Kigen: Expiry Date Tracker

About

Kigen keeps the expiry dates of the food in your kitchen and the supplies in your emergency kit in one list, and tells you before they run out. ■ From the second time, just scan the barcode Type a product name in once and the app ties it to that barcode on your device. Buy the same thing again and scanning fills the name in for you. Food and emergency supplies are things you buy over and over, so from the second time there is almost nothing left to type. On a first scan the app can also look the barcode up online. Plenty of products are not in the database, so if nothing comes back, type the name yourself — it will be there next time. ■ Read the printed date with the camera Point the camera at the date printed on the pack, or pick a photo of it. Recognition runs entirely on your iPhone: no image and no text leaves the device. Dates on food packs are often dot-printed, low contrast, or on a curved film, so the app does not fill the date in on its own. It lists the dates it read and you tap the right one. If none of them look right, type it in. ■ Emergency supplies get an early warning ・Emergency supplies … 60 days before the date ・Medicine … 30 days before ・Food and household items … the number of days you choose (3 by default) Restocking an emergency kit takes longer than a trip to the shop, so those items are flagged earlier. Notifications arrive at 9 in the morning. ■ Use one, replace one Swipe an item to record "used one". When the count reaches zero it drops off the list, so what is left on screen is what you need to buy. The Stock tab shows what you have by category, so you can work through the older packs and replace them before anything runs out — the oldest goes first. ■ Sorted so you can read it at a glance Items sit in four bands: expired, due today, coming up, and plenty of time. The number of expired and nearly expired items is summed up at the top of the screen. ■ Everything stays on your device, except one thing Product names, dates, counts and notes are all stored on your iPhone and are never sent anywhere. The one exception is the online product lookup: it sends the digits of the barcode and nothing else — no device identifier, none of your saved items — and you can switch it off in Settings. With it off, the app makes no network requests for lookups at all. The camera is used only for reading; nothing is recorded or uploaded. ■ Premium, bought once Up to 20 items can be saved without Premium. Premium lifts the limit on the number of items and removes the ads. It is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Please note: this app records dates and reminds you about them. Whether something is still fit to eat or use is your own call — the app does not judge food safety.