Frequently Asked Questions - dinesh-git17/my-progress-planner GitHub Wiki

Common questions about My Progress Planner - your supportive meal tracking companion.

🌟 General Questions

What is My Progress Planner?

My Progress Planner is an AI-powered progressive web app that transforms meal tracking into a supportive, encouraging experience. Unlike traditional nutrition apps focused on calories and restrictions, we provide the kind of warm, loving feedback you'd get from someone who genuinely cares about your wellbeing.

How is this different from other meal tracking apps?

  • Supportive AI responses - Every meal gets personalized encouragement from GPT-4
  • Relationship-style support - Feels like a caring partner, not a clinical tool
  • No calorie counting - Focus on consistency and self-care, not numbers
  • Privacy-first - Your data stays yours with complete user isolation
  • Works offline - Progressive Web App that works without internet
  • Completely free - No subscriptions, no premium features, no ads

Do I need to download anything?

No! My Progress Planner is a Progressive Web App (PWA) that works in your browser. You can optionally "install" it to your home screen for a native app experience, but it's not required.

To install:

  • Mobile: Look for "Add to Home Screen" in your browser menu
  • Desktop: Look for the install icon in your address bar

🍽️ Meal Tracking

What types of meals can I log?

You can log three main meals per day:

  • Breakfast 🌅
  • Lunch 🍽️
  • Dinner 🌙

Simply describe what you ate in natural language - no need for specific measurements or calorie counts!

Can I log the same meal type twice in a day?

Currently, you can only log one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner per day. This design encourages consistency and prevents over-logging. If you need to update a meal, you can edit or replace your previous entry.

What if I forget to log a meal?

No worries! You can:

  • Log meals retroactively - The app understands if you're logging yesterday's dinner
  • Start fresh tomorrow - Every day is a new opportunity
  • Don't stress about perfection - The goal is progress, not perfection

Your AI companion will always be encouraging, whether you're catching up or staying current!

Can I add photos to my meals?

Photo support is on our roadmap! Currently, you describe your meals in text, which actually works great with our AI system that focuses on the emotional and supportive aspects of your food choices.

🤖 AI Features

How does the AI work?

Our AI uses OpenAI's GPT-4 to generate personalized, encouraging responses to every meal you log. The AI considers:

  • What you ate - Specific foods you mention
  • Your current streak - How consistent you've been
  • Time of day - Morning motivation vs evening celebration
  • Your progress - Building on your success patterns

Why does the AI sound like a boyfriend?

We designed the AI personality to feel like a supportive, loving partner because:

  • Emotional connection motivates better than clinical feedback
  • Personal encouragement builds healthier relationships with food
  • Consistent support helps develop sustainable habits
  • Celebration of progress makes the journey enjoyable

Can I customize the AI personality?

Currently, the AI has one consistent, caring personality. We're considering adding personality options in future updates based on user feedback!

What if the AI response seems inappropriate?

While rare, if you receive an inappropriate response:

  1. Take a screenshot for our records
  2. Report it via GitHub issues or email
  3. Try logging again - the AI learns and improves
  4. Remember - we have fallback responses to ensure you always get encouragement

🔥 Streaks & Progress

How are streaks calculated?

Your streak counts consecutive days where you've logged at least one meal. The streak:

  • Increases when you log any meal on a new day
  • Continues as long as you don't skip a full day
  • Resets if you go 24+ hours without logging any meal

Do I need to log all three meals to maintain my streak?

No! Logging any meal (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) counts toward your streak. We believe in progress over perfection.

What happens if I break my streak?

Don't worry - breaking a streak isn't a failure! The app will:

  • Encourage you to start fresh
  • Celebrate your best streak (we remember your record!)
  • Focus on progress rather than perfection
  • Support you in building a new streak

Remember: consistency matters more than perfection.

Can I see my progress over time?

Yes! The Summaries page shows:

  • Daily summaries with AI-generated progress reviews
  • Streak history and milestones
  • Patterns in your meal logging
  • Encouraging insights about your journey

👥 Social Features

What is a Friend Code?

Your Friend Code is a unique identifier (like "LOVE123") that lets friends find and connect with you. It's automatically generated when you create your account.

To find your Friend Code:

  1. Go to your profile or friends page
  2. Your code will be displayed at the top
  3. Share it with friends who want to connect!

How do friends work?

When connected with friends, you can:

  • See each other's streaks (not specific meal details)
  • Give encouragement and celebrate milestones together
  • Share progress without compromising privacy
  • Build accountability in a supportive way

Privacy note: Friends only see your streak and milestones, never your actual meal content or AI responses.

Can I remove friends?

Yes, you can manage your friend connections in the Friends section. Removing a friend stops sharing your streak data with them.

🔒 Privacy & Security

Is my data private?

Absolutely! Your privacy is our top priority:

  • Row-level security ensures you only see your own data
  • No data sharing with third parties
  • Local-first storage with encrypted cloud backup
  • Complete data isolation between users
  • No analytics tracking of personal information

What data do you collect?

We only collect data necessary for the app to function:

  • Account information - Name, email (for authentication)
  • Meal logs - What you've eaten (stored securely)
  • AI responses - Generated encouragement (private to you)
  • App usage - Technical metrics to improve performance (anonymized)

We never collect or share:

  • Personal conversations or meal details
  • Location data
  • Browsing history
  • Health metrics beyond what you explicitly log

Can I delete my account and data?

