How It Felt vs
How It Felt vs Shutterbite.
How It Felt is a local journal for noticing hunger, fullness, emotion and the senses around a meal. Shutterbite presents itself publicly as a mindful photo food journal. The difference is the shape of the experience: How It Felt keeps the record small and on your device, while Shutterbite offers a more configurable journaling experience.
What each app optimises for
Shutterbite
A photo-led journal with more room to configure the record around your own prompts, as described on Shutterbite's public site.
How It Felt
A quiet check-in that stays focused on the meal: hunger before, fullness after, a named emotion and optional notes about taste, texture and setting.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Shutterbite | How It Felt |
|---|---|---|
| What an entry is | Shutterbite A meal or snack led by a photo, with prompts and notes | How It Felt Hunger, fullness and an emotion, with optional sensory notes and a photo that is never analysed |
| Customisation | Shutterbite More configurable prompts, according to its public product description | How It Felt A deliberately small set of prompts, including taste, texture and setting |
| Hunger and fullness | Shutterbite Hunger and fullness are among the public site's listed prompts | How It Felt Sliders for both, captured with every entry |
| Emotion and context | Shutterbite The public site describes prompts about mood and context | How It Felt A 21-emotion grid, plus optional notes on the meal's sensory setting |
| Photo journal | Shutterbite Photo-first meal tracking | How It Felt A photo can accompany the reflection but is never recognised, named or analysed |
| Timer and breathing | Shutterbite The public site describes a meal timer | How It Felt A breathing-paced mindful eating timer |
| Reviewing entries | Shutterbite The public site presents the journal as something you can review | How It Felt Today, week and month views without interpretation or scoring |
| Goals and routines | Shutterbite Not assessed here as a recommendation; goals and routines can be unhelpful for some people | How It Felt No goals, programs, milestones or streaks |
| Account and data location | Shutterbite Check Shutterbite's current account and storage terms before using it | How It Felt No account; entries stay in a local database on your device |
| Ads and subscription | Shutterbite Check the current product terms for pricing and saving limits | How It Felt Free with ads; optional Supporter tier removes them |
| Privacy disclosures | Shutterbite Google Play disclosures say the app may collect personal information, photos or videos and app activity; they also say it may share app information and performance data and that data is not encrypted | How It Felt Meal entries do not leave the device; ads, analytics and crash reporting receive limited device and usage data as described on our privacy page |
| Export | Shutterbite Not assessed from the public product page | How It Felt CSV or PDF, exported by you |
| Languages | Shutterbite Not assessed from the public product page | How It Felt 6 — English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese |
| Platforms | Shutterbite Not assessed from the public product page | How It Felt iOS and Android |
| Pricing | Shutterbite Check the current product terms for pricing and saving limits | How It Felt Free with ads; optional Supporter tier |
When to pick which
Pick Shutterbite if…
- A photo-first record feels easier than writing about each meal.
- You want more room to configure the questions in a journal.
- You have checked its current privacy disclosures and are comfortable with them.
Pick How It Felt if…
- Privacy means keeping the journal on your device, without an account or cloud upload.
- You want a smaller, consistent set of prompts.
- You want a journal that ends after the check-in, with no goals, milestones or routine to complete.
- You prefer a consistent small set of questions over a large menu of tracking options.
- You want to export the journal yourself as CSV or PDF.
Verdict
Shutterbite offers a more photo-led and configurable journaling experience. How It Felt keeps the check-in smaller and local to your device. Neither approach is automatically better, and neither app is treatment. If tracking food or meal experiences feels difficult for you, a doctor, therapist or eating-disorder-informed dietitian can help you decide whether either tool is appropriate.
Frequently asked
Is Shutterbite a photo food journal?
Shutterbite presents itself publicly as a photo food journal. How It Felt can attach a photo, but its focus is the experience of the meal rather than the image.
Can I customise what Shutterbite asks me about?
Shutterbite's public product description presents it as configurable. How It Felt uses a smaller, consistent set of prompts so the check-in stays simple.
Does Shutterbite have stats and guided routines?
Shutterbite presents a configurable journal that can be reviewed over time. This comparison does not treat statistics, goals or routines as inherently helpful. How It Felt shows entries by time period but does not set goals or assign routines.
Where does each app keep my journal?
How It Felt does not require an account: entries remain in a local database on your device. For Shutterbite, review the current account, storage and privacy disclosures before putting sensitive information into the app.
What happens after Shutterbite's free limit?
Pricing and saving limits can change. Check the current listing or product terms for your platform before subscribing.
Sources and review date
Comparison claims are based on the public product information linked below and the How It Felt feature set on this site.
- How It Felt product page
- Shutterbite official site
- Kristeller & Wolever (2011): Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training for Treating Binge Eating Disorder
- Robinson E. et al. (2014): Eating attentively: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of food intake memory and awareness on eating
- Doumit R. et al. (2016): Effects of Recording Food Intake Using Cell Phone Camera Pictures on Energy Intake and Food Choice
- Mindfulness-based eating awareness can be studied as a structured intervention, not as a substitute for care. [Kristeller & Wolever (2011)]
- Food-intake memory and awareness are topics studied in eating research; the paper does not establish that an app is treatment. [Robinson E. et al. (2014)]
- Food photography has been studied as a recording method, without establishing that it suits every person. [Doumit R. et al. (2016)]
Last reviewed: April 30, 2026.
Learn the concepts
Plain-language explainers behind the comparison.
Try How It Felt
A calmer way to be with food.
Free, no account, all data on your device.