What people ask most about the Fotocal calorie counter.
Short answers checked against the app as it is today, not as we would like it to be. If your question is not here, write to us.
Is Fotocal free?
Yes, with no expiry and no card. The free plan includes 2 photo scans and 1 voice log a day, the barcode scanner and Coach Kal without limits, the food diary, weight, water, steps and the weekly report. Premium removes the two daily counters and opens the deeper panels; it costs €6.99 a month or €34.99 a year, with a 5-day trial.
How accurate is the photo scan?
It is an estimate, not a measurement. The AI recognises the foods and works out portions from the photo, and it can be wrong about amounts and about what it cannot see: the oil, a sauce, the sugar in a drink. Before you save you can correct every ingredient and its grams. We do not publish an accuracy percentage because we do not have a measured one we could defend.
Does it work offline?
Partly. The diary, water, steps and weight work without a connection: they are saved on the phone and synced later. Analysing a photo, voice logging, the barcode scanner and Coach Kal need a connection. If you take a photo with no signal it is not lost: it is kept and analysed when the network comes back.
Do I have to weigh my food?
No. Fotocal estimates portions from the photo. Weighing makes the result more exact, and you can type the grams of any ingredient before saving. For most people, estimating consistently works better than weighing for a week and giving up.
Does it work on iPhone?
No. Fotocal is an Android app, downloaded from Google Play. There is no iPhone version and no date for one; when there is, it will say so here.
Does it recognise Spanish food?
Yes. Recognition is tuned to the dishes people actually eat in Spain, not only to an English-language menu, and it answers in Spanish. If a dish is misread, correct it in the ingredient sheet; the photo is not lost and the entry stays as you leave it.
What happens to my photos and my data?
The photo is sent to OpenAI for analysis and OpenAI does not keep it for training. If you allow it in Settings → Data Consents, Fotocal keeps a copy in your history; if not, it stays on your phone. Everything is deleted with the account. The details, including processors and retention, are in the privacy policy.
How do I cancel the subscription?
In Google Play, not in the app: Play Store → your profile icon → Payments and subscriptions → Subscriptions → Fotocal → Cancel subscription. You keep Premium until the end of the period you already paid for, and if you cancel during the 5-day trial nothing is charged.
Does it help you lose weight?
It helps you see what you really eat and keep a reasonable deficit without weighing everything, which is what loses weight. It does no miracle diets and promises no rate. It is general information, not medical advice: if you are pregnant, have a medical condition, are under 16 or have had an eating disorder, talk to a doctor or a dietitian first.
Does it count steps?
Yes, through Health Connect, and it reads only the step count, nothing else. You can withdraw the permission at any time in Health Connect and keep using the rest of the app.
Which languages does it come in?
The app is in Spanish and English, and voice logging understands what you say in whichever language you say it. Coach Kal answers in the language you write to it in.
Does it warn me when a product clashes with my allergies?
In the barcode scanner, yes: save your allergies and ways of eating in My Health and the result marks a product as not suitable when it clashes. In the photo scan, no: a photo cannot see an allergen reliably, so for a serious allergy the label decides.
How do I delete my account?
From the app: Profile → Account Settings → Delete account. It is deleted on the spot, with the photos, the diary and the rest of the data. If the app is no longer installed, the account deletion page explains how to ask by email.
Another question? Write from the contact page; one person reads it and answers.