Comparison

Use By Date vs First diary, Theme Diary

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Use By Date

Never let food or medicine expire again. This app sends timely reminders before items go bad, helping you save money and reduce waste. You can add items, record expiry dates, take photos, and categorize them for easy management.

Highlights
  • Expiry date reminders
  • Item categorization
  • Photo capture for items
  • Customizable notification times
  • Add custom item categories
  • Search functionality
  • Detailed notes for items
Features
Read full description

Tired of your food going bad? Forgot when your loaf of bread expires? With this app, you get notified before your food or medicine goes bad! You can use it for fruits, milk, medicine, memberships, meat, vitamins or vegemite, or more! Anything that has a shelf life, or an expiry date, can be added to Use By Date and you will save money and aggravation because your phone will give you a reminder ahead of time. You can take photos of your food so that you can see it to help remember. Some valuable features: - Reminder notification pops up on your phone at your specified time up to 7 days before the item expires - Take a photo of your dish or item - Record the expiry date - Categorize your items, such as food or medicine - Add new categories of items - Search for specific items - Include notes for more detail, such as where you purchased the item and for how much You will save money using this app. Throwing out the tuna salad you made 3 days ago because you forgot to eat it costs more than the price of this app!

About

First diary, Theme Diary

This app helps you journal your daily experiences with themes, emotions, and media. Record events with photos, videos, and location, and organize them privately. Premium features offer unlimited entries and media.

Highlights
  • Themed event recording
  • Emotion and level tracking
  • Add photos and videos
  • Location information
  • Secret themes and events
  • Passcode and biometric protection
  • iCloud sync
Read full description

A themed diary app that allows you to write as many times as you like in a day. In addition to images, videos, and location information, you can also record your emotions at the time. Recommended as a first diary --- theme --- Write down events based on the theme. Since the theme is decided, there is no need to worry about what to write. theme example ·family ·child ·pets ·work ·study ·hobby ·gourmet ·trip ·love affair You can add accents with emojis and colors. You can change the display order by long-pressing the list. You can hide it by setting it to a secret theme. --- event --- Since it is written in short sentences (150 characters or less), it is easy to write and lasts a long time. You can also write in long sentences. (Premium feature) Since I write about events by theme, I don't have to worry about not having anything to write about. You can write as many times as you like in a day, so it can also be used to keep track of time. You can add up to 4 photos or videos. (Expandable with premium features) You can also add location information, which is useful for recording your food trips and travels. You can add tags and display events with the same tag across themes. You can hide it by setting it as a secret event. --- Photos and videos --- Photos and videos are loaded and displayed from the photo library. You can rest assured that the storage data capacity of the app will not increase even if you add many photos and videos. If you delete it from your photo library, you will no longer be able to view it from the app, but the thumbnail will remain. Photos taken from the app are saved in the photo library, so Please set permissions for full access to your photo library. --- Emotions and Levels --- You can record emotions (moods and feelings) and their levels in events. The same emotion can be expressed in different degrees, such as being happy or very happy. It is displayed in emojis and meters for easy viewing and understanding. --- Privacy --- You can hide themes and events by making them "secret." You can rest assured that it will not be seen by anyone who does not know how to display it. You can also hide the display method description itself. You can protect the entire app by setting a passcode. Your passcode is securely stored in your keychain. It also supports biometric authentication such as Face ID and Touch ID. --- iCloud --- Data is saved in iCloud, so there is no need for backup operations. You can sync with multiple devices such as iPhone and iPad. --- Premium Features --- - No character limit - No limit on number of images - Hide advertisements - Shows current weather and temperature Please see below for terms and conditions regarding subscription and use of paid features. 1. Privacy Policy: https://gsoft.jp/privacypolicy/ 2. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Use By Date4 screens
First diary, Theme Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: First diary, Theme Diary at 100% against Use By Date's 0%. First diary, Theme Diary also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 12 months). Use By Date's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ads (none vs shown). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. First diary, Theme Diary sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 2 months. Use By Date asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Use By Date ships an update every 12 months, First diary, Theme Diary every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 2, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Use By Date versus First diary, Theme Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUse By DateFirst diary, Theme Diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB131 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPortable DatabasesG-SOFT

Customer experience

Use By Date

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

First diary, Theme Diary

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Use By Date

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

First diary, Theme Diary

Subscriptions2
  • Show weather$0.992 Months
  • Hide ads$0.991 Month
One-time5
  • Number of images$1.99
  • Character limit$1.99
  • Show weather$3.99
Show 2 more
  • Hide ads (Unlimited)$9.99
  • Unlock passcode$19.99

Questions

Is Use By Date free?
Use By Date is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is First diary, Theme Diary free?
First diary, Theme Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Use By Date or First diary, Theme Diary have ads?
First diary, Theme Diary shows ads; Use By Date does not.
Which is updated more often, Use By Date or First diary, Theme Diary?
Use By Date ships an update every 12 months, and First diary, Theme Diary every 3 weeks. Most recently, Use By Date was updated on October 2, 2026 and First diary, Theme Diary on October 2, 2026.

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