal data. After January 2026, this is not a box to tick: it is a concrete criterion.
3. Mobile accessibility: your society probably includes hunters between 50 and 70 years old. An interface that needs three setup screens to send an invitation is not usable.
4. True cost: free to download does not mean free to use. Know the difference between freemiums, hidden subscriptions and genuinely free models.
5. Maintenance and updates: hunting regulations change every season. A tool that has not been updated for two years may leave you with incorrect data on authorised species or quotas.

The digital tools available in 2026, one by one

permischasser.ofb.fr: the compulsory regulatory tool

permischasser.ofb.fr is the official portal of the OFB (Office français de la biodiversité, the national biodiversity agency) for the hunting licence. Its use is not optional: annual licence validation is done exclusively online. There is no paper alternative.

This is where you register a candidate for the exam, pay the fees (31 euros for minors over 16, 46 euros for adults1) and validate your licence each season.

The exam is marked out of 31, with a pass mark of 25 and one eliminatory question on safety.1 The portal’s interface is rough, but it does its job. The real advantage: it is a state service, hosted independently from the FNC. It was not affected by the January 2026 incident.

Who for: all hunters, without exception. It is the only tool on this list that is a legal obligation.

Cost: free to access, excluding exam fees and the annual licence validation charge.

Available on: web only, no mobile app.

ChassExam: 400 questions so you don’t fail the licence exam

ChassExam is the FNC’s official app for preparing the hunting licence exam. It was launched on 25 March 2026.2

Over 400 official questions, updated each year. The FNC took a clear educational approach: each answer comes with an explanation of why it is correct or not. The aim is not rote learning but understanding.

Each question comes with detailed explanations, encouraging understanding of the rules and their logic, beyond simple memorisation.

FNC, official description of ChassExam, March 20262

The mock exam mode simulates real conditions with a timer. A badge system (bronze, silver, gold) lets you track your progress without having to calculate your score manually.

The launch of ChassExam is part of a broader FNC strategy: 57% of licence candidates today are under 30.3 Women account for nearly a quarter of new registrants in several departments. The FNC wants a tool that speaks to this audience, not only to those who learn from the paper booklet.

The credibility and future of hunting depend on better-trained hunters and on passing this responsible practice on to the next generation.

Constance Bouquet, FNC, March 20262

Who for: candidates for the hunting licence, but also hunters who want to revise the regulations or welcome newcomers to their society.

Cost: entirely free, with no in-app purchase.

Available on: iOS, Android, and a web version on chasseurdefrance.com.

Other FNC tools

The FNC operates several digital tools beyond the licence:

• Cyn’Actions Biodiv’: a platform documenting biodiversity projects, with over 1,000 projects listed. Useful for societies that want to highlight their land management work to landowners or local councils.
• FNC GPS telemetry: a portal for tracking animal movements, aimed at land managers and federations that fit animals with GPS collars.
• FNC TV: a video platform on hunting practices and federation life.

These tools complement a digital strategy that now includes TikTok and Snapchat in the March 2026 communications campaign, with over 1,400 scheduled TV broadcasts.3 The FNC no longer communicates solely to active hunters. It is trying to reach the 5 million French people whom IFOP estimates are potentially interested in hunting.3

The DIY approach: Excel, WhatsApp and paper logbooks

Most French hunting societies operate with a patchwork of unconnected tools: a spreadsheet for members, WhatsApp for invitations, paper logbooks for harvest tallies.

This approach has real advantages. No subscription. Everyone knows how to use it. Zero friction to get started.

It also has structural limits that show once you pass 20 members. A few situations you have probably lived through:

• The participant list from the last WhatsApp message no longer matches the spreadsheet updated the day before.
• The hunt logbook is in the secretary’s car, and the secretary is not on the ground that day.
• You chase up three times by text before getting a membership fee payment.
• No quick way to know who has validated their licence for the current season.

The real cost of the DIY approach is not a monthly subscription. It is the hours the secretary spends on repetitive tasks and the coordination errors that frustrate participants.

Who for: small societies with fewer than 15 members and a reliable, available secretary. Hard to sustain over time when numbers grow or the secretary changes.

Cost: free in appearance. Time-consuming in practice.

Mes Chasses: complete hunting society management

Mes Chasses is designed for chairmen and secretaries who want to centralise management in a single tool: members, driven hunts, mapping, documents, payments and harvest tracking.

Unlike the tools presented above, Mes Chasses covers the entire cycle of a season: from inviting participants to collecting shared costs, through mapping the hunting ground and real-time tracking (Live Hunt). The secretary sends invitations from the app, sees in real time who has confirmed, and assigns stands from the same interface. Participants receive the information directly on their phone.

A society chairman in Gironde managing 40 members currently has to juggle permischasser.ofb.fr for validations, SIA declarations at the gun dealer, ChassExam for new candidates, and a management tool for driven hunts. Mes Chasses covers the last block, the most time-consuming one in daily use.

Who for: chairmen and secretaries of hunting societies, driven hunt organisers, private estate managers with several teams.

Cost: free to start, paid subscription for advanced features. No credit card required at registration.

Available on: web and mobile (iOS and Android).

