How to log a meal from a photo

Meal scan is part of Premium, and of your free trial.

1. On the log page, tap Meal scan at the bottom. The first time, Surplus tells you the photo is sent to Anthropic to identify the food and isn’t kept. Tap Continue.
2. Get the whole plate in the frame and tap the shutter. Tap Retake to try again, or Use photo.
3. A screen lists each food Surplus found, with its amount in grams and its calories. Change the amount, or type the calories and the amount changes to match. Tap Change food to pick a different food, or the bin to remove one.
4. Check the Meal and tap Log.

The calories come from Surplus’s food library, the same official food tables search uses, for the amounts shown. The photo is only used to recognise the food and estimate how much there is, so check the amounts before you log.

A food Surplus can’t match says “No match” and shows no calories. Search in its row to pick one, or remove it. A packaged food’s row offers “Scan the barcode instead?”, because the pack’s label is more accurate.

Meal scan needs an internet connection and a signed-in account. The photo isn’t saved on your phone or by us.