MyFitnessPal's 2026 Redesign Backlash: Why US Users Are Switching Calorie Apps
Starting in March 2026, MyFitnessPal replaced its longtime Diary tab with a new Today screen. What the company framed as a modernization — streaks, meal-planning shortcuts, and an AI coach for Premium users — landed very differently with daily loggers. By May 2026, independent review analysis placed MyFitnessPal's US App Store rating at 1.82, down from 3.67 just four months earlier.
Headline takeaway: In habit products, interface friction is experienced as loss. Users with multi-year logging streaks switched when basic tasks took more taps.
What changed in the redesign
The April 2026 update made the Today tab the default home view. Common user complaints across Reddit, support forums, and App Store reviews included:
- The full-day food diary hidden behind a "View All" button instead of visible at a glance.
- Per-meal calorie and macro breakdowns harder to find on the main screen.
- Removed or buried shortcuts — copy meal from yesterday, multi-select edits, moving items between meals.
- An AI Coach promoted to Premium subscribers that many reviewers described as unwanted clutter.
- Additional premium paywall moves in May — scan-a-meal, recipe URL import, and macro-by-meal goals shifted behind Premium for some users.
The rating slide in numbers
MyNetDiary's Diet App Scorecard — which analyzes filtered US App Store reviews monthly — documented an unusually sustained decline:
- February 2026: 3.67 average rating
- March 2026: 2.90 (−0.77 in one month; review volume tripled)
- April 2026: 2.31 (−0.59; volume nearly doubled again)
- May 2026: 1.82 (−0.49; lowest score in the scorecard's history)
MyFitnessPal stated the redesign is the permanent path forward and set up a dedicated feedback form — but also confirmed there is no option to revert to the old layout. Some users reported workarounds (such as changing profile location) to access older UI versions, though those are unofficial and may not last.
Where users are going instead
Switching-intent searches spiked in spring 2026. Cronometer, MyNetDiary, MacroFactor, and newer AI-first apps all saw discussion upticks. Users most often cited:
- Faster daily logging with fewer taps
- Clear day-at-a-glance macro views
- Free or reasonably scoped barcode and photo logging
- Stable interfaces that do not break multi-year workflows
How to choose your next tracker
If you are evaluating alternatives, run a three-day trial before migrating years of history:
- Log the same typical weekday meals you eat every week.
- Time how long breakfast-through-dinner logging takes.
- Check whether protein and calorie totals match how you actually eat — not just whether the UI looks modern.
MacroChat focuses on natural-language meal entry, which avoids some of the navigation churn users reported in card-based redesigns. Text logging can be especially fast when you repeat similar meals during the work week.