Trueburn

Support

Email support@utileau.com and a person reads it — there is no ticket system and no bot. Include your device, your OS version, and what you were doing when it went wrong.

Common questions

Is it really free?

Yes. All of it, permanently. There is no subscription, no trial, no free tier and nothing locked. The adaptive coach — the part other apps charge for — is included. There is one optional tip in Settings if you want to chip in. It unlocks nothing, because nothing is locked.

Why is there no sign-up?

Because you do not need one. Your data lives on your phone and syncs through your own iCloud, so there is no account for us to create and no server for us to run. It also means we cannot lose your data in a breach, because we never have it.

Does it work offline?

Almost entirely. The 13,348-food database is built into the app, so searching and logging work with no signal at all — including in a supermarket basement. The one thing that needs a connection is looking up a barcode you have not scanned before. Once you have, that product is cached on your phone and works offline forever.

Why does it say "Still learning"?

Because it is being honest. On day one, Trueburn has nothing to go on but a formula, and formulas are routinely wrong by 300–400 calories a day. To measure your expenditure it needs roughly two weeks of data: about 10 logged days and at least 4 weigh-ins spanning a fortnight. The Coach tab shows exactly how far along it is.

What actually is "expenditure"?

How many calories you burn in a day, all in — not just exercise. Over any stretch of time, what you eat minus what you burn equals the change in your body mass. Trueburn knows what you ate and how your weight is trending, so it can work backwards to what you burn.

Why is my trend weight different from the scale?

Because the scale is mostly noise. Water, salt, glycogen, time of day and what is still in your gut move it by a kilo or two overnight — far more than a week of real fat loss. The trend line smooths that out. Your actual readings are still there, as the faint dots on the chart.

It changed my target. Why?

That is the point. Every week, Trueburn recalculates what you are actually burning and adjusts. If you would rather it asked first, set Coach → Mode → Adjustable. If you want it to leave your numbers alone entirely, set Fixed.

Why won't it let me go lower?

Trueburn will not set a target below 1,200 calories for women or 1,500 for men, will not aim for faster than about 1% of your bodyweight per week, and will not accept a goal weight below a healthy BMI. When one of those limits applies, the app says so rather than quietly changing your number. These are deliberate and they are not adjustable. Eating less than that is not something this app will help you do.

Does it use my Apple Watch calories?

It reads your weight from Health, but it deliberately ignores Health's Active Energy. That figure is itself an estimate with its own error, and counting it would double-count activity that your weight trend already reflects.

A food is missing

Generic foods use USDA naming, so search for what a thing is rather than a brand — “chicken breast”, not “Tesco chicken”. For branded and packaged food, scan the barcode. If it is genuinely not there, add it once from the label (Foods → + → New food) and it is yours forever. The generic database is American, so some non-US everyday foods are missing.

A barcode isn't recognised

Barcodes come from Open Food Facts, a public database anyone can contribute to. If a product is not in it, add it from the label and Trueburn will remember the barcode. You can also add it to Open Food Facts through their own app so the next person finds it.

Can I bring my data from another app?

Yes. Settings → Import a file reads Trueburn's own export, and CSV exports from MyFitnessPal, MacroFactor and Cronometer. Importing the same file twice will not duplicate anything.

Can I get my data out?

Any time, from Settings → Export, as JSON or CSV. No conditions, no paywall.

Is my data backed up?

If iCloud is on for Trueburn, yes — into your own iCloud account, and it will follow you to a new phone signed in with the same Apple Account. If iCloud is off, your data is only on that one phone. Settings tells you which of the two you are in, in plain words.

How do I delete everything?

Settings → Delete all data. It wipes the copy on your phone and the copy in your iCloud, offers you an export first, and cannot be undone. Just deleting the app removes the phone's copy but leaves the iCloud one, so if you want it all gone, do this first.

Will it nag me?

No. Everything except the weekly check-in is off unless you switch it on, quiet hours apply to all of them, and none of the wording tells you off for not logging.