Diabetes Data Apps: What’s Available + How They Work
All mobile and desktop-friendly diabetes data apps—otherwise known as diabetes management platforms (DMP)—offer a unique set of benefits, features, capabilities and purposes. They also vary in price (though most are free) and device compatibility.
DMPs are intended to help people easily manage their diabetes and coordinate with their care teams more effectively. There are many reasons you may consider using a DMP while living with diabetes. For example, you may want clearer insights into your day-to-day and long-term management or be able to organize your life with diabetes more seamlessly.
In this guide, we explore some of the most popular diabetes data apps available today and highlight their key benefits, all so you can decide which may help you the most.
Continuous glucose monitor apps
Dexcom G6 + Clarity apps
About: With the Dexcom G6 app, you can log your insulin, exercise, carb intake and track important health information, such as the date of your last menstrual cycle or alcohol consumption—all while collecting data directly from your continuous glucose monitor (CGM).
The Dexcom G6 Clarity app is a Dexcom-specific mobile and desktop-friendly app that works with your Dexcom G6 app to show trends in your blood sugar data and other essential stats like time in range, blood sugar patterns (such as if you experience daytime highs or lows, etc.), standard blood sugar deviation and glucose management indicator (GMI). You can see a breakdown of this data over a 2, 7, 14, 30 or 90-day period.
Benefits: The Dexcom G6 and Clarity apps work most powerfully together, helping you use your blood sugar data to develop personalized care plans with your diabetes care team. For example, the specific trends shown can help you identify if you need to change your insulin regimen or nutrition plan. You can enable sharing in your Dexcom G6 app and add up to 10 followers, usually close friends or family, your endocrinologist, certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) or other primary diabetes healthcare provider.
Freestyle Libre apps
About: You might still be transitioning from Freestyle Libre 2 (FSL2) to 3 (FSL3) as new products take a while to hit all marketplaces. If you’re still on the FSL2 app, don’t worry! There is a lot of valuable information across Abbott’s suite of applications.
Here’s what you will find on Freestyle Libre’s mobile (and one desktop-centric) apps:
- Freestyle Libre 2: Daily patterns, time in target and low blood glucose events. You can see your data broken down over a 7, 14, 30 or 90-day period. Use the app to track food, log insulin use, exercise and other events that impact your health.
- Freestyle Libre 3: Daily patterns, time in range, low blood glucose events, average glucose, daily graphs and more. You can view this data broken down over the same periods mentioned above. Use the app to store your glucose history or even take notes!
- Freestyle Libre LinkUp: A mobile app that lets you share your data with friends, family or health care providers—whoever you want to share it with.
- Freestyle LibreView: A desktop app that takes the data you find in your basic Freestyle Libre 2 or 3 mobile apps and amplifies it so you can make more informed treatment decisions with your health care provider. Monitor your time in range, get a snapshot report (of your glucose control, sensor usage and insulin data) and access your glucose patterns insight report.
Blood glucose meter apps
The Freestyle Libre and Dexcom apps are some of the most popular diabetes management platforms available to the community because they work closely with existing CGMs. For people with diabetes who check their blood sugar levels with blood glucose meters (BGMs), there are also free apps that pair directly with your devices like:
- One Touch Reveal: A mobile and desktop-friendly app that helps you manage your blood sugar levels in real-time with compatible One Touch blood glucose meters. A color-coded logbook and dashboards link your logged food, insulin and activity. You can even share your data with friends and family and get an estimate on your A1c.
- One Drop: A mobile app that helps you manage and track your diabetes, blood pressure, heart health and weight. You can log your blood sugar levels, A1c, food intake and activity, see your data in one place, utilize predictive insights and share your reports with your doctor.
More DMPs for diabetes management
Glooko
About: Glooko is a mobile and desktop-friendly app that enables you and your health care provider to connect more closely remotely on your diabetes data. You can connect a range of BGMs, CGMs and insulin pumps with Glooko, using different upload methods (depending on your device). Instructions are featured in the app when you sign up on how to use it!
Benefits: On top of being able to work with your diabetes care team digitally in between routine appointments (primary care provider, endocrinologist, CDCES, etc.), you gain access to thorough charts that feature detailed data on your blood glucose levels, insulin use, trends in blood sugar patterns and more. See your diabetes data in a summary, graph, logbook, history, insights and device-specific format.
When using the desktop version of Glooko, you can also export your data in a PDF format to share with your provider if you’re unsure or have yet to share it with their healthcare portal.
Sugarmate
About: Sugarmate is a unique mobile and desktop-friendly app on this list in that lets you opt-in to receive automated calls from the system when your blood sugar levels are below normal or urgently low. You can also add more customized alerts if you like! On top of this feature, Sugarmate provides similar data as other apps. It lets you connect with Dexcom G5 or G6.
Benefits: Sugarmate is supported by Apple Watch. You can also connect it to Amazon Alexa Skill. Using Sugarmate, you can ask Alexa: “Alexa, what’s my blood sugar at?” and she’ll tell you! (The future of blood sugar management is here!) If you consider yourself tech-savvy, Sugarmate is a good option for you. It offers voice recognition and dictation and the ability to track your activity, nutrition and exercise.
The list goes on!
This guide touches the surface of the diabetes management platforms available today. Others include:
- Happy Bob App: A mobile app that connects with your Dexcom CGM to help you monitor your blood glucose levels in real time. You can also connect Happy Bob to your Apple Health data. Happy Bob gamifies life with diabetes and facilitates an engaging, community-based user experience. It aims to help users “reduce the mental toll” of diabetes and help you “feel like a person, not a patient.” DashBob is a sister functionality that lets you see your data and engage on a desktop computer.
- Glucose tracker—Diabetic diary: A mobile app for people with type 1, type 2 or gestational diabetes that helps you track your regular hemoglobin, blood sugar levels and blood pressure. You can also set insulin injection reminders, add tags, track medications, log your weight and more.
- Medtronic apps: Medtronic offers a variety of apps to people with diabetes, including InPen, MiniMed Mobile App, CareLink Connect App and Guardian Connect US. These apps connect with different Medtronic technology and have distinct features and functionality. Across these apps, you will find transparent insights and important trends in your diabetes data, be able to log health events, enable helpful alarms, access insulin dosing recommendations, connect your diabetes support team with your data and more.
- It doesn’t stop there: That’s right—there are still more options to explore! In addition to those mentioned above, you can use platforms like RocheDiabetes Care Platform, MySugar, Glucose Buddy, Diabetes:M, Blood Sugar Monitor by Dario and Glucose Tracker—Diabetic Diary to meet different diabetes management and data needs. All from the comfort of your mobile phone or desktop computer!
The future of diabetes management platforms
The future of DMP is exciting! Gone are the days of pencils and writing down blood sugar readings in a logbook. Diabetes technology is constantly evolving, which means we are likely to see improvements to existing apps and see new apps hit the space as time goes on.
Beyond Type 1 is keeping a pulse on upcoming diabetes management platforms and will update this list as new technology emerges.
Editor’s notes: This article mentions Dexcom, Abbott, Medtronic and Roche Diabetes Care, all of which are active partners of Beyond Type 1 at the time of publication.
Educational content related to diabetes management platforms (DMP) is made possible with support from Lilly Diabetes, an active partner of Beyond Type 2 at the time of publication. Editorial control rests solely on Beyond Type 2.
