Understanding MyFitnessPal's Sharing Options
MyFitnessPal offers several ways to share your fitness progress, including your logged activities. The approach you take depends on your desired audience—whether it's a small group of friends, a personal trainer, or the wider MyFitnessPal community. The most direct method is through the Diary Sharing settings, which controls who can view your daily food and exercise logs. Other options include syncing with external apps like Garmin or Polar, which then share data back to your MyFitnessPal feed, and directly posting status updates to the community feed.
Method 1: Adjusting Your Diary Sharing Settings
The primary way to share an activity is by adjusting your diary's privacy. By default, your diary is set to private. Changing this setting allows selected individuals or the public to view your daily logs, including your exercise entries.
On the Mobile App (iOS and Android)
- Step 1: Tap the "More" menu (three horizontal dots or lines) in the bottom-right corner.
- Step 2: Navigate to Settings > Privacy Center > Sharing & Privacy.
- Step 3: Select Diary Sharing. You will see several options: Public, Friends Only, or Locked with a key.
- Step 4: Choose Friends Only to share with people you've added as friends on the app. If you want a personal trainer to view your log, you'll need to add them as a friend first.
- Step 5: Save your changes. Once this is set, your friends can visit your profile and view your daily logs.
On the MyFitnessPal Website
- Step 1: Log in to your account.
- Step 2: Go to My Home > Settings > Diary Settings.
- Step 3: Select your preferred diary sharing preference and save the changes.
Method 2: Posting to the Community Activity Feed
For a more general audience, you can share updates and activities to your public community profile. This is different from diary sharing and provides a social media-like feed where you can post about your progress.
Steps to share on your activity feed
- Log in to the MyFitnessPal website.
- Navigate to your community profile or home feed.
- Post a status update, share a photo of your workout, or simply write about your accomplishment to inspire others.
- This feed is public by default, though you can adjust privacy settings for your community profile if you prefer.
Method 3: Integrating with Third-Party Apps
MyFitnessPal connects with numerous fitness trackers and apps, allowing you to sync and share your activity data seamlessly. Once connected, the data from your wearable or a partner app like Strava or Garmin Connect will automatically update your MyFitnessPal diary and feed.
To link apps on mobile
- Step 1: Open the app and go to the More menu.
- Step 2: Select Apps & Devices.
- Step 3: Search for and select the app you want to connect.
- Step 4: Follow the on-screen instructions to link your accounts and grant MyFitnessPal the necessary permissions.
Comparison of Sharing Methods
| Feature | Diary Sharing | Community Feed Post | Third-Party App Sync |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience Control | Very high (friends, password) | Moderate (public or private) | Indirect (depends on connected app's settings) |
| Detail Level | Full exercise and food logs | Summary, photos, personal thoughts | Comprehensive data sync (steps, calories, etc.) |
| Purpose | Close accountability, detailed tracking | Broad community support, inspiration | Automated data collection, integration |
| Setup Difficulty | Easy | Easy | Varies by app, generally easy |
| Visibility | Visible only to approved users | Public (default), visible to all community | Can show up in your MyFitnessPal feed |
A Note on Progress Photos
MyFitnessPal also has a specific feature for sharing progress photos. These photos are private by default but can be shared externally via a share button, allowing you to control exactly who sees your visual progress.
Conclusion: Finding the Right Sharing Strategy
Deciding how to share an activity with MyFitnessPal depends on your personal goals and comfort level with sharing. For targeted accountability with a specific individual, like a trainer or friend, adjusting your diary's privacy settings is the most effective method. For broad motivation and engagement, posting to the community feed is a great way to celebrate achievements and connect with others on a similar journey. Finally, for automated tracking and a richer data set, linking third-party apps offers a seamless experience. By utilizing these tools, you can transform your individual fitness journey into a shared, motivating experience that keeps you focused and inspired.
Key Takeaways
- Use Diary Sharing for Privacy: Adjust your "Diary Sharing" settings to "Friends Only" to share your full workout log with specific people you add as friends.
- Post to Community for Motivation: Use the community feed on the MyFitnessPal website to share general updates, photos, and milestones with a wider audience.
- Sync with External Apps for Automation: Link MyFitnessPal with your fitness tracker (e.g., Garmin, Apple Health) in the "Apps & Devices" section to automatically share activity data.
- Export Data for External Use: Premium users can export their workout data as a CSV file to share with a trainer or for personal analysis.
- Control Photo Sharing Separately: Progress photos are private by default but can be shared selectively outside the app using the share button.
- Copy from Friends' Diaries: If a friend has their diary set to be viewed by you, you can even copy their logged meals or exercises into your own log.
- Leverage Website Features: Some advanced sharing features and settings are more easily accessed via the MyFitnessPal website, such as exporting data.
