Review Insights · App Store
Olive: Food & Cosmetic Scanner
Giga Studios, Inc · 38,542 ratings · ★ 4.8
4.8
★★★★★
38,542 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 65 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"free"
26 negative reviews mention this · 40% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam. Just use the Yuka app. It’s free and doesn’t give you the run around just to end up asking for payment. smh. I knew it was something g you had to pay for when it kept asking me a bunch of questions." - Mikvghh
2
"trial"
19 negative reviews mention this · 29% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Super long onboarding then paywall. I was excited to try that that after I heard a lot of good things about how it’s less biased than other apps however, once I downloaded it, there was a super long onboarding process, asking me tons of questions. I was getting frustrated by …" - Grace_165
3
"subscription"
17 negative reviews mention this · 26% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Cut down on the intro to the app. Makes you click through like 200 pages worth of stuff, which is very annoying. Just me let skip it.. and all that to tell you there’s a subscription you need to pay for 😭 just tell me at the beginning and save the damn hassle of having to …" - sksbshsbsbsbsbsnsbsbbsbssbsb
4
"free trial"
12 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Super long onboarding then paywall. I was excited to try that that after I heard a lot of good things about how it’s less biased than other apps however, once I downloaded it, there was a super long onboarding process, asking me tons of questions. I was getting frustrated by …" - Grace_165
5
"money"
10 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam. When I downloaded the app, I wasn’t thinking much of it. So I created an account… answered everything the app asked me and all of that… and then after that came the part where I have to pay some subscription before I could even try it. And …" - Lacking a name
6
"questions"
9 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scam. Just use the Yuka app. It’s free and doesn’t give you the run around just to end up asking for payment. smh. I knew it was something g you had to pay for when it kept asking me a bunch of questions." - Mikvghh
7
"paid"
8 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not free. Requires credit card for seven day trial. False advertising because of all of the ads I’ve seen it does not mention it’s a paid app. I will be deleting this app." - manger 456
8
"through"
8 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Cut down on the intro to the app. Makes you click through like 200 pages worth of stuff, which is very annoying. Just me let skip it.. and all that to tell you there’s a subscription you need to pay for 😭 just tell me at the beginning and save the damn hassle of having to …" - sksbshsbsbsbsbsnsbsbbsbssbsb
9
"without"
7 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Can’t even download without adding CC. Delete" - Hermani1998
10
"scan"
7 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "It was OK. It was nice to be able to scan things to kind of see what was in it and the facts about it but what did it make sense was like it would say tuna is bad tuna is not bad Also, I thought that was making a pay the amount of money or just partic…" - Waffles and Oreo
📋 All 65 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
No patience
Takes too long to set up
Scam
Just use the Yuka app. It’s free and doesn’t give you the run around just to end up asking for payment. smh. I knew it was something g you had to pay for when it kept asking me a bunch of questions.
Super long onboarding then paywall
I was excited to try that that after I heard a lot of good things about how it’s less biased than other apps however, once I downloaded it, there was a super long onboarding process, asking me tons of questions. I was getting frustrated by the amount of questions and then when I finally reached the end, they try to get me to sign up for a free trial that lasts only seven days and then it’s $50 a year
stupid
you can only use it if you pay
Absolutely disgusting authoritarian UX design of the app
I feel the pressure and how they force me to buy their product so much.
Not free
Requires credit card for seven day trial. False advertising because of all of the ads I’ve seen it does not mention it’s a paid app. I will be deleting this app.
App crashes after subscription but before I can use the account. Repeatable on multiple phones
Installed the app, went through all their marketing screenings, signed up for subscription, when attempted to create username and password, the app just crashes as shows a red screen with a bunch of text. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app, using a different iPhone, exactly same result. This is not usable and they already charged me for the subscription. This is garbage.
Glitchy if not just a scam.
Went through the questionnaire and even went for the 2 dollar 30 day trial subscription. Only to get an error every time I tried to create an account on the last step. Can’t even trial run with the subscription it prompted me to buy first. :(
Can’t even sign up
After trying to sign up multiple times there’s a giant error message that pops up in red with a bunch of lines of code error. No idea what’s going on. Clearly a sign up bug on the app I can’t get around so I deleted it.
