MyFitnessPal
The dominant pain point—accounting for over half of all negative reviews—is MFP's recent UI redesign, which shattered a fast, single-screen diary into a fragmented, click-heavy experience and simultaneously broke or removed beloved features like cross-day item copying and simultaneous nutrient tracking. Compounding this, paywall creep has locked previously free essentials (barcode scanning, macro views) behind an ~$80/year subscription that users feel is unjustified given a worse product, with billing surprises and unresponsive support accelerating cancellations. The single biggest clone-and-fix opportunity is a clean, single-screen food diary with permanent free barcode scanning and macro tracking, transparent pricing, and a stable feature set—this configuration directly attacks every top grievance simultaneously.
Pain points, ranked
13 clusters. Highest frequency first.
� Clunky, fragmented UI after redesign
52% · 62 reviewsA major app overhaul replaced a clean, single-screen diary with a multi-click, fragmented layout. Long-time users find core tasks like viewing macros or deleting entries require far more steps, and many loyal subscribers have cancelled as a direct result.
“New UI requires extra clicks just to see what I ate”
“Diary, which is the whole point, no longer has its own page”
A competitor offering a dense, single-screen food diary with minimal taps to log and view meals would immediately attract the large exodus of frustrated MFP veterans.
� Paywalling previously free features
16% · 19 reviewsCore features like barcode scanning, quick-add, and basic macro views that were once free are now locked behind a paid subscription, making the app feel deceptive to new and returning users.
“Barcode scanning is now a paid feature—what absolute parasites”
“Can't see basic macros without paying for a plan”
A competitor keeping barcode scanning and macro tracking permanently free would win a large segment of price-sensitive, loyalty-burned users instantly.
� Missing or broken features after update
8% · 10 reviewsThe redesign removed or broke specific high-use features such as copying individual food items across days, simultaneous nutrient tracking, fasting controls, and step tracking integration.
“Can no longer copy a single item to another day, only full meals”
“Can't track protein and fiber at the same time—must choose one”
A competitor maintaining a stable, well-tested feature set with granular nutrient tracking and flexible copy-paste logging would directly address this reliability gap.
� Misleading pricing and billing surprises
7% · 8 reviewsUsers report being charged large annual fees (~$80–86) with little warning, sometimes before the trial period ends, and finding customer support unresponsive when disputing charges.
“Charged $86 a day before trial expired on day 6”
“Stated $7/month, then billed $85.99 at end of trial”
A competitor with transparent, clearly communicated pricing and a fair cancellation policy would stand out strongly against MFP's pattern of billing complaints.
� Poor customer support and unresolved bugs
4% · 5 reviewsUsers report reaching out for bugs—broken diary printing, login failures, incorrect calorie data—only to receive unhelpful, dismissive, or no responses at all, even on paid plans.
“Asked for help; they said they didn't know how to fix it”
“Paid for premium; app broke after 12 days, no support response”
A competitor investing in responsive, knowledgeable support with clear escalation paths would retain at-risk subscribers who feel abandoned by MFP.
� Login and session stability issues
6% · 7 reviewsUsers are frequently and unexpectedly logged out—sometimes multiple times a day—with broken Apple, Facebook, and authenticator logins causing loss of saved data, favourites, and streaks.
“Forced update logged me out; lost all my favourite foods”
“App kicks you out mid-meal entry; can't use fingerprint login”
A competitor with rock-solid multi-provider authentication, biometric login, and automatic session recovery would eliminate a recurring source of data loss and churn.
� Aggressive and guilt-tripping push notifications
6% · 7 reviewsMFP's reminder notifications use a sarcastic or shaming tone that users describe as bullying and condescending, with multiple users citing this as the sole reason they deleted the app.
“'Having a good day? Doesn't matter. LOG SOMETHING NOW'”
“Sends 'pls don't make us remind you again'—makes me want another app”
A competitor using warm, optional, and customisable encouragement-based reminders would win users actively fleeing MFP's hostile messaging style.
� Performance degradation after update
3% · 4 reviewsThe new version is noticeably slower, times out, and glitches on meal entries, making daily logging feel sluggish compared to the previous experience.
“New app is slower and times out on me”
“Multiple tabs cause everything to load more slowly”
A competitor prioritising lightweight, fast performance for the repetitive daily logging action would feel refreshingly efficient to users burned by MFP's slowdown.
� Intrusive ads and upsell prompts
3% · 4 reviewsUsers on both free and paid tiers encounter intrusive ads and repeated premium upsell prompts every time they open the app, including an ad displayed when attempting to delete an account.
“Too many ads; Samsung Health does the same for free”
“Got a premium ad when I pressed 'delete account'”
A competitor offering a truly ad-free experience for paying users and limiting upsell prompts to a reasonable frequency would immediately appear more respectful and trustworthy.
� Intrusive gamification pop-ups
3% · 3 reviewsStreak-loss pop-ups and celebratory animations interrupt the logging flow daily, feeling patronising and annoying especially to paying users who want to track food quietly.
“Streak popup every day feels like a 10-day punishment”
“I pay $80/year to be interrupted with a condescending pat on the back”
A competitor making all gamification elements opt-in and dismissible would appeal to serious trackers wanting a distraction-free, professional-feeling tool.
� Data sync and logging accuracy bugs
3% · 3 reviewsLogged meals fail to sync across devices or get duplicated, rendering the core tracking function unreliable. Android users in particular report months-long sync failures with no resolution.
“Every meal I add doubles all my entries—stopped using it”
“Stopped syncing on Android for months; told to use the website instead”
A competitor with robust real-time cross-device sync and data integrity checks would directly address a deal-breaking reliability failure.
� Premium pricing seen as too expensive
3% · 3 reviewsUsers feel the subscription cost is unjustifiably high, especially given simultaneous degradation of the free tier and a worsening overall experience.
“Too expensive for premium”
“20 bucks a month to easily log food—highway robbery”
A competitor offering a generous free tier or a lower-cost premium plan would convert users willing to pay but feeling exploited by current pricing.
� Privacy and data security concerns
2% · 2 reviewsUsers cite a past data breach exposing personal information and coercive GDPR consent flows that force account deletion if EU data-transfer consent is withdrawn.
“Was hacked and my info sold on the dark web”
“Can't withdraw data-transfer consent without deleting my account—not how GDPR works”
A competitor with transparent, genuinely flexible privacy controls and a clean security track record would build significant trust with privacy-conscious users.
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