Frequently Asked Questions

Sage is your AI nutrition assistant! She appears as a floating chat bubble on Dashboard, Planner, and Progress screens.

Pro users get 10 AI chats per day to ask Sage for:
• Personalized meal ideas
• Nutrition advice
• Recipe suggestions
• Answers to food-related questions

She considers your goals, dietary preferences, allergies, medical conditions, and even your cycle phase if enabled.

The AI Meal Planner (Pro feature) creates personalized daily meal plans based on:

• Your calorie goals
• Dietary preferences (Keto, Vegan, etc.)
• Allergies & medical conditions
• Activity level & health phase
• Cuisine preferences

It even supports OMAD (One Meal A Day) where all calories go to dinner. Pro users get 10 meal plans per day.

Pro users:

• Up to 10 AI chat questions per day
• Shared across Planner and Progress screens
• Resets daily at midnight in your timezone
• Sage remembers conversation context within a session

Free users:

• See an upgrade prompt when tapping the Sage chat bubble

Yes! When you correct a food name or manually enter calories (like from a menu or package label), Plate-Wise stores this correction. The next time you scan a similar food, the AI uses your verified data to provide more accurate estimates. This Diet Learning feature improves over time as you use the app.

Always include the cooking method when typing or editing food!

Cooking method changes calorie density significantly:

• Fried chicken — ~250 cal/100g (oil absorbed)
• Grilled chicken — ~165 cal/100g (fat rendered out)
• Steamed chicken — ~150 cal/100g (no added fat)
• Boiled egg — ~155 cal/100g
• Fried egg — ~196 cal/100g

Examples of good input:
✅ 'Grilled chicken breast 200g'
✅ 'Pan-fried salmon fillet'
✅ 'Steamed broccoli 1 cup'

Examples to avoid:
❌ 'Chicken' (too vague — grilled? fried? raw?)
❌ 'Fish' (baked? deep-fried? poached?)

The AI uses your cooking method to match the right calorie values. Without it, the app defaults to a generic 'cooked' estimate which may be less accurate.

💡 Tip: For photos, the AI can usually detect the cooking method visually. For text input, always type it!

Yes! When you add medical notes in your profile (like 'diabetic, high cholesterol, gout'), the AI parses each condition and tailors meal suggestions accordingly. It avoids problematic foods and prioritizes health-safe options. Sage will mention relevant considerations when giving nutrition advice.

AI analysis requires sending your photo to our servers for processing. The time depends on your internet connection speed and server load. If you're on a slow connection, analysis may take 5-15 seconds. The confidence percentage (e.g., 90%) indicates how certain the AI is about its detection.

1. Go to Settings > Edit Profile
2. Tap 'Re-calculate Target Calories'

Your daily target is estimated using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (Mifflin MD et al., Am J Clin Nutr, 1990) for BMR, then adjusted for your activity level using standard multipliers (1.2 sedentary → 1.9 extra active) to estimate Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2305711/

These estimates are for informational purposes only and are not medical advice. Please consult a healthcare professional before making dietary changes.

When editing a food item:

• Change only calories → macros scale proportionally (instant, no AI call)
• Change only quantity → all values scale by the ratio (e.g., '1/2 cob' to '1 cob' = 2×)
• Change name → AI re-estimates everything
• Change name AND calories → AI estimates macros but keeps your calorie value

Only name/calorie corrections are saved to help future AI accuracy.

Tables are social dining groups where you track meals together (2-8 people).

• Track meals with friends, family, or accountability partners
• When ALL members log daily, your group streak grows
• Shared tree progresses through 9 stages!
• Motivation through friendly accountability
• You can be in multiple Tables at once

Create a Table:
1. Go to Social tab > Tables > Create Table
2. Give it a name and type (Friends, Family, Gym Buddies, etc.)

Join a Table:
1. Go to Social tab > Tables > Join Table
2. Enter an invite code (format: PW-XXX-24) or click a shared invite link

Table owners can manage members and delete the Table.

My Garden is your personal streak visualization in the Social tab.

Your tree grows through 9 stages:
🌱 Seed (Day 1)
🌿 Sprout (Day 2)
🌳 Sapling (Day 3-7)
🌸 Flowering (Day 8-10)
🌺 Blooming (Day 11-12)
🍎 Fruiting (Day 13-14)
🌲 Flourishing (Day 15-29)
🏔️ Forest (Day 30-44)
🌳 Grove (Day 45+)

You'll also see stats, a 14-day activity calendar, and your progress to the next milestone.

Plate Party lets you capture group meals with friends!

How to start:
• Tap the small orange 🎉 circle on the camera button
• Or look for the bouncing party badge with the tooltip 'Tap for group meal!'

