Glucose Buddy app

Overview
Reviews
Reviews

An app aimed at people with diabetes wanting to record and track their blood glucose levels, activity and nutrition.

Glucose Buddy	By Azumio
	Features Blood glucose diary Medication tracking HbA1c recording Food log Graphs and reports Blood glucose check reminder Physical activity log Blood pressure log Get the app from
Clinical review	Read a clinical review of this app.
User reviews	(0) Have you used this app? Tell us what you think of it. Rate this app
Privacy and security	Does the app: collect medical information? Yes require a login? No have password protection? Yes have a privacy policy? Yes require internet access? Yes Read more safety tips around health apps.
Cost	Free (basic) Paid upgrade (has additional features) For more details on pricing see the app website. Learn more about app charges

What does the app do?

The Glucose Buddy app allows you to manually enter your blood glucose readings together with notes about food intake. You can pair it with your blood glucose meter if compatible. You can also enter your carbohydrate consumption, insulin dosages and activities. This can be automatically included from Apple Health Data if enabled. You can use the graph function to track your blood glucose levels over a selected period. Reports can be downloaded and shared.

The meal IQ section enables you to take photos of your meal, and then log your blood glucose. It will grade your meal depending on how it impacted your blood glucose to help you to make better food choices. You can share your results with other users, including your exercise and nutrition goals.

For the complete app description, go to either Google Play (Android) or iTunes (Apple) and for a detailed review, see Reviews.

PROS	CONS
✔ It is easy to view trends because the time frame for the graphs are flexible, showing 7 days, 14 days or a month.	✘ Takes a while to include nutritional information but if you have a regular diet you can copy previous entries. ✘ There are pop-up ads which are distracting. ✘ Many additional functions and features are only available with paid upgrade.

Review details

April 2020: Version 5.234, Apple, internal and clinical review
June 2016: Version 1.0, Android, internal and clinical review

App developer
If you are the developer and would like to provide updated information about this app, please email the app library manager at applibrary@healthnavigator.org.nz.

Related resources

This app has been reviewed by other independent websites.

Glucose Buddy My Health Apps

References

Rhyner D, Loher H, Dehais J, et al. Carbohydrate estimation by a mobile phone-based system versus self-estimations of individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a comparative study. J Med Internet Res. 2016 May 11;18(5):e101.
Deacon AJ, Edirippulige S. Using mobile technology to motivate adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review of recent literature. J Telemed Telecare. 2015 Dec;21(8):431-8.

Disclaimer: Health Navigator’s app library is a free consumer service to help you decide whether a health app would be suitable for you. Our review process is independent. We have no relationship with the app developers or companies and no responsibility for the service they provide. This means that if you have an issue with one of the apps we have reviewed, you will need to contact the app developer or company directly.

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Credits: Health Navigator Editorial Team. Last reviewed: 03 Apr 2020 Page last updated: 05 Apr 2022

User review

Reviewer: Member of the public, Auckland, New Zealand
Date of review: September 2021
Comments: Meal IQ gives carbohydrate calculations from a photo without leaving the app.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Angela Lambie, Pharmacist, Waitematā District Health Board
Date of review: April 2020
Version: 5.234 (Apple)
Comments: Many issues with the earlier versions have been resolved with upgraded versions of the app. The premium version enables an HbA1c calculator and more frequent blood glucose graphs and reports (default is weekly for the free version).
Safety concerns: No.
New Zealand relevance: The app can pair with blood glucose monitors that are available in New Zealand. Units can be adjusted to suit New Zealand, eg, recording weight in kilograms and HbA1c in percentages.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Gail Keane, Registered Nurse, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Self-management Coordinator, Waitematā PHO
Date of review: July 2016
Version: 1.0 (Android)
Comments: Overall this app is not particularly helpful or easy to use and I would be hesitant to recommend it. It may have limited use in a younger user who is more technically savvy and has type 1 diabetes, although I think there would be better apps than this. For someone with type 2 diabetes who often already has established co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease, I would more likely recommend the MyFitnessPal app as it gives a greater range of recording options in terms of recording portion size and calories, and provides comprehensive nutritional information. There also seems to be a better connection between exercise and food intake on MyFitnessPal in terms of overall management. The flow and navigation of the Glucose Buddy app is poor – it is tedious to constantly switch between screens to record information. It is frustrating that settings such as measurement in kilograms do not automatically carry across to the weight section as it defaults to pounds. On the whole the app is cumbersome and awkward to use.
New Zealand relevance: Measurements can be stored as metric units such as kilograms and centimetres, as used in New Zealand, but this function does not appear to work very well. Has the option for the user to record blood glucose measurements in mmol/L and HbA1C as percentages – units used in New Zealand.