Eat.ly FAQ

  1. What is Eat.ly?
  2. Is Eat.ly a social network for foodies?
  3. How can I start using Eat.ly?
  4. How can I send my food photos to Twitter?
  5. How do I authenticate my account with Twitter?
  6. How does the foursquare integration work?
  7. Is Eat.ly a URL shortner?
  8. How does search work on Eat.ly?
  9. How can I score my meals on Eat.ly (or health ratings)?
  10. How can I keep my meals and Eat.ly usage private?

What is Eat.ly?

Do you remember what you had for lunch two days ago? Most people do not and it's a major problem.

Eat.ly lets you keep a visual record of meals you've eaten, providing incentives for healthier and more social eating.

Images can be kept totally private, or optionally shared with friends, family, a trainer or even on Twitter. Users can rate meals using our 'healthiness scale' of 1 to 100, avoiding any confusing metrics or steps.

Our team believes the simple practice of remembering to take a photo before you eat can lead to massive change. Pausing for even a second to reflect on what you're about to take-in is a simple yet powerful change to most diets. Among our community, we've seen firsthand that being accountable for what you eat leads to healthier decisions.

The Eat.ly technology platform is founded on the core idea that data + pictures = positive change.

Is Eat.ly a social network for foodies?

If you want to participate publicly, then yes! By posting images to Twitter and Facebook other users can "follow-you" and comment on your images.

However, "public" food tracking is not required. Our community is a diverse group of food trackers --- each person has their own unique reasons for using Eat.ly.

By sending a food photo to post@eat.ly you automatically add your latest meal to your Eat.ly account and can begin tracking how healthy each meal is.

How can I start using Eat.ly?

To use Eat.ly just take a photo of anything you're about to eat and email it to: post@eat.ly The image will automatically show up in your eat.ly stream.

You can also track private meals by sending photos to private@eat.ly or share your latest meals publicly by sending them to twitter@eat.ly.

  1. Take a photo of your meal.
  2. Send it to post@eat.ly
  3. You are done - simply checkout http://www.eat.ly/username when you are ready to look at or score your meal

How can I send my food photos to Twitter?

Twitter Integration on Eat.ly

Now you can send an email to twitter@eat.ly to share your meal with your Twitter friends. Simply follow the steps below to get started:

  1. Take a photo of your meal
  2. Send the photo to "twitter@eat.ly"
  3. Login to eat.ly and authenticate your twitter account with Eat.ly (don't worry, since Twitter uses something called OAuth we never see your password so your information remains secure)

How do I authenticate my account with Twitter?

Below are some easy steps to get this done on eat.ly

  1. Login to Eat.ly
  2. Click "settings in the upper right
  3. Scroll down to the area that says Social Networks and click the Sign in with Twitter button
  4. You will then reach a screen that says "An application would like to connect to your account" Click the green Allow button
  5. You should now see Twitter authenticated with your account - happy photo sharing!

How does the foursquare integration work?

After authorizing foursquare with your Eat.ly account, you can send your meals to checkin@eat.ly with the name of the restaurant somewhere in the subject or body to automatically checkin to the venue.

To setup foursquare functionality:

  1. Login to Eat.ly
  2. Click "Settings" in the upper right
  3. Click the Foursquare button under Social Networks
  4. You will be brought to a Foursquare login page - please login and click "Allow"
  5. You have authenticated your Foursquare account and are now ready for an Eat.ly check in. You will then see that Eat.ly is listed under Connections in your Foursquare settings page
  6. Take a photo of your next meal and send it to checkin@eat.ly and be sure to list the name of the venue in the subject of your email to help us geolocate where you are

Is Eat.ly a URL shortner?

Eat.ly creates a shortened URL for any image(s) posted outside of Eat.ly.

If you post an image to Twitter (send your picture to: twitter@eat.ly) you will see a link in your Tweet that looks like this: http://eat.ly/+g8bnb (click through to see a delicious bacon cheeseburger)

Short links allow you to maximize the message in your tweet and let everyone that your sharing a great food image.

You can now search the system for anything!

Try out some of these fun searches below to see why we love this feature:
http://eat.ly/search?q=amazing
http://eat.ly/search?q=ice+cream
http://eat.ly/search?q=delicious

How can I rate my meals on Eat.ly (i.e. Meal Scoring)?

Perhaps the most unique feature on Eat.ly, health ratings, give users the ability to rate any meal on a scale of 1 to 100 (unhealthy to healthy). This is a subjective score based on whatever you personally think. Within your stream, we track your overall rating score over time.

To edit your meal score simply login, and click the title of any meal, then rate the meal with the simple slider underneath the photo.

Have questions about this feature? Let us know: info@eat.ly

How can I keep my meals and Eat.ly usage private?

We know that some people are using Eat.ly today for dieting and personal reasons. Some folks may not want to share everything they are eating online and we introduced the ability to keep posts private or even your entire profile private.

to mark a meal private via email simply use the email private@eat.ly

To make your profile private simply complete the following steps:

  1. Login to Eat.ly
  2. Click "settings" in the upper right
  3. Under "Privacy Settings" simply choose the "private" option

Notes about privacy: