NutriLogQuestions & answers
Short answers to what people ask most. If your question is missing, write to contact@nutrilog.org.
Is NutriLog free?
Yes. Scanning, searching, logging, your daily target and your macros cost nothing, with no time limit. For free you see the last 14 days; older entries are hidden, not deleted. NutriLog Plus costs €29.99 a year or €3.49 a month and unlocks your whole history, trends, iCloud sync, widgets and the weekly review. Until the App Store launch, NutriLog is free through TestFlight.
TestFlight is asking for a code. What now?
First install the TestFlight app from the App Store. Then open the link from your NutriLog email on your iPhone and tap “Accept” and “Install”. TestFlight only asks for a code when you open it directly instead of through the link: go back to the email and tap the link there once more. If Apple invited you by email, the button there is called “View in TestFlight”.
Do I need an account?
No. NutriLog has no account and no server of its own. Your entries live on your iPhone, and with Plus also in your own iCloud, so they are the same on all your devices.
Does NutriLog work without internet?
Mostly. More than 7,000 unpackaged foods are built into the app, from an egg to kale, and can be found in airplane mode too. The barcode scanner and the search for packaged products need a connection, because that data comes from Open Food Facts.
Why doesn’t the scanner find a product, or only without calories?
Because not every product is in Open Food Facts yet. The database is kept by volunteers and knows packaged food from Germany and France very well, from other countries less so — around 9,400 products from Denmark, for example. When the scanner finds nothing, NutriLog opens “New product” with the barcode already filled in; when the database knows the product but not its nutrition, the name and brand are there too. You enter the figures from the packet once, and from then on the scanner finds it every time.
Does NutriLog find dishes too, not only products?
Yes. Open Food Facts only knows packaged products with a barcode — the ready-made bolognese from the supermarket, but not the plate of spaghetti you cooked at home. For that, the app has around 7,000 foods and dishes built in from the German national food table (Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel, Max Rubner-Institut), from spaghetti bolognese to goulash and cheese spaetzle. If you cook something of your own, create it once under “New dish” from its ingredients; from then on the search finds it like any other food.
Why is a product named in another language?
Because that is the only name it has in Open Food Facts. NutriLog always asks for the name in your language first and only takes another one when there is none. The foods built into the app all have a German, English and French name. You can change a foreign product name with “Correct this product…”; it then applies to that product for you.
Which scales and watches work?
Any that share their data with Apple Health: Withings, Garmin, Suunto, the Apple Watch and many more. NutriLog reads weight and workouts from Apple Health and needs no connection of its own to the maker.
How does NutriLog work out my daily target?
From three figures: your base burn, your workouts and your deficit. NutriLog first estimates your base burn from age, height, weight and everyday routine, and after about three weeks checks it against your real weight trend. With Plus, every workout from Apple Health is added, exactly once, even when your watch and your phone both report it.
I did two workouts in one day. Do both count?
Yes. With Plus, separate workouts are added up, even when they come from different devices — a morning walk recorded on the iPhone and an afternoon run on the watch, say. When two devices record the same workout at the same time, it counts once, from the fuller recording.
Why don’t my steps count towards my daily target?
Because your everyday routine is already in your base burn. Adding the steps would count the same movement twice and set your target too high. NutriLog shows your steps but doesn’t calculate with them.
Can I just type “2 bread rolls”?
Yes. A number in front of a food becomes the amount: “2 bread rolls”, “two eggs” or “150 g rice” opens the portion already set. The search finds singular and plural alike.
What happens to my data?
It stays with you. NutriLog sends no entries to us and has no analytics and no ads. Only when you search for or scan a product does the search term or barcode go to Open Food Facts. The details are in the privacy policy.
What happens if I cancel Plus?
Nothing is lost. Entries older than 14 days are hidden and come back as soon as you have Plus again. iCloud sync ends: new entries then stay on the iPhone you make them on.
Can I export my data?
Yes, with Plus: as a PDF with daily totals and weight, for your doctor for instance, or as a CSV table for Excel or Numbers.
Does NutriLog send notifications?
Yes, but none shows a number on the lock screen. The weigh-in reminder comes if you switch it on, and with Plus a Sunday 7 pm note that your weekly review is ready. Every notification can be switched off in Settings.
Is there NutriLog for Android?
Not yet. An Android version is planned; there is no date yet.
Which languages is NutriLog in?
German, English and French. You pick the language in the app, independent of your iPhone, and it applies to the food names too.