I maintain my own list of open source software, but one of the biggest struggles has been finding open source health apps to add to the list. It seems like the open source community is lacking in this area, compared to proprietary counterparts.
I’m beginning to flesh out some of the health apps on my list, and I am looking for recommendations on which apps are generally used. This is an extremely rare circumstance in which I am asking for community feedback to add software to the list.
My preferred criteria is as follows:
Available for Android
It can be available for other platforms, but I tend to prioritize open source operating systems such as Android or Linux. In this case, a health app for Linux would rarely be useful. If available, please note whether or not the app works well with strict permissions on GrapheneOS.
Has a clear, distinct purpose
I prefer not to categorize the same app in multiple places. I am a believer of software being the best at one thing, rather than trying to be the best at everything. So, I would like to categorize different apps for each purpose (calorie tracking, nutritional information, fitness tracking, etc.)
Works entirely offline
Ideally, apps should work without ever requiring an internet connection. Having the ability to download data for offline use later is fine, if the data is large enough to warrant not being packaged with the app itself.
Still actively maintained
It’s rare that I add outdated or abandoned apps to my list, but there will always be exceptions. The apps should be actively maintained, and have modern usability and appearance.
Those are best case-scenario criteria, your recommended app may not follow that. All apps should, of course, be open source. I am leaving the definition of “health apps” without elaboration on purpose, because I am looking for all health-related and physical wellbeing apps.
Thank you for your suggestions! :)
gadgetbridge
Have you used Gadgetbridge yourself? If so, can you tell me more about your experiences?
Can’t speak for them, but it’s very useful for interfacing with any number of smart watches/scales and more with on-device data storage. It doesn’t always support things perfectly, but it’s definitely good enough to prevent a need for manufactuer specific apps for the devices it does support.
I have been using Gadgetbridge for several years. The developers are very active, with the nightly branch being released daily. I’ve collaborated with some of them to debug issues and add support for new devices.
I’ve used it with multiple watches and a scale. While it doesn’t provide insights or interpretations of your data like proprietary apps do, it offers complete control over your data. I’ve been planning to set up a SQLite to InfluxDB/Grafana translation layer to obtain more detailed statistics.
NHS weight loss app and couch to 5k app
Could you provide more information about those apps, such as what they are used for and which criteria they meet?
They are from the British National Health Service (NHS) the weight loss one is for calorie counting, food diary and healthy eating advice. Couch to 5k is an app that works you toward running 5km. These two can be paired together. They are on the play store and maybe the iOS app store, not sure though. You ask for recommendations.
Also Cant see anything about acouch to 5K being open source either and its a NHS BBC collaboration . https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/
Is NHS weight loss app open source ( I mean its free and paid for by the National Health Service ij the UK so probably shoukd be ) https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/lose-weight/
OpenNutriTracker I use it for my daily intake tracking. Not sure if it’s actively maintained or not atleast last commit was 2 months ago.
Can’t wait to try this one out. Every other fitness tracker i’ve used has either been acquired by some soulless corpo, or just gone down the drain anyway, reaching an unusable state in both outcomes. Most of them can’t even display basic calorie information without dishing out 10$ a month anymore
All of these recommendations are based on android/fdroid:
Bodyweight Diary: Trale https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.quantumphysique.trale/
Workout Log: GymRoutines https://f-droid.org/packages/com.noahjutz.gymroutines/
Calorie Counter: Energize https://f-droid.org/packages/com.flasskamp.energize/
Breathing Techniques Breathly https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.mmazzarolo.breathly/
FitoTrack and Opentracks are apps for recording your workouts with tracking of location, heart rate and other monitoring. All FOSS and all offline. Compatible to interact with Gadgetbridge which I’m also recommending.
If you’re familiar with Fittrackee and/or Wanderer, any comparisons?
I love Did I take my meds? to remind me take my pills but also show me if I already took them that day.
https://f-droid.org/packages/de.arnowelzel.android.periodical/ — menstrual/period calendar
https://f-droid.org/packages/org.secuso.privacyfriendlypaindiary/ or https://github.com/SecUSo/privacy-friendly-pain-diary — Privacy Friendly Pain Diary is an Android app that allows its users to make daily diary entries recording their condition and the intensity, location, nature and time of the pain they feel, as well as the medication they take and additional notes.
