MyFitnessPal regressive upgrade: Difference between revisions
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|Description=MyFitnessPal forced an unannounced update on it's paid subscribers that retracted functionality and is unusable due to performance issues. | |Description=MyFitnessPal forced an unannounced update on it's paid subscribers that retracted functionality and is unusable due to performance issues. | ||
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{{IncidentCargo | |||
|Company=MyFitnessPal | |||
|Product=MyFitnessPal app | |||
|StartDate=~2025-08-27 | |||
|Status=Ongoing | |||
|Type=Digital restrictions | |||
|Description=MyFitnessPal rolled out a mandatory update to its mobile application that removed core features, worsened the user interface, and moved a previously free feature behind a paywall, despite overwhelmingly negative feedback during a public test phase. | |||
}} | |||
{{IncidentCargo | {{IncidentCargo | ||
|Company=MyFitnessPal | |Company=MyFitnessPal | ||
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During the test phase, users expressed frustration that their feedback was being ignored, with one user asking, "Why go ahead with this change when you've had quite literally no positive feedback so far?"<ref name="forum-announcement-test"/> Another noted that the company had attempted a similar unpopular redesign in the past and had to revert it, asking, "Did they not read the forum from the last time they tried to change it and had to change it back because it was so bad??!!"<ref name="forum-announcement-test"/> | During the test phase, users expressed frustration that their feedback was being ignored, with one user asking, "Why go ahead with this change when you've had quite literally no positive feedback so far?"<ref name="forum-announcement-test"/> Another noted that the company had attempted a similar unpopular redesign in the past and had to revert it, asking, "Did they not read the forum from the last time they tried to change it and had to change it back because it was so bad??!!"<ref name="forum-announcement-test"/> | ||
Following the mandatory rollout, the consumer backlash intensified on social media platforms. Many users, some of whom have used the app for several years, feel that critical functionality was removed without warning, disrupting their health management routines. The company's response has been described by some as "gaslighting," as support channels allegedly | Following the mandatory rollout, the consumer backlash intensified on social media platforms. Many users, some of whom have used the app for several years, feel that critical functionality was removed without warning, disrupting their health management routines. The company's response has been described by some as "gaslighting," as support channels allegedly deflected criticism by creating support tickets that go unresolved.<ref name="report">{{cite web |title=User Report on MyFitnessPal Update | url=https://mdbin.pages.dev/rexsqb |website=MdBin |date=2025-11-03 |access-date=2025-11-03}}</ref> | ||
Users drew parallels between the MyFitnessPal update and other controversial software rollouts, such as a recent botched update by Sonos that also resulted in a significant loss of functionality for its users.<ref name="reddit-sonos">{{cite web |title=Just like the Sonos update: everything's broken now |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o6ps97/just_like_the_sonos_update_everythings_broken_now/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-14 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | Users drew parallels between the MyFitnessPal update and other controversial software rollouts, such as a recent botched update by Sonos that also resulted in a significant loss of functionality for its users.<ref name="reddit-sonos">{{cite web |title=Just like the Sonos update: everything's broken now |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o6ps97/just_like_the_sonos_update_everythings_broken_now/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-14 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | ||
Users on the company's official subreddit challenged the claim that the update was a "long standing feature request," with one asking, "Who, exactly, asked for all these changes?"<ref name="reddit-announcement-rollout"/> Another user criticized the decision to release an incomplete product: "If features that people use aren't ready for your upgrade, then the upgrade isn't ready."<ref name="reddit-announcement-rollout"/> One commenter stated, "MyFitnessPal needs to literally revert to the old build before all this new crap happened. Exactly zero people asked for any of this."<ref name="reddit-revert-build">{{cite web |title=Chronometer is… |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1oeddh7/chronometer_is/nl3ld4g/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-22 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> The update's negative reputation was so widespread that users who had not yet received it posted screenshots of the old interface, asking if they had the "version everyone hates." Other users would confirm they were still on the old version and warn them not to update, with one commenting, "I wish I could go back."<ref name="reddit-version-hate">{{cite web |title=Is this the version everyone hates? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1occygz/is_this_the_version_everyone_hates/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-21 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> A user with a 13-year history with the app stated, "MFP used to be so engaging and inspiring when I started... It feels so empty and broken."<ref name="reddit-13-years">{{cite web |title=Deleted my account |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o7oo09/deleted_my_account/njq5t47/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-16 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> Another long-time user said, "I have used this app for 15 years and I'm seriously contemplating switching to something else."<ref name="reddit-hate-it">{{cite web |title=I hate it |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o6q3qx/i_hate_it/njitt8b/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-14 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> Another user with a 14-year history with the app announced they were also leaving.<ref name="reddit-14-years">{{cite web |title=Deleted my account |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o7oo09/deleted_my_account/nk4eox2/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-18 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | Users on the company's official subreddit challenged the claim that the update was a "long standing feature request," with one asking, "Who, exactly, asked for all these changes?"<ref name="reddit-announcement-rollout"/> Another user criticized the decision to release an incomplete product: "If features that people use aren't ready for your upgrade, then the upgrade isn't ready."<ref name="reddit-announcement-rollout"/> | ||
