In this post, we explore how smartphone apps are transforming diabetes care. This is done by improving time in range through better tracking and smart insights while having a little fun.

📲 How Do Apps Improve Time in Range?

Apps improve time in range by simplifying and enhancing diabetes data tracking, offering personalized insights, and encouraging consistent engagement. Time in range is the percentage of time blood glucose stays within a target level. Typically we want this percentage to be above 70% for patients with diabetes. 

Being able to use technology to our advantage with diabetes can be done in several ways:

  1. Streamlined Tracking: It allows users to log meals, exercise, insulin, and blood glucose in one place, often with camera-based food logging or automatic data sync from CGMs or glucometers.
  2. AI and Pattern Detection: To analyze trends and suggest improvements regarding recurring highs/lows and meal impacts.
  3. Motivation through Gamification: The use of game elements, rewards, and animated characters can make tracking more engaging.
  4. Data Sharing and Coaching: This can be shared with healthcare providers, family members, friends, and other important people in our lives. 
  5. All-in-One Convenience: By syncing data from various sources (CGM, fitness trackers, food apps), apps can give users a view of how lifestyle factors impact glucose levels.
  6. And more!

📲 What Apps Are Available and What Do They Do?

Undermyfork

  • What it does: It’s designed to help users track how meals impact their blood glucose levels. You take a photo of your food before eating, and the app estimates the carbohydrate content. It syncs with your continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to analyze your blood sugar trends after meals. The goal is to help you understand which foods help you stay in your target range and which may cause spikes. The app also allows you to generate and share reports with your healthcare provider.
  • Platform: iPhone & Android
  • Cost: Free for all features

Diabetes Cockpit

  • What it does: Works by pulling data from the Apple Health app and your CGM system (like Dexcom or FreeStyle Libre). It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the data and present trends related to blood sugar, insulin use, food intake, and activity levels. A built-in chatbot named Sam answers questions and gives feedback about things like your time in range, patterns in your meals, or when you tend to run high or low. You don’t manually log much—the app focuses on interpreting the data you already collect.
  • Platform: iPhone only
  • Cost: Free for up to 99 questions. After 99 free questions, pricing starts at $1.99 for 5 messages or $9.99 for 50 messages

Glucose Buddy

  • What it does: Functions as a comprehensive diabetes logbook. You manually enter your blood glucose readings, meals (including photos), medications, and physical activity. The app’s Meal IQ feature analyzes the glycemic impact of meals, and you can receive guidance from certified diabetes educators directly through the app. Glucose Buddy also offers weekly reports and optional subscriptions for glucometer supplies. It’s well-suited for people who want hands-on logging and personalized feedback.
  • Platform: iPhone & Android
  • Cost: Basic coaching: $20/month; $30/month includes glucometer, lancets, and 50 test strips; $60/month includes unlimited test strips

ChatCGM

  • What it does: Chatbot that functions within the Telegram messaging app. You interact with it by sending photos or descriptions of your meals, and it estimates carbohydrate counts. It uses your CGM data (which you must connect or sync through compatible services) to evaluate blood sugar trends and give feedback. The AI assistant helps identify patterns, such as how certain meals affect your glucose levels and can provide summaries of your data. It’s conversational and doesn’t require installing a separate app beyond Telegram.
  • Platform: Works through the Telegram app (iPhone & Android)
  • Cost: $5/month for AI chat, voice commands, and image-based carb estimation; $10/month adds CGM data integration; $20/month includes weekly CGM-based reports

 

Summary

The blog explores how diabetes apps can help users improve their time in range. These apps simplify diabetes management by automating tasks such as logging meals, tracking insulin and activity, and analyzing blood sugar trends using data from CGMs or glucometers.

While some features require a subscription, all the apps are free to download and try. Together, they make managing diabetes less burdensome, more insightful, and more motivating, ultimately helping users increase their time in range and improve overall health.