product analyzed

Yuka app

Yuka app

application icon
Overall rating:
/5
Technology:

Categories assigned to this product within the main category Technology.

Needs:

Categories assigned to this product within the main category Needs.

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Yuka

Below is the video of the review.

What does it consist of:

October 2020

We have included an analysis of this application as it can provide 2 very interesting functions even in combination. On the one hand, it allows us to identify which are the most appropriate products to lead a healthier life. On the other hand, it has an immense base of registered food and cosmetic products that allow a person with vision difficulties to be able to recognize a product in the supermarket or at home by focusing its barcode with the mobile camera.

Yuka is an application for Smartphone that scans food and cosmetic products and offers information on their composition and evaluates their effects on health.

For this, a very simple color code is used that indicates the effects that each product has on health: excellent, good, mediocre or bad. It is then possible to access a detailed file to understand part of the products in detail.

The app has up to 700.000 food products and each product is evaluated according to 3 objective criteria: nutritional quality, presence of additives and the ecological nature of the product.

It also has 300 cosmetic products. The evaluation method is based on the analysis of all the ingredients of the product. Each ingredient is assigned a risk level based on available scientific knowledge.

For products that give a negative evaluation, Yuka recommends healthier alternatives to similar products with complete independence.

The creators assure that Yuka is a 100% independent application. This means that product evaluations and recommendations are completely objective - no brand or manufacturer can influence them. Also, the application does not have advertisements.

Forms of acquisition:

The application can be purchased for free and is available in both Android and iOS versions:

Download the Android version at the following link:

Download the iOS version at the following link:

In addition, the application has the possibility of paying subscription through a fee of € 15 / year as a Premium member that allows some additional functionalities.

Support

The application has some support options within it. In addition, it has a contact form that you can access at the following link:

https://yuka.io/es/contacto/

 

Technical assessment:

October 2020

Yuka is an application that allows you to scan both food and cosmetic products and obtain their assessment, composition and an alternative product when necessary.

Features

The application has 6 functionalities: history, alternatives, synthesis, filter, configuration and scanner.

  • On Android, the first 5 are in a horizontal menu at the top of the screen. The scanner functionality is found in a button at the bottom and right of the screen.

Yuka features on Android

  • In IOS, all the functionalities are found in a menu at the bottom of the screen, with the exception of the configuration tab, which can be accessed from an information button (represented by an i), which is located at the top and right of the screen. It should be noted that in IOS, in addition to an icon for each tab, the meaning of each button on the main menu is also written.

Yuka functionalities position on iphone

-Record. In this section, the products that have been scanned will be displayed, being able to see the assessment obtained and when it was scanned. It is possible to access the product from the history to see the composition, the risk of each ingredient and the alternatives offered by the application to the product.

Product history in Yuka

-Alternatives. In this tab Yuka offers you alternative products for the scanned products whose evaluation is not excellent.

Yuka app alternatives

-Synthesis. You can see the proportion of excellent, good, bad and mediocre products that has been analyzed. This analysis can be observed on the one hand, for food products and on the other hand, for cosmetic products, without more than selecting what you want to see.

Statistics of products analyzed Yuka

-Filter. To access this menu and to be able to search for products without scanning it is necessary to be a premium member.

-Setting. From this tab you can access:

  • Favorites: Find the products that are marked with the star as favorites. In IOS the favorites tab is outside this menu, being on the left and top of the screen.

Favorites button in Yuka on Android                 Favorites tab in Yuka on Iphone

  • Account: It allows you to access the account data (name, email and password) and modify them. In addition, you can become a premium member and log out from this tab.
  • Any problems?: Gives you general problems such as "scanner not working" and a possible solution to fix it.

Help tab in Yuka

  • Premium Member: It shows you the additional options that are obtained by becoming a premium member and allows you to register as a premium member for 15 euros / year.

-Scanner button. From this button the product to be analyzed is scanned and the application shows the valuation data, composition, etc. With the multimedia sound activated and the bell button activated, a beep can be heard when the application has finished scanning the product.

Scanning a product with Yuka

When the product appears on the screen, you can upload the tab and obtain the composition, the risk of the different components of the product and the alternatives for the analyzed product. In addition, in the right area of ​​each ingredient or element that makes up the product, you can see the reasons why it has been rated as limited, moderate risk, etc. Finally, you can make the product a favorite (with the star / Favorite button) if you want to save it in the favorites tab and you can share the product on other platforms such as whatsapp, gmail, etc. from the 3-point tab (Android) or from the share button (IOS), which also indicates the method used to rate the product and if there is a problem with it, such as incorrect information, unadapted alternatives, etc.

Analysis of cereal biscuits with vitamins in Yuka

 

Tests performed

In order to analyze and evaluate the application, a series of tests have been carried out to verify its operation. The tests have been carried out on a Samsung Galaxy S8 device (Android 8.0.0) with version 3.33 and an Iphone 6S (IOS 13.4.1) with version 3.32.

Functionality tests

In order to use the application on both devices, it has been necessary to install it through the respective application stores of each operating system.