How it works:

1. Take a photo of the shared meal
2. AI analyzes and calculates total calories & macros
3. Select your Table and choose which friends to split with
4. Split calories equally or custom among participants
5. Pick a fun theme (Fun, Xmas, Birthday, etc.) and AI generates a caption
6. Share the decorated photo to social media

The Plate Party photo and activity show up in your Table's activity feed, so all members can see and like it!

⏰ Plate Parties expire after 24 hours if not completed.

Each Table has a shared streak tree that grows when ALL members log at least one meal per day.

Stages:
🌱 Seed (Day 1) → 🌿 Sprout (Day 2) → 🌳 Sapling (Day 3-7) → 🌸 Flowering (Day 8-10) → 🌺 Blooming (Day 11-12) → 🍎 Fruiting (Day 13-14) → 🌲 Flourishing (Day 15-29) → 🏔️ Forest (Day 30-44) → 🌳 Grove (Day 45+)

⚠️ If anyone misses a day, the tree starts withering!

1. Go to Social tab > Friends > Find
2. Search for friends by name or email
3. Send a friend request
4. Once they accept, you're connected!

Friends can see each other's streaks and calories (based on your privacy settings) and easily invite each other to Tables.

In Settings > Privacy & Friends, you can toggle:

• Share Streak with Friends — let friends see your current streak
• Share Calories with Friends — let friends see your daily calorie total
• Allow Friend Requests — whether others can send you requests

These are separate from Table visibility.

When you share a Table invite, a link like plate-wise.app/join?code=PW-ABC-24 is generated. When someone clicks it, the app opens directly to a join confirmation screen. Same for friend requests - one tap to accept! Links can be shared via WhatsApp, text, email, etc.

You can receive push notifications when:

• A new member joins your Table
• Members log meals (meal activity)
• Your Table's tree grows to a new stage
• Friends send/accept requests

Control these in Social tab > Settings gear icon, or globally in app Settings.

Yes! In your Table view, you'll see which members haven't logged today (shown without a checkmark). You can send a friendly nudge notification to remind them to log a meal and keep the group streak going!

Yes! You can capture meals offline - the photo is saved locally with a 'pending' status. When you're back online, the AI automatically analyzes the food and syncs the nutrition data. Your streak STILL COUNTS for offline captures because you logged something!

When offline, you'll see friendly messages throughout the app:

• Food capture screen — '☁️ Waiting for wifi magic...'
• Dashboard — pending meals shown with amber border and cloud icon
• Sage chat — tells you she's 'napping offline'
• Planner — 'Oops! Sage needs internet to cook up meal ideas'

The app automatically detects when you're back online and syncs pending meals. You'll see a toast notification like '🎉 3 meals synced with nutrition data!' and the AI analysis will be added to your previously captured meals. Table activities also sync automatically.

Yes! Offline meal captures count toward your streak immediately. The key is that you logged something - the AI analysis happens later but the logging timestamp is preserved. Keep that streak going even without wifi!

Pro users get automatic cloud sync - your meals, streaks, settings, and favorites sync across all devices logged into your account within seconds. Free users have local storage only on a single device. Upgrade to Pro for cross-device sync!

Free users:
• 7-day retention on your device only (localStorage)

Pro users:
• 12-month retention in the cloud
• Automatic cross-device sync

Upgrade to Pro to keep your full nutrition history and access it anywhere!

Pro users:
• Just log into your account on the new device
• All your data syncs automatically

Free users:
• Your data stays on the original device only
• We recommend upgrading to Pro before switching devices to preserve your history

Tap the upgrade banner on Dashboard or go to Settings > Subscription > Upgrade to Pro. Choose monthly ($9.99 Launch Special - regular $12.99) or annual ($99.99 - save 17%) billing. Payment is processed securely. You get immediate access to all Pro features!

Pro includes:

• 30 AI food captures/day (vs 3 free)
• 10 AI meal plans/day (vs 1 free)
• 10 Sage AI chats/day
• 12-month cloud data retention with cross-device sync
• Smart Favorites
• Full social features (Tables, Friends, Plate Party)
• Advanced analytics & insights
• PDF export reports
• Priority support

Yes! Pro users can export comprehensive PDF reports with weight history, calorie tracking, macro breakdowns, and meal logs. Go to Settings > Data Management > Export My Data. Great for sharing with healthcare providers, nutritionists, or personal trainers.

Go to Settings > Subscription > Manage Subscription. This opens your secure billing portal where you can cancel, update payment method, or change plans. Your Pro access continues until the end of the current billing period. No refunds for partial months.

Share your unique referral code with friends!

• They get $10 off their first subscription
• You earn $10 credit toward your next billing cycle
• Credits apply automatically

Find your code in Settings > Refer a Friend. The more friends you refer, the more you save!

