The Barcode Thing

Sageyoku
Sageyoku Posts: 77 Member
edited August 2022 in Chit-Chat
So, I think this is more about principle.
Whether you use the barcode scanner or not, think about the fact that the owners of MFP are willing to take away functionality for people who are trying to be healthy and lose weight.
What does that say about their priorities?
Do you want to keep supporting a company like that?
If MFP needed more people to subscribe or pay for features, there are SO many other great ways to make it happen. For example, if the food database were streamlined to ONLY include foods with accurate calorie counts and accurate barcodes at the subscription level, I would ABSOLUTELY pay for that!!
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Replies

  • Italiana_xx79
    Italiana_xx79 Posts: 593 Member
    I agree! :)
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited August 2022
    So you think MFP should be a charity? Just giving away it's product / service out of the goodness of it's heart? The people that develop and host and support MFP should just donate their time?

    Personally, the loss of the barcode scanner doesn't prevent me from managing my diet or losing weight. Does it take a few more taps/clicks? Sure. But that's fine... that's more calories burned, right?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Sageyoku wrote: »
    So, I think this is more about principle.
    Whether you use the barcode scanner or not, think about the fact that the owners of MFP are willing to take away functionality for people who are trying to be healthy and lose weight.
    What does that say about their priorities?
    Do you want to keep supporting a company like that?
    If MFP needed more people to subscribe or pay for features, there are SO many other great ways to make it happen. For example, if the food database were streamlined to ONLY include foods with accurate calorie counts and accurate barcodes at the subscription level, I would ABSOLUTELY pay for that!!

    MFP hasn't been privately owned since Mike Lee sold it to UA in 2015. UA then sold it to a private-equity firm at a huge loss in 2020. It's just an asset holding in a portfolio...one of thousands. The "owners" are the investment firm and what they care about is revenue.

    It is a far cry from what it was when Mike Lee developed the site/app in 2005 when he started counting calories to lose weight and get in shape and everything at the time was largely done on paper. When he owned it, it was truly a site meant to help people lose weight and get in shape and it was more of his hobby than a means of income.
  • 09Klr650
    09Klr650 Posts: 14 Member
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    So you think MFP should be a charity? Just giving away it's product / service out of the goodness of it's heart? The people that develop and host and support MFP should just donate their time?

    Personally, the loss of the barcode scanner doesn't prevent me from managing my diet or losing weight. Does it take a few more taps/clicks? Sure. But that's fine... that's more calories burned, right?

    Oh? I did not realize they were also removing all the ADVERTISING from the free app. And since the scanner will be a PAID service I assume they will proactively add new items/etc and not require users keep it up to date?
  • Sageyoku
    Sageyoku Posts: 77 Member
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    So you think MFP should be a charity? Just giving away it's product / service out of the goodness of it's heart? The people that develop and host and support MFP should just donate their time?

    Personally, the loss of the barcode scanner doesn't prevent me from managing my diet or losing weight. Does it take a few more taps/clicks? Sure. But that's fine... that's more calories burned, right?

    Nobody said that MFP should be a charity. I’ve been tolerating the ads, I know MFP needs to make money. But there are ways to do that without taking features AWAY.

    I’m not a charity either, you know? Why should I pay for a feature that’s been free for years out of the goodness of my heart, despite there having been no improvements or streamlining of this app for years?

    What about the fact that nutrition info, even the green-checked stuff, is often inaccurate? I’d absolutely pay for a premium MFP account that would offer an accurate food database. But the owners of this company continue to reduce functionality PLUS they don’t develop or improve the app over time.

    Businesses are give/take supply/demand, even apps. Taking away a feature is not incentive to pay for premium, and it also shows the direction that the company is heading. If the app is still ideal for you, that’s great for you. For me this was a last straw. I’d rather give my money to a company that at LEAST doesn’t take away established features.
  • Baker7850
    Baker7850 Posts: 4 Member
    The scanner wasn't the straw to break it for me, no, but when you add in that more ads are being added (oh, you wanted to add your breakfast then go back and add your lunch? No fam, enjoy an ad before you do😊)

    So let's just throw more ads, take away features, and push our pReMiUm PaCkAgE on users. What's next? No macro tracking? Can only add official.foods?
  • Sageyoku
    Sageyoku Posts: 77 Member
    Well, it looks like I can use the barcode on the app again.

    Not only that, after trying several other fitness tracking apps, I still had to admit that MFP is STILL the best as far as usability and having the largest database.

    I know when to admit I was wrong.

    Will try to be more patient with this app.

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