Comparison table: which tool for which need

The incident that changes everything: cybersecurity comes to hunting societies

Cybersecurity is not only a concern for large companies. The FNC and the SIA learned that the hard way at the start of 2026.

What happened with the FNC

On 20 January 2026 at 5:30, attackers penetrated the members’ area of the FNC’s single-window licence validation portal. Personal data was exposed: names, contact details, information linked to licence validation. Banking data, firearms information and passwords were not compromised, according to the official statement.4

The attack was stopped very quickly and its scope was limited.

Fédération nationale des chasseurs, security statement, January 20264

The FNC declared the incident to the CNIL and filed a criminal complaint. Standard procedure in such cases.

The real risk after this kind of breach is phishing. Attackers who hold hunters’ email addresses can send fake FNC emails asking you to “update” your credentials. A classic technique, and it works even better when the recipients are not expecting it. Hunting society chairmen reported attempts of this kind in the weeks following the incident.

What happened with the SIA

A few weeks after the FNC incident, a hacker claimed to have accessed the Système d’Information sur les Armes, the national registry of declared firearms.5 According to an investigation by Chasse Passion, a gun dealer account was reportedly compromised, providing access to the database.6

The SIA lists declared firearms alongside their owners’ names and addresses. A leak at this level is not an abstract risk. Le Chasseur Francais covered the story cautiously: the data actually exfiltrated remained to be verified at the time of publication.5

What this changes in practice for your society

A society chairman holds members’ personal data: names, addresses, licence numbers, bank details for membership fees. All personal data under the GDPR. If your management relies on an unencrypted spreadsheet shared by email, you are not compliant and you are exposing your members.

Three habits to adopt now:

1. Unique passwords on permischasser.ofb.fr, the FNC members’ area and your departmental federation. Not the same password everywhere: if one account is compromised, the others stay protected.
2. Two-factor authentication (also called 2FA or two-step verification) on all hunting-related accounts. The vast majority of individual account breaches target accounts without 2FA.
3. Be cautious with emails asking you to click a link to “confirm your licence” or “update your details”. The FNC will never ask for your password by email. If in doubt: go directly to the official website, without using the link you received.

How to choose based on your profile

You are a candidate for the hunting licence

Two tools are enough. permischasser.ofb.fr for exam registration. ChassExam to prepare the content. Both are free. Start ChassExam at least three weeks before your exam date. The mock exam mode will give you a reliable measure of your level before the day itself.

You are an individual hunter with no association responsibilities

permischasser.ofb.fr is enough for annual validation. If your society uses Mes Chasses, you will receive driven hunt invitations and information directly on your phone without any extra steps.

You chair or manage a society of 15 to 50 hunters

The DIY approach holds up to about 20 members with a rigorous secretary. Above that, list errors, late payments and incomplete hunt logbooks pile up. A centralised tool pays for itself from the first season, in time saved by the secretary.

Checklist before choosing a management tool:

1. Is it hosted in France or the European Union?
2. Is it GDPR compliant (clear privacy policy, accessible data processing register)?
3. Is the mobile interface usable by a 60-year-old hunter with no particular IT training?
4. Are regulatory updates integrated automatically (opening dates, species, quotas)?
5. Is there human support available during the season, not just a chatbot?

You manage a private estate with several hunting teams

Hunting ground management by sector, harvest records by zone, multi-user access for different teams: none of this is covered by Excel or WhatsApp. A dedicated tool is clearly justified once the estate exceeds a few dozen hectares.

5 digital best practices for your hunting society in 2026

1. Digitise harvest tracking. A digital tally that all members can view, updated in real time after each outing, removes transcription errors and makes end-of-season federation declarations easier.
2. Centralise member management in a GDPR-compliant tool. An unencrypted spreadsheet on a shared computer does not constitute a compliant database. Any association that collects members’ personal data is subject to GDPR obligations, hunting societies included.
3. Brief your members on the FNC incident at your next meeting. A phishing email targeting hunters after the January 2026 leak could hit any member on your list. Two sentences are enough: no FNC email will ever ask for your password, and if in doubt, go to the website by typing the address yourself.
4. Enable two-factor authentication on your hunting accounts. permischasser.ofb.fr, the FNC members’ area, your departmental federation. Two minutes to set up, significant protection against unauthorised access.
5. Do not confuse the tools. ChassExam prepares for the licence. permischasser.ofb.fr validates the licence. Mes Chasses organises the society. These needs are distinct. Looking for one tool that does everything is a dead end: every tool that tries ends up doing nothing well.

Quick decision guide

You need to pass the hunting licence: permischasser.ofb.fr for registration, ChassExam to revise.

You need to organise your society: if you have fewer than 15 members with an available secretary, the DIY approach can hold. Above that, a dedicated tool pays for itself from the first season.

You need to manage your hunting ground by sector, organise stands on a map and track your teams in real time during driven hunts: neither Excel nor WhatsApp covers that. That is where Mes Chasses comes in.

The 2026-2027 season is around the corner. Digital tools for hunting have multiplied, but they do not address the same needs. ChassExam covers exam preparation. permischasser.ofb.fr handles the licence. To organise your society, your driven hunts and your day-to-day hunting ground management, you need something else.

Mes Chasses is built for that: member management, driven hunt invitations, mapping, real-time tracking, payments between members. Try it free on meschasses.com.

References