# Trace Elements — Low-nickel & cobalt food diary

> Offline food diary for low-nickel/cobalt diets with intake tracking and analysis. (iPhone/iPad app by Code Cowboys.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trace-elements/id6803194660 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Code Cowboys](https://appshunter.io/developer/6803168073)
- Category: Health & Fitness, Food & Drink
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings · 1 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.5 · 69 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-09-16
- Data updated: 2026-10-08
- Monetization: freemium
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trace-elements/id6803194660/reviews.md

## What is Trace Elements?

Trace Elements is a private, offline food diary for people on a restricted diet — a low-nickel diet for Systemic Nickel Allergy Syndrome (SNAS) or nickel-sensitive dermatitis, or a low-cobalt diet. Log what you eat and the app estimates how much nickel (or cobalt) each meal and each day adds up to, against a daily limit you set.

It works fully offline, has no account, no ads, and no tracking. Your data stays on your iPhone.

FAST DAILY LOGGING
• Add foods to Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks
• Enter amounts in grams or common serving sizes
• A progress ring shows your running daily total at a glance
• Copy a meal forward from yesterday with one tap
• Save favorite meals and re-add them in seconds

A FOOD DATABASE THAT GROWS WITH YOU
• Hundreds of foods with reference values from the Rebelytics low-nickel and low-cobalt diet datasets
• Edit or add your own values — they're saved and reused
• Scan a packaged product's barcode to pull in its ingredient list
• Can't find a food? Look it up in the USDA FoodData Central database, or use the in-app web lookup. These optional lookups are the only times the app goes online.

RECIPES
• Build compound foods (a sandwich, a stew, a takeout order) from ingredients and the app totals them automatically
• Save them as reusable recipes

SEE YOUR TRENDS
• A calendar colors each day Good, Caution, or Over against thresholds you choose
• Keep a per-day journal with mood and notes

PRIVATE BY DESIGN
• No sign-in, no user accounts
• No advertising, analytics, or crash-reporting SDKs
• Camera images from barcode and menu scans are read on the device and never stored or uploaded

TRACE ELEMENTS PRO (optional subscription)
• Track cobalt alongside nickel, with its own daily limit and dataset
• Scan a restaurant menu: photograph it, pick your dish, and its ingredients are looked up — on supported iPhones, your phone's own on-device AI can estimate ingredients and portions without anything leaving the device
• Export PDF reports to share with your clinician
• Back up and restore everything: to a file, or to your own iCloud
• $1.99 per month or $12.99 per year. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel subscriptions in your App Store account settings after purchase.
• Prefer a one-time thank-you? A tip jar is there too. Core tracking stays free.

Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Privacy Policy: https://traceelements.app/privacy

A NOTE FROM THE DEVELOPER
I built this app for my wife after she was diagnosed with a nickel sensitivity. Managing it day to day was harder than it needed to be, and this was the only way I knew how to help. If it makes your days a little easier too, it's done its job.

Please note: Trace Elements is a self-tracking aid. Reference values are estimates and vary by source, growing region, and preparation. It is not a medical device and does not provide medical or dietary advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your diet and any food sensitivities.

## Key features

- Offline food logging
- Nickel and cobalt intake estimation
- Customizable food database
- Barcode scanning
- Recipe building
- Daily trend calendar
- Journaling for mood and notes

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Trace Elements Pro | $12.99 | per year |
| Trace Elements Pro | $1.99 | per month |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A coffee | $1.99 | one-time |
| A big coffee | $4.99 | one-time |
| Coffee for a week | $9.99 | one-time |


## Recent user reviews (1 of 1)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trace-elements/id6803194660/reviews.md

### 5/5 — HIGHLY recommend for anyone with SNAS

*2026-10-03*

This is the first app for SNAS that actually allows you to see the amount of micrograms in scannable food products! I love being able to track the micrograms in my recipes as well. As a long time user of the Rebelytics Nickel Navigator app, I am very happy to see their data being used for great things like this app.

## Frequently asked questions about Trace Elements

### What is Trace Elements?

Trace Elements is a private, offline food diary designed for individuals on restricted diets, specifically low-nickel and low-cobalt diets. It helps users log their food intake and estimates the nickel or cobalt content of each meal and day against a personal daily limit.

### Does Trace Elements work offline?

Yes, Trace Elements works fully offline. It does not require an account, has no ads, and does not track users, ensuring that all your data stays on your iPhone.

### How does Trace Elements help with low-nickel diets?

Trace Elements provides a food database with reference values for low-nickel diets, allowing you to log meals and see estimated nickel intake. You can set a daily limit and track your progress, with a calendar coloring each day based on your intake.

### What are the features of Trace Elements Pro?

Trace Elements Pro, an optional subscription, allows tracking of cobalt alongside nickel, scanning restaurant menus with on-device AI ingredient estimation, exporting PDF reports, and backing up/restoring data to iCloud. The core tracking features remain free.

### How much does Trace Elements Pro cost?

Trace Elements Pro offers a subscription for $1.99 per month or $12.99 per year. Payment is charged to your Apple ID, and subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends.

### Can I add my own foods to Trace Elements?

Yes, you can edit existing food values or add your own custom values to the food database. These custom entries are saved and reused for future logging. The app also allows looking up foods in the USDA database or via in-app web lookup.

### Is Trace Elements safe for children?

Trace Elements has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for younger users. The app is designed with privacy in mind, with no account creation or data tracking, ensuring user data remains secure on the device.

### How often is Trace Elements updated?

Trace Elements was last updated on September 24, 2026, with version 2.0.11. This indicates a commitment to ongoing development and improvements for the application.

## Version history (last 2 releases)

### 2.0.11 — 2026-09-24

• Scanned ingredients match by what they are: "sugar" is sugar, "oats" are oats; anything uncertain is left for you to confirm, never guessed.
• Online lookups show every reading with its source sentence and only accept figures about the food you asked for.
• "Look up all missing" proposes values beside the closest foods already in your list — nothing is applied until you choose.
• Substitutes list related foods first. Saved recipes ask for servings.

### 2.0.9 — 2026-09-17

No release notes.

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## More apps by Code Cowboys

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All apps by Code Cowboys: https://appshunter.io/developer/6803168073

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-08.*