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  • Hacker News
  • Hello Hacker News,

    I’m sharing a small app I built: *SugarTrack*.

    I know it’s the age of AI, but I still think there’s value in taking the time to solve simple, practical problems—especially when those problems affect people who aren’t technical.

    I built SugarTrack because I was tired of managing blood sugar readings using paper forms and notebooks for someone close to me. We were taking photos of readings, keeping Excel sheets, and writing notes in different places. It worked, but it was messy and difficult to maintain.

    I wanted something much simpler: a digital notebook that stays on the phone.

    A lot of existing apps require an account, a subscription, or an internet connection. I didn’t need any of that. I just wanted to record readings and have the information available when needed.

    *SugarTrack is a free Android app with:*

    * No account or login * No internet connection required * No analytics or tracking * Local SQLite storage * Blood sugar readings and notes * Meal photos * Medication tracking * A1C tracking * Graphs for viewing trends * Daily reminders * PDF and CSV export for sharing with a doctor

    There’s also a practical reason I wanted this to work offline. In many developing countries, people often have to manage and record their health information themselves, without the connected glucose-monitoring devices and ecosystems that are more common in wealthier countries. A simple offline-first tool can therefore be much more useful than an app built around subscriptions and cloud accounts.

    SugarTrack *does not measure blood sugar*. You still use your own glucometer—the app is simply a place to keep and understand your readings.

    It’s Android-only for now.

    I’d genuinely love feedback from anyone who has had to track blood sugar for themselves or a family member. *What would make a simple app like this actually useful in your day-to-day life?*

    by hunzaboy
  • There should be more simple, no login, apps like this
    by jmagland
  • True.
    by hunzaboy
  • Check out https://codeberg.org/toz/MediLog
    by nichos
  • There is no way I'd track that info in an app. My meter keeps history. I can download it to my device. Why would I put another app in the middle of that process?
    by codingdave
  • For those who don’t have a meter that can export readings.
    by brayhite
  • My use case is a bit different. I’m not trying to replace the meter or its history.

    The problem I wanted to solve starts when the readings change. A doctor may ask, “What did you eat around that time?” With this app you can save a photo of the meal alongside the blood sugar reading, notes and medication.

    So the goal is less about storing the number and more about keeping the context around the number and making that context easy to share with the doctor.

    by hunzaboy
  • Worth noting, if they are covered by the person's insurance, it may be worth looking into using a CGM (Continuous glucose monitor) and the self-hostable application Nightscout[0].

    CGMs use the interstitial fluid in (usually, although people also use other spots) inside side of the upper arm to measure blood sugar. As long as they are placed in the right spot (i.e. in a fattier area instead of directly on top of muscle, hence why it is on the inside side of the upper arm and not the outside) and the sensor doesn't fail, they will measure blood sugar fairly accurately for 10-15 days depending on the CGM model (disclaimer: They do tend to run approximately 15 minutes behind the number that an actual finger poke would show you).

    Nightscout is an awesome tool because it can be self-hosted so that you keep full control over your health data, but since it is a web application, you can still easily share it with other people too, like family or your endocrinologist.

    On android, you can use the xdrip+ application to pair with most types of CGMs to completely keep your data out of the cloud, or you can also pair it with the API from Abbott or Dexcom (depending on the CGM model) to pull data from their 'share/link' applications, if you opt to pair with/use their official apps

    [0]: https://nightscout.github.io/ [1]: https://github.com/nightscoutfoundation/xdrip

    I personally use Dexcom G7 15 day sensors (because it is what my insurance covers) and use xdrip+ to upload the data to a nightscout instance hosted in my homelab

    by VoidWhisperer
  • And if you really want to live on the bleeding edge, check out https://androidaps.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
    by nabedam
  • Unfortunately, that’s not really an option for my target audience. In remote areas, the issue isn't only the cost. Its availability, access to the devices, internet connectivity, and the expertise needed to set them up can all be barriers. A basic glucometer and a phone are much more realistic.
    by hunzaboy
  • Interesting. My dad wears his on the back of the arm (posterior) not the inside (medial) - and when I asked him he pointed to the official instructions which do actually have it there https://www.freestyle.abbott/content/dam/adc/freestyle/count...

    It must be a different kind of device.

    by arjie