How It Felt vs

Eating Buddy vs Shutterbite: which journal fits?

How It Felt is a private, judgment-free journal for noticing how eating feels. Eating Buddy is built around intuitive-eating reflection with context around a meal, while Shutterbite starts with a meal photo and lets you configure the fields you record. How It Felt keeps the practice smaller: a local journal entry with prompts for hunger, fullness, emotion and the senses, without a goal or progress system to maintain.

Mindful eating journal comparison

What each app optimises for

Eating Buddy vs Shutterbite

Eating Buddy suits a wider reflection record around meals. Shutterbite suits a photo journal where you choose the tracking fields and review stats or goals.

How It Felt

A private pause around a meal, with a small set of prompts and local journal storage described in our privacy policy.

Side-by-side

Feature	Eating Buddy	Shutterbite	How It Felt
Starting point	Eating Buddy A meal record with context such as hunger, mood, sleep, workouts or drinks.	Shutterbite A meal photo, followed by optional tracking fields.	How It Felt How the meal felt, with optional sensory notes.
Prompts	Eating Buddy Hunger, fullness, mood and other context can be recorded; its materials describe optional challenges.	Shutterbite The listing describes 40+ options, including hunger/fullness, a meal timer, why you ate and how you felt after eating.	How It Felt Hunger, fullness, one emotion and optional notes about taste, texture or setting.
Customisation	Eating Buddy Tags and the journal's context fields help you group and reflect on entries.	Shutterbite You can edit existing tracking options or create your own, according to the public listing.	How It Felt A deliberately small set of prompts, with no custom tracking system to manage.
Looking back	Eating Buddy Patterns over time and optional challenges are described in the store materials.	Shutterbite Stats and visual summaries are described for the information you record.	How It Felt Review your entries by time period without an automated score or interpretation.
Goals and structure	Eating Buddy Optional challenges provide a next step when you choose one.	Shutterbite Goals, milestones and rewards are described in the product and store materials.	How It Felt No assigned goal, streak, challenge or milestone.
Privacy and storage	Eating Buddy Review Eating Buddy's current privacy policy and store disclosures before recording sensitive information.	Shutterbite The store listing says saved data is stored privately in the cloud; its privacy disclosure lists contact info, photos or videos, user ID and product interaction data as data that may be linked to you.	How It Felt No account for the journal. Entries are stored on-device; limited service telemetry and ad processing are described in our privacy policy.
Access	Eating Buddy Check the current store listing for plan and platform details.	Shutterbite The current listing says the app is free until 15 saved meals, then asks you to subscribe to continue saving more data.	How It Felt Free with ads; optional Supporter tier.
Clinical role	Eating Buddy A consumer reflection journal rather than diagnosis or treatment.	Shutterbite A consumer food journal rather than diagnosis or treatment.	How It Felt A self-reflection journal, not a clinical tool or replacement for care.

When to pick which

Pick Eating Buddy vs Shutterbite if…

Eating Buddy may suit you if context around a meal helps you notice patterns over time.
Shutterbite may suit you if a photo-led record and custom fields feel useful.
Review current product, store and privacy details before entering sensitive information; access can vary by plan or platform.

Pick How It Felt if…

You want a private journal with entries stored on your device; review our privacy policy for telemetry and extra copies.
You want to notice a meal without being given a challenge or goal to complete.
You want a quiet practice that you can pause whenever it stops feeling supportive.

Verdict

Eating Buddy gives more room to record what surrounds a meal, and Shutterbite gives more control over the fields and views in a photo-led journal. How It Felt is the private, feeling-first option: a small reflection entry stored locally, with no assigned progress to maintain. The right choice is the one that leaves you with more ease. If journaling increases pressure around eating or body image, pause and consider speaking with an eating-disorder-informed clinician.

Frequently asked

What is the main difference between Eating Buddy and Shutterbite?

Eating Buddy centres reflection around a meal and its wider context. Shutterbite centres a photo journal with configurable fields, stats and goals. Check their current official pages for exact features, plans and platform details.

How is How It Felt different?

How It Felt is a private, non-clinical journal. Its entries are stored on your device, and it does not ask you to maintain a goal, challenge or milestone.

Does Shutterbite require a subscription?

Its current App Store listing says the app is free until 15 saved meals, then asks you to subscribe to keep saving more data. Check the listing and terms for current details in your region.

Can these apps replace professional care?

No. These are consumer journaling tools, not diagnosis or treatment. If eating or body image is causing distress, an eating-disorder-informed clinician can offer support.

Sources and review date

The official product, store, terms and privacy pages linked above are the source of truth for current features, access and data handling. Details can change by plan, platform or region.

Eating Buddy's product page describes its intuitive-eating journal and the context it lets people record around meals. [Eating Buddy product page]
Use the current App Store listing to check Eating Buddy's features, platform, plan and privacy details. [Eating Buddy App Store listing]
Shutterbite describes photo journaling with contextual tracking, goals, stats and custom journal options. [Shutterbite product page]
The listing describes Shutterbite's tracking choices, stats, rewards and the 15-saved-meal subscription threshold for its platform and region. [Shutterbite App Store listing]
The terms describe the conditions for using Shutterbite; read them before creating an account or storing journal entries. [Shutterbite terms of use]
Review Shutterbite's current privacy information before recording sensitive details. [Shutterbite privacy policy]
How It Felt's privacy policy describes on-device journal storage alongside separate service telemetry; backups and exports can create additional copies. [How It Felt privacy policy]

Last reviewed: September 15, 2026.

Learn the concepts

Plain-language explainers behind the comparison.

Try How It Felt

A calmer way to be with food.

How It Felt gives you a private place to notice how a meal felt, without a target to maintain.