Can’t even download without adding CC
Delete
Scam
When I downloaded the app, I wasn’t thinking much of it. So I created an account… answered everything the app asked me and all of that… and then after that came the part where I have to pay some subscription before I could even try it. And when I said no, it said that “I would never get an offer like that again” and “It’s on us” type garbage. scam. Forcing me to buy in to their stupid free trial none scene I wanted to see if your app was legit. Not to throw away money to try it. Garbage app don’t install and definitely don’t give them your money.
Have to pay
Very disappointed. Asked me a bunch a questions that led them to make me do a subscription with them. It’s not free! Should’ve have just told me that off the bat instead of making me waste my time. Just wanted to scan my food!
Just annoying
It collects all your data for no reason
Really wanted to use/ like this:
I could not get past the “scan your pantry” part of the ap. I scanned my pantry 5 times… reached out to Olive. They said they needed a different email… I gave it. They still could not help. Maybe this will work for others, but I’m done. Not paying for this.
Really?
Asks you a dozen questions just to make you sign up for a subscription. Bad app. Don’t buy unless you’re willing to spend money…
Gotta Pay
Maybe one day it’ll be free :(
ugh..
all those questions just to have it not be free in the end and its a trial . dissapointing
Subscription needed!
Unable to use the app cause I have to do a subscription and then cancel it isn’t something they should make everybody do
makes u pay!!! horrible.
shouldn't have to pay!!!
What a waste of time
Not free at all. Use YUKA, it’s really free
HOW MUCH
Wastes so much time trying to get you to commit then wants you to agree to a free trial and still won’t tell you how much the stupid thing is. Food is unaffordable as it is, how much more does it cost just to know what’s not poison!? Forget it. I’ll do it myself.
Bummer :(
I was super excited about this app, but you can’t even get in/try without paying $10 a month or $30 a year
Don’t bother getting this!!
This app will make you do a lot of questions just to make Yu pay attention the end I was able to get a free 7 day trial then have to pay 30 dollars. I recommend yall to use Yuka! It’s not the same as this but it still rates your food n tell you why it’s good or bad.
Predatory trial.
This company markets itself as caring and supportive, but my experience felt completely different. They offer an extremely short 3-day free trial that automatically turns into a paid subscription, which honestly feels very predatory. I did not intend to continue the subscription, yet I was still charged automatically.
To make things worse, because of the failed payment tied to the subscription, my Apple App Store account became restricted and I couldn’t download or update apps. That caused a huge inconvenience over something I never even meant to keep.
A company that truly cared about customers would make cancellations and refunds easier instead of relying on confusing auto-renewals and tiny trial windows. Very disappointing experience overall.
To make things worse, because of the failed payment tied to the subscription, my Apple App Store account became restricted and I couldn’t download or update apps. That caused a huge inconvenience over something I never even meant to keep.
A company that truly cared about customers would make cancellations and refunds easier instead of relying on confusing auto-renewals and tiny trial windows. Very disappointing experience overall.
👎
It’s unfortunate that we have to pay to receive better help.
Charges
App is awesome, but deceptive. Takes you through the signup process just to charge. No thanks.
Tricks you
You have to fill out a whole bunch of information go through like 20 different pages of questions just for it to ask you to subscribe to a monthly premium at the very end before you can scan anything
Stay away!
I tried to sign up for a trial subscription, but could not because the login codes required to confirm the subscription were immediately deemed expired. Yet somehow, a week later I've been charged $33 for a subscription I can't access much less use.
I tried multiple ways to set up and/or create an account with my email address to cancel this ghost subscription. After multiple frustrating attempts (for example, when Olive told me my phone number was incorrect, and yet required the phone number as validation when I selected email as the way to send the code instead), I finally got in. But there's no subscription information in my account, so I can't cancel. The site refers me out to Apple, but no subscription information is listed there either, so I still can't cancel. Their AI bot is useless.
I've emailed the support team but expect the only way to get our of their grip is to dispute this through my credit card.
I tried multiple ways to set up and/or create an account with my email address to cancel this ghost subscription. After multiple frustrating attempts (for example, when Olive told me my phone number was incorrect, and yet required the phone number as validation when I selected email as the way to send the code instead), I finally got in. But there's no subscription information in my account, so I can't cancel. The site refers me out to Apple, but no subscription information is listed there either, so I still can't cancel. Their AI bot is useless.
I've emailed the support team but expect the only way to get our of their grip is to dispute this through my credit card.