One commenter stated, "MyFitnessPal needs to literally revert to the old build before all this new crap happened. Exactly zero people asked for any of this."<ref name="reddit-revert-build">{{cite web |title=Chronometer is… |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1oeddh7/chronometer_is/nl3ld4g/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-22 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | |||
The update's negative reputation was so widespread that users who had not yet received it posted screenshots of the old interface, asking if they had the "version everyone hates." Other users would confirm they were still on the old version and warn them not to update, with one commenting, "I wish I could go back."<ref name="reddit-version-hate">{{cite web |title=Is this the version everyone hates? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1occygz/is_this_the_version_everyone_hates/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-21 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | |||
A user with a 13-year history with the app stated, "MFP used to be so engaging and inspiring when I started... It feels so empty and broken."<ref name="reddit-13-years">{{cite web |title=Deleted my account |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o7oo09/deleted_my_account/njq5t47/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-16 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | |||
Another long-time user said, "I have used this app for 15 years and I'm seriously contemplating switching to something else."<ref name="reddit-hate-it">{{cite web |title=I hate it |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o6q3qx/i_hate_it/njitt8b/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-14 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | |||
Another user with a 14-year history with the app announced they were also leaving.<ref name="reddit-14-years">{{cite web |title=Deleted my account |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o7oo09/deleted_my_account/nk4eox2/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-18 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | |||
One long-term user of 15 years noted that "simple tasks like copying and pasting" and "viewing all meals" were now problematic, and that the graph on the home screen was gone.<ref name="reddit-goodbye">{{cite web |title=Goodbye myfitness Pal |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o7haul/goodbye_myfitness_pal/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-15 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | |||
Another user echoed this, stating, "The new UI is awful. I cannot copy meals from previous days. I have having to click on a day of the week or (worse) if it is a Sunday, click to get to the previous week and then click again. I am now forever clicking on this new UI."<ref name="reddit-awful-ui">{{cite web |title=Introducing the Brand New "Today" Tab! |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o7l6iz/introducing_the_brand_new_today_tab/nkbk8wk/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-19 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | |||
One user who had just subscribed days before the update compared the new version to running Windows in "Safe Mode" due to its "limited functionality." They noted that the layout "sucks" and that it now takes "multiple clicks to get to one screen."<ref name="reddit-safe-mode">{{cite web |title=New MyFitnessPal layout sucks — can’t copy meals anymore?? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o6ntd5/new_myfitnesspal_layout_sucks_cant_copy_meals/njht7es/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-14 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | One user who had just subscribed days before the update compared the new version to running Windows in "Safe Mode" due to its "limited functionality." They noted that the layout "sucks" and that it now takes "multiple clicks to get to one screen."<ref name="reddit-safe-mode">{{cite web |title=New MyFitnessPal layout sucks — can’t copy meals anymore?? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o6ntd5/new_myfitnesspal_layout_sucks_cant_copy_meals/njht7es/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-14 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | ||
Due to the perceived decline in usability and the company's refusal to roll back the update, users began actively seeking and recommending alternative food tracking applications. One user, after receiving a refund, noted the end of their "700+ day logging streak" and recommended "Chronometer" as a free alternative.<ref name="reddit-refund"/> Another user, who had used the app for over ten years, announced they were deleting their account and moving to "LoseIt," describing the MyFitnessPal app as an "abusive partner."<ref name="reddit-deleted-account">{{cite web |title=Deleted my account |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o7oo09/deleted_my_account/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-16 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> Another user who switched to LoseIt commented that it had a "MUCH better interface and half the cost."<ref name="reddit-loseit-better">{{cite web |title=Left for LoseIt |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1ok1bfd/left_for_loseit/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-30 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | Due to the perceived decline in usability and the company's refusal to roll back the update, users began actively seeking and recommending alternative food tracking applications. One user, after receiving a refund, noted the end of their "700+ day logging streak" and recommended "Chronometer" as a free alternative.<ref name="reddit-refund"/> Another user, who had used the app for over ten years, announced they were deleting their account and moving to "LoseIt," describing the MyFitnessPal app as an "abusive partner."<ref name="reddit-deleted-account">{{cite web |title=Deleted my account |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1o7oo09/deleted_my_account/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-16 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | ||
Another user who switched to LoseIt commented that it had a "MUCH better interface and half the cost."<ref name="reddit-loseit-better">{{cite web |title=Left for LoseIt |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Myfitnesspal/comments/1ok1bfd/left_for_loseit/ |website=Reddit |date=2025-10-30 |access-date=2025-11-05}}</ref> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||