Once the application is installed, when you start it for the first time, the application indicates that it is necessary to register with an email to be able to use it. It can also be accessed through Facebook.

Yuka login screen

When entering the account to be used, it is also necessary to provide a name and password (with at least 6 characters) for that account. Once you have finished filling in this data, the application shows you the scan button to start. Yuka will need to be given permission to take photos and record so she can use the camera and scan the barcodes.

Usability testing

These tests are intended to measure the possibilities of the application to be understood by the user. In this case, scan the products to get a rating.

The application is quite easy to use, since it has a simple interface. It consists of a main menu at the top and a scan button at the bottom right. The main menu buttons are easy to recognize, which means that it can be used by profiles of different ages of users. Being simple to use, if the application is uninstalled at some point, the simplicity of the interface makes it very easy to remember how it works.

Faced with effectiveness, by having a very large database, most of the products that are scanned are registered, being able to obtain their evaluation and their alternative if necessary. As noted above, the application is simple to use, so it can be said that the product has high efficiency in terms of scanning and obtaining product evaluations and alternatives.

Regarding portability, Yuka works on any type of Smartphone, both Android and IOS.

Taking into account this analysis, it can be said that the product has very good usability with respect to the objective mentioned above.

Accessibility tests

In this section, different criteria have been applied to assess whether the application can be used regardless of the capabilities of the user.

Cognitive accessibility – When you have the accessibility features of your phone active, a description of the application menu icons appears, making it easier to understand. The scan button does not have this description, although due to its image it can be easily identified. The size of the buttons can be temporarily enlarged thanks to the zoom function available in the accessibility settings of the phone.

Accessibility for people with reduced vision – The application does not have a settings section where you can change the theme. The font size cannot be changed, so depending on the screen dimensions of the device being used, it is possible that the words may be difficult to read. However, with the accessibility features that different devices usually offer, you can zoom in on the screen and/or increase the size of leyra in general, which would make it larger in the application. To complete this section, some tests have been carried out with the screen reader systems available on Android and IOS devices. These tests have focused on checking the correct labeling of the icons and buttons that Yuka has. When activating Android TalkBack and IOS Voice Over, it is found that some buttons, such as the flashlight button, are not well identified.

Accessibility for people with hearing difficulties – People with hearing difficulties can use the application without having any problem, since there is no content in the form of video or audio.

Reliability tests

These tests are intended to verify if the application has bugs that do not allow it to perform its functions.

During the days that the application was tested, no notable or critical failure was detected in its operation.

Privacy & Security

Regarding privacy and security of the application, the required data is email and a username. There is no privacy policy that needs to be accepted, although it is necessary to grant the application permission to use the camera to be able to scan items.

Conclusions

The application works correctly, no critical failure has been detected that has impaired its operation. Compared to the use that can be given to this application, its use can help to lead a more adequate diet and better select the products that are used, both food and cosmetic.

The main positive points of the application are its ease of use and its extensive database. The first makes it easy to use, and can be used by profiles of different ages. The second point, since all or almost all the products within our reach are registered, makes the use of the application effective and does not stop using.

One of its points to improve is to correct the application buttons that are not well labeled, both for Android (TalkBack) and for IOS (Voice Over), to provide greater accessibility to the application.

Note that in the free version it is necessary to scan the products for which you want to know their assessment, however, the Premium version offers to search for any product without having to scan it.

Finally, to be able to use this application in its free version, it is necessary to have an internet connection, either via WiFi or mobile data. In the Premium version, the offline mode is offered to be able to scan the articles.

Highlights

  • It has a very extensive database.
  • It has very good identification of the code.
  • It shows the harmful elements and their risk, making a fairly detailed assessment.

Improvement points

  • Not all information is true.
  • Faced with accessibility, both with TalkBack and Voice Over, there are buttons that are not well identified in the application.
  • When a product that is not registered is scanned, the user must enter the data, take photos of the product, the ingredients and the nutritional value, this process may not be validated if the application detects that the quality of the photo is not good. which can cause the product to not be added.

 

Technical evaluation scores.

Design and manufacturing:
4/5
This section refers to the physical aspects and details of the manufacturing of the technological product
Technical benefits:
4/5
Description of the quality of the technical specifications of the technological solution
User experience:
4/5
This criterion is linked to the user's assessment when relating to the technical product or application.
Accessibility:
3/5
It is the degree to which people can use or access a product, technological solution or service, regardless of their technical, cognitive or physical abilities

Social valuation:

Social valuation scores.

Impact and utility:
This item has not been rated/5
Describes to what extent the functionalities of the product are useful and impact on improving the life of the user
Design and Ergonomics:
This item has not been rated/5
Assessment of how the design of the technological solution adapts to the person to achieve greater comfort and efficiency when using it
Usability and accessibility:
This item has not been rated/5
Possibility of the device to be used, understood and taken advantage of under equal conditions for anyone
Ease of acquisition:
This item has not been rated/5
It refers to the possibilities of accessing and acquiring a technological solution by the user.

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