Yes! You have complete control over your data:

  • Export your data - Download all your meal logs and summaries
  • Delete specific entries - Remove individual meals or days
  • Delete entire account - Permanently remove all your data

Contact [email protected] if you need help with data deletion.

How secure is my data?

Your data is protected by:

  • Industry-standard encryption in transit and at rest
  • Supabase security - Enterprise-grade database protection
  • Row-level security policies - Database-level access control
  • Regular security audits and updates
  • JWT authentication with automatic token refresh

📱 Technical Questions

What browsers are supported?

My Progress Planner works on all modern browsers:

  • Chrome 90+ (recommended)
  • Safari 14+
  • Firefox 88+
  • Edge 90+
  • Mobile browsers on iOS and Android

Does it work offline?

Yes! As a Progressive Web App, you can:

  • Log meals offline - Data is stored locally
  • View previous meals - Cached for offline access
  • Get AI responses - Cached responses available offline
  • Auto-sync - Everything syncs when you're back online

Can I use it on my phone?

Absolutely! The app is designed mobile-first and works perfectly on:

  • iOS - Safari and other browsers
  • Android - Chrome and other browsers
  • Tablets - Great experience on larger screens
  • Desktop - Full functionality in any browser

For the best mobile experience, "Add to Home Screen" for a native app feel!

Why is it a web app instead of a native app?

We chose PWA technology because:

  • Universal access - Works on any device with a browser
  • No app store approval - Faster updates and features
  • Always up-to-date - No need to download updates
  • Cross-platform - One app works everywhere
  • Smaller footprint - Uses less device storage
  • Easy sharing - Send a simple link to friends

🔧 Development & Contribution

Is this open source?

Yes! My Progress Planner is open source under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 license. This means:

  • Free to use for personal and educational purposes
  • Free to modify and improve for non-commercial use
  • Commercial use requires permission - contact us for licensing
  • Share-alike - modifications must use the same license

Can I contribute to the project?

We'd love your contributions! You can:

  • Report bugs - Help us fix issues
  • Suggest features - Share your ideas
  • Improve documentation - Make it clearer for everyone
  • Submit code - Fix bugs or add features
  • Design improvements - UI/UX enhancements

Check our Contributing Guide for details!

How can I run it locally?

See our Installation Guide for complete setup instructions. Quick start:

git clone https://github.com/dinesh-git17/my-progress-planner.git
cd my-progress-planner
npm install
cp .env.example .env.local
# Edit .env.local with your API keys
npm run dev

What technologies does it use?

Frontend:

  • Next.js 14 (React framework)
  • TypeScript (type safety)
  • Tailwind CSS (styling)
  • Framer Motion (animations)

Backend:

  • Supabase (database & auth)
  • OpenAI GPT-4 (AI responses)
  • Vercel (hosting & deployment)

PWA:

  • Service Workers (offline support)
  • Web App Manifest (installation)
  • Push Notifications (reminders)

💰 Pricing & Sustainability

Is this really free?

Yes, completely free! There are no:

  • Subscription fees
  • Premium features
  • In-app purchases
  • Advertisements
  • Data selling

How is this sustainable?

The project is currently maintained as:

  • Open source contribution to the community
  • Portfolio project showcasing modern web development
  • Learning experience in AI integration and PWA development
  • Community-driven - contributions welcome!

If the project grows significantly, we might explore:

  • Voluntary donations for hosting costs
  • Commercial licensing for businesses
  • Consulting services for similar projects

But the core app will always remain free for personal use!

Can I donate or support the project?

Currently, we don't have formal donation channels set up, but you can support the project by:

  • Using and sharing the app with friends
  • Contributing code or documentation improvements
  • Reporting bugs and suggesting features
  • Starring the GitHub repo to show appreciation
  • Writing reviews or blog posts about the app

🚨 Troubleshooting

The app won't load / shows errors

Try these quick fixes:

  1. Refresh the page (Ctrl+R / Cmd+R)
  2. Clear browser cache and cookies
  3. Try incognito/private mode
  4. Check your internet connection
  5. Try a different browser

If issues persist, check our Troubleshooting Guide or report the issue!

AI responses aren't generating

This usually means:

  1. API quota exceeded - Wait a few hours and try again
  2. Temporary service issue - Try again in a few minutes
  3. Network connectivity - Check your internet connection

The app has fallback responses, so you should still get encouraging messages!

I can't log into my account

Authentication issues are usually:

  1. Third-party cookies blocked - Enable cookies for the site
  2. Browser privacy settings - Try incognito mode
  3. Account doesn't exist - Try signing up instead
  4. Email typo - Double-check your email address

The app feels slow

Performance can be improved by:

  1. Closing other browser tabs to free memory
  2. Restarting your browser
  3. Checking internet speed
  4. Clearing browser cache
  5. Using a supported browser version

📞 Still Need Help?

If your question isn't answered here:

For users:

  • Browse the wiki for comprehensive guides
  • Search GitHub issues for similar questions
  • Ask in GitHub Discussions for community help
  • Email directly: [email protected]

For developers:

Remember: Every question helps improve the app for everyone! Don't hesitate to reach out. 💕

Last updated: July 2025