The short answer

Abbott's own LibreLink app shows your glucose but not your food. In the UK, the Libre apps do not write glucose to Apple Health, so to see meals and glucose together you need something that connects through LibreLinkUp, Abbott's follower app. Apple Health is the route for Dexcom, not Libre. Bolus connects Libre through LibreLinkUp and Dexcom through Apple Health, and shows your planned meals, activity and glucose side by side. It is free to connect, display only, and never gives dosing advice.

How CGM data gets to other apps

The FreeStyle Libre sensor talks to Abbott's LibreLink app on your phone. Other apps cannot read the sensor directly, and in the UK LibreLink does not publish readings to Apple Health, so anything that shows Libre glucose next to your food is getting it one of these ways:

  • LibreLinkUp. Abbott's companion app lets people you choose, such as family or carers, follow your readings. An app can connect as one of those followers using your LibreLinkUp login, and that is how it sees your Libre glucose. This is the Libre route.1
  • Apple Health, for Dexcom. Dexcom's app writes glucose to Apple Health on iPhone, with readings arriving after a delay rather than in real time, and other apps can read it from there with your permission. This is the Dexcom route; it does not apply to Libre.2
  • Manual entry. Many logging apps simply ask you to type the number in. It works, but it is one more thing to keep up.

None of these routes is a medical integration. They show you numbers so you can see them next to something else. Any app that uses them to tell you what to eat to control your glucose is making a claim that should make you cautious.

What Bolus does with Libre and Dexcom

Bolus is food, exercise and weight support for type 2, type 1 and pre-diabetes, and the CGM connection is optional. FreeStyle Libre connects through your LibreLinkUp login, and Dexcom through Apple Health. Once connected, you see your own glucose alongside the meals you ate and the activity that came in from Apple Health, so a Tuesday that went well or badly has some context.3

Two things matter about how it is done. It is display only: Bolus does not use your glucose to score, choose or rank meals, and it never gives medical or dosing advice. And the meals come first. Bolus plans a week around how you like to eat, from a nutrition framework developed by a specialist diabetes dietitian who previously worked in NHS diabetes services, and you only tap to confirm what you ate. There is no food diary to fill in before the glucose view becomes useful.

The glucose chart and time in range are part of the free version. A closer look at how individual meals sat with your glucose is part of Bolus Premium. Bolus works fully without a CGM, so if you don't wear one, nothing is missing from the food side.

What to look for in any Libre food app

  • Which route it uses. For Libre in the UK the route is LibreLinkUp; Apple Health only carries Dexcom. If an app claims a "direct" Libre connection or a Libre-to-Apple-Health link in the UK, ask how.
  • Whether you have to log food. Pairing glucose with a food diary sounds good and lasts about a fortnight. Pairing it with meals you were going to eat anyway lasts.
  • What it does with the number. Context is helpful. Prescriptive instructions ("eat this to stop the spike") are a different category of product with different rules, and worth treating with care.
  • Whether it is honest about medical advice. A food app is not your diabetes team. Insulin, medication and targets stay with them.

Apps people ask about

  • FreeStyle LibreLink is Abbott's own app and the one your sensor talks to. It shows glucose, trends and reports, with notes you can add by hand. It does not plan or log food in any structured way.
  • SNAQ is the photo-logging app most often mentioned alongside CGMs. It lists Libre and Dexcom integrations, but its own developer says the Dexcom connection is US only and compatibility varies by market, and a UK Libre connection could not be confirmed when we checked. Worth testing before you pay.
  • Carbs & Cals and MyDiabetes let you add glucose readings by hand or from a meter, not from a Libre or Dexcom.
  • Second Nature, Oviva and Noom have no CGM connection that we could find. They are coaching and weight programmes, not glucose tools.

If you have type 1 and want glucose in a dosing context, that is a different category again (apps linked to your pump or your clinic), and nothing on this page is a substitute for it.

Your meals and your glucose, in one place

Bolus plans the week around how you like to eat, brings in your activity from Apple Health, and shows your Libre or Dexcom glucose alongside, for context only. Emily, the healthy eating coach built into the app, is there any hour to help turn it into realistic next steps. The weekly plan and the glucose chart are free.

Download on the App Store
QR code linking to Bolus on the App Store On a computer? Scan with your iPhone.

Want the food side first? See what to eat with type 2 diabetes, or whether there is an app that plans meals for type 2.

Frequently asked questions

Does Bolus connect to FreeStyle Libre?
Yes, optionally, through your LibreLinkUp login. Your glucose is then shown alongside the meals you ate and your activity. It is display only: Bolus does not use it to choose meals or give dosing advice.
Does Bolus work with Dexcom?
Yes, through Apple Health. Dexcom writes glucose to Apple Health after a delay rather than in real time, and Bolus reads it from there with your permission.
Do I need a CGM to use Bolus?
No. Bolus works fully without one. The CGM connection adds a glucose chart and time in range to the free version, and a closer look at how individual meals sat with your glucose in Bolus Premium.
Will Bolus tell me what to eat based on my glucose?
No. Meals are planned from your preferences and a dietitian-developed nutrition framework, not from your glucose. Bolus shows glucose for context and never gives medical or dosing advice.
Is the Libre connection free?
Yes. The glucose chart and time in range are part of the free version of Bolus. The closer look at individual meals alongside glucose is part of Bolus Premium.
Does Bolus count carbs for insulin?
No. Bolus is not a medical device and does not count carbs for dosing, calculate insulin or give medication advice. Those stay with you and your diabetes team.

The evidence

The advice here is Bolus's own. The integration facts below come from the manufacturers' own pages, and facts about Bolus were checked on 17 October 2026 against bolus.health and the UK App Store listing.

  1. Abbott. LibreLinkUp.
  2. Dexcom. How do I share my glucose data with the Apple Health app?
  3. Bolus. Frequently asked questions: what is free, what Bolus Premium adds, and how CGMs connect.

Bolus shows glucose for display and context only. It is not a medical device and gives no medical, insulin or medication advice. For anything about your own glucose targets or treatment, speak to your diabetes care team.