New users get a 7-day free trial of Pro features when they first sign up. No credit card required to start the trial. After the trial ends, you can subscribe to keep Pro features, or continue with the Free plan. No charge if you don't subscribe.

We accept all major credit/debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover). Your card details are never stored on our servers - all payments are processed securely through our payment provider.

If you cancel Pro:

• You keep access until your billing period ends
• After that, you move to Free plan:
  — 3 AI captures/day
  — 7-day local retention
• Your cloud data remains stored
• Resubscribe to access history beyond 7 days

We support a wide range of diets:

• Keto
• Low Carb
• High Protein
• High Fat (LCHF)
• Carnivore
• Vegan / Vegetarian / Pescatarian
• Mediterranean
• Paleo / Whole30
• Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free
• OMAD (One Meal A Day)
• And more!

Set your preference in Settings > Profile > Dietary Preference. The AI Meal Planner and Sage tailor suggestions accordingly.

Keto (Ketogenic):
• Stricter — under 20-50g carbs/day
• Moderate protein, high fat
• Aims to achieve ketosis

Low Carb:
• More flexible — 50-150g carbs/day
• Easier to maintain long-term

Keto offers specific metabolic benefits, while Low Carb is more sustainable for most people.

Keto:
• Very low carbs, moderate protein, high fat
• Aims to achieve ketosis / fat adaptation

High Protein:
• Prioritizes protein (30-40% of calories)
• For muscle building and satiety
• No strict carb limits

Choose Keto for fat adaptation, High Protein for muscle goals.

Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) emphasizes healthy fats from avocados, olive oil, nuts, while reducing carbs. Less strict than Keto - typically 50-100g carbs daily. Great for sustained energy and reducing sugar cravings without full ketosis requirements.

An elimination diet consisting only of animal products - meat, fish, eggs, and some dairy. Excludes all plants, fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes. Some people use it to identify food sensitivities or for dietary simplicity. Consult a doctor before starting.

Add your allergies in Settings > Profile > Allergies. The AI will flag foods containing your allergens and avoid suggesting them in meal plans. Common allergies supported: nuts, dairy, gluten, shellfish, eggs, soy, sesame, and more. Sage considers your allergies when giving advice.

Yes! Go to Settings > Profile > Goals. Set your daily calorie target and macro ratios (protein, carbs, fat). The app will track your progress against these goals on the Dashboard and Progress screens. Sage and the Meal Planner will tailor advice to your specific targets.

OMAD (One Meal A Day) is a fasting approach where you eat all your daily calories in one meal. When you select OMAD in the Meal Planner, all your target calories are allocated to dinner, and other meals show 'N/A'. Great for intermittent fasting practitioners.

Absolutely! Your data is protected with:

• Enterprise-grade encryption (TLS/HTTPS) for all data in transit and at rest
• Secure authentication with optional biometric login (fingerprint/face)
• No sharing of personal data with third parties for marketing
• Food photos processed temporarily for AI analysis — not permanently stored

See our Privacy Policy for full details.

The AI only sees your food photos temporarily for analysis - images are not permanently stored by our AI provider. For personalized advice, Sage sees your goals, preferences, allergies, medical conditions, and recent meals within the current session, but this context is not permanently retained.

In Settings > Privacy & Friends: toggle Share Streak (friends see your streak count), Share Calories (friends see daily calories), and Allow Friend Requests (whether others can find and add you). These settings give you full control over your social visibility.

Yes!

1. Go to Settings > Data Management > Delete Account
2. This permanently deletes all your data within 30 days:
  • Meal logs
  • Profile info
  • Favorites
  • Social connections

⚠️ This action cannot be undone.

Individual meals can be deleted from the Dashboard.

Go to Settings > Security > Reset Password, or use 'Forgot Password' on the login screen. We'll send a password reset link to your registered email address. For security, links expire after 1 hour.

Biometric login lets you use your fingerprint or face to unlock Plate-Wise instead of entering your password. Enable it in Settings > Security > Biometric Login. This uses your device's secure biometric system - we never store your biometric data.

Never! We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing or advertising. Your health and nutrition data is yours. We use anonymized, aggregated analytics only to improve app features. See our Privacy Policy for complete details.

Push notifications use device tokens to deliver messages you've opted into (meal reminders, social updates). We only store tokens for notification delivery - they're deleted if you disable notifications. You can disable notifications anytime in Settings or your device settings.

In Settings > Security & Privacy:

• Marketing Communications — tips, promotions, new feature announcements (opt-in, default OFF)

• App Communications — product updates, security alerts, service notifications (opt-out, default ON)

These are separate from push notifications.

Yes! Toggle dark mode in Settings or tap the moon/sun icon in the header. You can also choose between Purple and Green color themes. Your preference syncs across devices for Pro users.