With our latest update, BodyBarista 4.0 can now measure your Body Fat percentage, compare any 2 photos from your History, and furthermore boasts a brand new Home screen, something we didn’t have up until now and will be a game changer.

Let’s take them one by one and see how they will affect your experience in the app. 

1. Body Fat Percentage (BF%)

This feature is something we have been considering for a long time, and now we’ve finally decided to implement it – in a beta version.

Body Fat Percentage – or BF% – is the holy grail of body composition. Just imagine taking a selfie in the mirror and having an app tell you that percentage.

Accuracy is a tricky thing with BF%. The BIA scales that require you to stand on with your bare feet measure your body’s impedance and calculate the amount of body fat based on that. But they also measure what’s in your gut and in your bladder, and they estimate how long the path of electricity is from one foot to another (the length of your legs). A far more accurate way is to measure the amount of fat under your skin using statistical formulas to get the total fat percentage. These are called skinfold measurements and have been standardized to measurements at seven locations (Jackson & Pollock), mainly because it is manual work and needs to be convenient both for the person getting measured and the personal trainer doing the measurement. 

The BodyBarista beta feature’s accuracy lies somewhere between the two measurement tools. We have, in the pipeline, the most accurate method for users, using fully automated machine learning. For now, we use some statistical regression methods. This means that the accuracy is 0.6 lower than skinfold measurements.

This may sound discouraging. The skinfold measurement is accurate within +/- 3.5% while BodyBarista, for now, is within +/- 5%. The electrical bathroom scale (BIA) has both a lower accuracy (as it doesn’t have the exact length of your arms and legs) and lower consistency (as it doesn’t have information about what is in your gut at a given moment). The exciting thing about BodyBarista is that, as our development continues, our future, more advanced algorithms will update your past measurements as you have access to your private and encrypted imagery from before.

2. Compare 

Photo compare has been part of our app’s previous version, and it’s been a feature that many users enjoyed.

Now it’s back – for good.

Nothing beats seeing the progress. It’s a great ego-boost and a great motivation. Now you can zoom and pinch to see how you’re transforming those abdominals into a six pack or how those shoulders get skulpted into something taken from a Marvel hero magazine.

You can compare any photo set from your history in Journal, or compare your latest photo in Results. Just press “Photos >” under the heat map. Swap between initial and latest to compare to your first or your last image set.

3. New Home screen

The new Home screen is an improvement on the user experience of the app.

What is great about the bathroom scale is that you stand on it and get one, easy to read number.

BodyBarista is doing the same. Press the big measurement button, take your measurement mirror selfies and boom, you have your measurements as the combined total (Total inches or Total centimeters) or as your Fat %.

Even if your goal is to get bigger in some parts and get tighter in others, seeing your total go up and down is an instant gratification of your workout effort.

We also added a wallpaper to the home screen. BodyBarista is a private and personal measurement app and we want to make you feel that on the home screen. Therefore, with our next big update, we are making it possible for you to change the wallpaper just as you can in WhatsApp.

What’s next?

We are hoping these new features will improve and enrich your experience. They are the result of our efforts, and we’ll continue to refine them as we get feedback and move forward.

The journey continues. We are looking into introducing a new visual feature, as well as making the machine learning (this is what some people call artificial intelligence AI) smarter.

Any feedback, ratings & reviews are welcome!

The post Body Fat Percentage, Compare & other New Features appeared first on BodyBarista.

Here’s to summer! We all love it – well, most of us do.

And while you’re out there enjoying it and having fun, it’s a good idea to use BodyBarista from time to time to keep a pulse on your measurements. 

Here’s why.

You might not like it, but during the summer holidays, exercise and working out is probably not the first priority on your list.

And you probably don’t watch out for what you eat as often as you otherwise do. Most people let go a little during this season, and that’s ok. 

However, monitoring how your body changes during this time might be interesting. You monitor how your body changes when you are putting the effort into it, so why not keep a pulse on what exactly is happening to your body when you don’t?

It can also help to track where the changes are happening exactly. 

You might have an idea of where you tend to put on weight the fastest or which of your muscles weaken first – but wouldn’t it be interesting to see this data accurately in inches/cm?

And, furthermore, recording it for future use?

And if you’re the type of person who only needs a little push to stay motivated, taking your measurements as the summer progresses might work to your benefit.

BodyBarista will be able to tell the small changes that you might otherwise not really notice at first, and consequently motivate you to try and eat (a little) healthier during your vacation, and to try to be (a little) more active. 

Not to mention the health benefits to that.

Taking your measurements regularly even during summer could motivate you extra-hard when summer is over and you’re back to your routine.

How so?

If your body has changed considerably during the summer months, you will, in turn, see the progress faster and easier as you get back to your regular exercising.

This works great for your motivation! Seeing progress is the #1 reason we stick to our fitness plan. 

And let’s not forget the long-term perspective.

Keeping a tab on your measurements regularly gives a long-term perspective to your fitness, health and physical appearance. You will have the data on your fluctuation of your measurements, your best and worst shape, all on your phone. 

And finally, the Secret – not so secret – Bonus

In just a couple of weeks, we’ll be releasing a new feature where you’ll be able to save your photos when taking a measurement and revisit them for any date.

Basically, enjoying before & after pictures!

From then on, you’ll be able to check back on your summer picture from last year, your before summer and after summer picture, and so on. 

For those of you who enjoy a visual representation of your fitness progress, this is just what you’ve been waiting for. 

Which of the benefits above surprised you most?

The post The hidden benefits of using BodyBarista during the summer holidays appeared first on BodyBarista.