Awful UX & Data Collection Nonsense
Just before using the app user is forced by the developer to share personal data and their day-to-day habits. After good 5-10 minutes spent on sharing your personal data you’re informed that app has a paid subscription, but, you’re “lucky” to try it for free just today.
Disgusted by the trickery
Trying to be healthy and this app came across my TikTok claiming how free and easy it is. After the 10 minutes it took me to get through the initial questioning in the app - it of course, asks for a payment and subscription to the app. People, please do not waste your time.
Waste of time
Subscription is required to use the #22 best app in its category when #3 Yuka is free and way better than this bs.
Not rural friendly
Was interested but then found out it is only a 7 day trial. I only shop maybe twice a month because I live an hour to the closest mega mart so this trial does not work for us rural folks. Additionally, the whole setup/intro process was very exhausting as it just ended up being a giant ad promoting the app. I’ll stick to reading food labels and being mindful.
Don’t bother
Don’t bother downloading. They ask you a bunch of stupid questions before you can use the app to attempt to get you invested so you will be more likely to pay for their service.
cat fish. you have to get a subscription to use this app which is ridiculous
you should not have to pay to use this app!!
Pay wall
Can’t use it at all without a subscription I’d rather just find a different app
Cherry picking
The app claims to be science backed and cites multiple universities and research articles when you’re signing up. But when it comes to showing you the research for individual ingredients in products you scan or look up, it shows none. It uses buzz words and foods that have gained traction amongst the grifting wellness community to mislead people into thinking they’re making healthier choices. Their infatuation with seed oils is the epitome of this. All research shows that seed and plant-based oils are more heart-healthy than butter or tallow, yet they automatically ding anything with a seed oil but don’t do the same for anything with anything high in saturated fats. Huge disappointment; I’ll be sticking with Yuka since they actually back their ratings with research, not arbitrary buzz words and categories.
Very annoying to get to the point , sticking with Yuka
Another app focusing on money , Yuka doesn’t ask for anything and gets straight to the point
Not free
No free option.
just wants ur money
stop using ai
PREDATORY DO NOT USE
Opened the app once during the free trial and decided it wasn’t worth it. Never opened again. I thought I cancelled but I guess it don’t go through. Apple denied. This $70 fee means I can’t afford to pay my bills. They’ll blame Apple for the lack of refund and take ZERO accountability. Like they can’t ask my PayPal and send even a fraction of the money back for an app I DO NOT USE. It’s pathetic and predatory.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
AVOID AT ALL COSTS
Ask for money
It asked dozens questions and after asking pay for app. Good bye.
Took my money
Don’t forget to cancel your free trial if you don’t like the app. I forgot to cancel it and they WONT refund you your money back . App is a waste of money 72$ to scan things and tell you either good or bad. No links just pictures of “good stuff “ save your money
Full Access to all photos
I would love to try your app, BUT I will not. There’s absolutely no reason that you need to have access to ALL of my photos. I should be able to tell you which photos I want you to have access to in your app.
Way too expensive
Deleted the app 5 mins later after I realized the app needs to be paid for
Bait Click - Charged Immediately for Trial
A “Standard 7 Day Trial” where you are charged immediately on click for the trial. The STANDARD 7 DAY FREE TRIAL where you are charged immediately makes Apple in Breach of Terms & Conditions AKA Breach of Contract. (1) Never subscribed to this Olive App ever before - Ever. And thats what the record shows. So charging you on click amounts to fraud by Apple which knows of the Free Trial and charges you anyway. FRAUD as in ILLEGAL.
Scammed me and app is broken
I had a free trial on this app but somehow it charged my boyfriends card over 70$ because were connected on Apple family. I tried to get my money back but it won't let me. The app now has a bug that keeps popping up so I can't even use the app. So now we're out 70$ and can't even use the app we paid for. Garbage app and a scam.
Should have made a paid app!
Can’t even you the app without paying! I’ll just go pack to using my other holistic scanning apps.
Literally impossible to set up without paying
So dumb… I want to use the free version. Not the paid version but they don’t let me without subscribing first. Crazy
i am a teen
i don’t have money sorry
Forces you to pay
It makes it impossible to start the app without a trial or subscription!!!
+ 15 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
96%
Positive (4-5★)
2%
Neutral (3★)
3%
Negative (1-2★)