In the wake of the latest Facebook scandal regarding data privacy and electronic brainwashing, we want to give insight into why we chose to delete the Facebook Account Kit option in BodyBarista. Hardly anyone has missed the news about Cambridge Analytica, where 50 million users’ Facebook data was breached and paired with psychological profiling. The amount of private data unwillingly handed over to Facebook is also massive. If you have the Facebook app, you are constantly feeding the company with your whereabouts. Even your online presence is monitored; you have probably noticed Facebook ads mysteriously related to the websites outside of Facebook after just having visited them. The indignation and repulsiveness surrounding the #DeleteFacebook movement are rightly justified. 

Whether you decide to delete Facebook or not, it’s a good idea to take a look at what other apps you are using that might feed Facebook with data. At BodyBarista we decided to use Facebook Account kit in the past for an easy Sign-up/Login using any phone number or email. But in the last few weeks, we have been working on removing that connection. What we are interested in is that you make progress and get the hard-earned results on your body from your workout routine and lifestyle. Therefore we didn’t store your phone number or email which, for our purposes, we regarded as redundant information. But Facebook thought otherwise. When logging in, you still had to agree to Facebook’s Terms and Data Privacy. We made sure that your waistline and biceps measurements were never reaching Facebook, but we couldn’t stop Facebook from recording that you were using BodyBarista and how often.

Privacy #1: Location

In the Facebook app, your GPS location is constantly monitored. If you’re hanging out with a friend and meet a friend of their’s, you can bet that the person you just met will pop up as a suggested friend on Facebook later. There are ways to turn this off, but Facebook makes sure to constantly change their privacy settings. Personally, I’ve deleted the Facebook app and only use Facebook from the mobile browser. Fitness tracking apps like Strava, MapMyRun, and Nike + RunClub, all track your GPS location. The only problem for you (and sometimes national security) is the default sharing of your routes to the community. At BodyBarista, we’re using your location for a reason, and only if you opt-in. BodyBarista is free to use at your gym because we promote regular training. When you add a gym, your phone is sending your GPS location anonymously to Foursquare to create a list of gyms nearby. This data is never sent to us. When you’re taking your measurements at a gym, we only check for True or False value if you are at a previously added gym. Again, no location coordinates ever leave your phone.

Privacy #2: Identity

Way back, we had the option to link Facebook with BodyBarista, which meant that we got a list of your friends who used BodyBarista. When we updated BodyBarista with our US patent, we switched to email or your phone number which was facilitated by Facebook. Some of you became concerned that we were linking your measurements with your private phone number – but we didn’t. We were more concerned with the fact that Facebook, by facilitating the service, allowed themselves to track you as a BodyBarista user. With the latest update, we have been able to increase security while removing the Sign-up/Login altogether. This means that we do not get your private email nor phone number, and Facebook won’t be able to identify you as a BodyBarista user. A win-win for everyone (except Facebook).

In conclusion: we are serious about privacy. The current shit storm surrounding Facebook should be a reminder for both us as app developers, as well as you as a consumer, to constantly evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of giving away private data. We have chosen to make it as clear as possible by deleting Facebook for our app.

/ Peter Falk, CEO of BodyBarista

P.S.: Maybe now it’s a good time to really read our Privacy Policy …

The post Why we deleted Facebook (Sign-in option) appeared first on BodyBarista.

After a year of hard work & a granted US patent, BodyBarista 3 is finally launched. One of the biggest and most important updates to this date, as many new features are added to the app, including measuring your individual muscle groups based on iPhone pictures, accuracy within 1-1.5%, being able to see the changes every day/week/month in fractions of inches/cm, and comparing to the average male/female.

With all these new features, we are proud to present BB-3 – BodyBarista 3!

How does it work?

BodyBarista is simple and fun to use. Make sure all the body parts that you want to measure are well visible in your mirror, such as your flexed right arm, your complete torso, hips, legs, etc. No worries, you don’t need to capture and measure your full body all the time. You can have an upper body routine in your bathroom mirror each morning and meanwhile take a full measurement less frequently at the sports center or other similar places. Next, open BodyBarista camera/measurement and do like shown in the video. Place the iPhone in your left hand and raise your hand to the ear, this rotates the phone upside down as shown on the screen. The app will guide you through 2 positions in front of the mirror. Once you’ve taken the pictures, you’ll validate the calibrated images and move the points for each muscle group. In a matter of seconds, BodyBarista will calculate your Torso, Arm and Legs measurements down to details such as Neck, Lats, Delts, Waist, Thighs, etc. With your first measurement, you will be able to see how you compare to the average male/female, and once you start monitoring yourself, you’ll see the difference in inches/cm on the outline of your body. This will help you pick the right exercise or choose the right diet, and keep you motivated. BodyBarista is more accurate than the bathroom scale by 34%, so these measurements are on point.

What’s in it for me?

We at BodyBarista believe “You are what you measure” when it comes to your health and your fitness. Want to set a body goal? Keep an eye on the measurements to see if your diet/fitness plan is right for you. Do you have specific areas that you want to pump up? Pay extra attention to the numbers that indicate the part of your body you’re focusing on. Are you frustrated that your weight doesn’t change even though you’re working your ass off? Your body measurements could be an indication that you are losing fat in some places and gaining muscle in others. The BodyBarista app solves all these issues. Track your body in inches and cm and know exactly where and when the changes are happening. Don’t just talk the talk – walk the walk. If you want to get things done, BodyBarista is a must.

What’s next?

For you, the next step is: downloading the app! Start the good habit of tracking your body, because it has never been easier than it is now with BodyBarista. According to sciene, measuring the body’s progress is the #1 reason why people keep to their fitness routine. BodyBarista will keep you motivated to continue by showing you the progress you’re making in inches and cm.

As for BodyBarista, we are always on a constant quest to develop and better our app. Got any feedback for us? We’d love to hear it. Just email us at info[at]bodybarista[dot]com.

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