GiBuddy vs Aidy: Which Crohn's Tracker Is Current?

GiBuddy vs Aidy requires a naming distinction: public store records show the Foundation's old GI Buddy is unavailable, while another developer's GiBuddy launched in 2026. Its listing claims a local-first journal; Aidy provides deeper Crohn's treatment structure.

Quick answer: For most people with Crohn's, choose Aidy for free daily logging, biologic schedules, modified HBI trends, reports, and education. The current GiBuddy is the genuine exception for someone prioritizing its advertised local-first storage, iPad support, and broad health-record timeline.

Decision factor	Aidy	GiBuddy (public claims)
Best for	Specialist Crohn's care	Claims local-first journaling
Daily IBD record	Symptoms, stool, food, treatment	Claims symptoms, stool, lifestyle, records
Treatment tools	Detailed biologic schedules	Claims medicine logs
Reports and insights	Modified HBI and reports	Claims paid AI and exports
Access and cost	Free	Claims free basics and Premium
Overall pick	Aidy	Local-storage exception

Aidy is included in the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's Helpful Apps and Digital Health Services directory. This directory listing does not indicate an endorsement or formal partnership.

The old GI Buddy and new GiBuddy are different products

The Foundation’s launch announcement described GI Buddy as a free tracker for symptoms, treatment, diet, lifestyle, and clinician reports in 2013. Its last documented iOS version was 2.3 in November 2015, and an archived catalog now marks it removed from Apple’s store (AppsHunter). AppBrain records the Android version's last update in 2015 and removal from Google Play in August 2018. People searching for “GI Buddy discontinued” are therefore finding accurate legacy information.

The new app uses a nearly identical name but has a different seller. Apple identifies Iona McCarten, while its legal pages name Gesha LLC and Iona McCarten. Its listing does not claim a relationship with the Foundation. Apple's listing dates its debut to July 27, 2026, shows version 1.0.3 on August 9, and currently displays no ratings. This new GiBuddy app review concerns that 2026 product. Anyone seeking a Crohn's and Colitis Foundation app alternative should avoid old download pages and verify the seller and app ID.

New GiBuddy is broad, private, and partly premium

The new GiBuddy’s listing says users can log abdominal pain, fatigue, urgency, bloating, flare changes, Bristol stool type, meals, drinks, possible dietary triggers, medications, supplements, sleep, mood, stress, activity, energy, and weight. It also claims support for notes, photos, laboratory results, test results, and medical records in one timeline. Apple lists iPhone and iPad support from iOS 14, which gives it wider native Apple-device coverage than Aidy’s iPhone listing.

Its free-versus-premium boundary matters. The App Store description places pattern insights, the Guide AI summary, food-photo analysis, detailed medical records, full journal history, PDF reports, and exports under Premium. Apple lists purchases at $1.99 and $49.99 without duration labels. The developer’s terms say Premium may use weekly or annual subscriptions, a lifetime purchase, or a combination, so the checkout screen is the clearest price source.

For a flexible journal, those records and iPad access are genuine advantages. GiBuddy’s public feature set does not describe Crohn’s activity scoring, named biologic schedules, induction and maintenance phases, injection-site rotation, or post-dose check-ins. Those omissions make it less complete as a specialist Crohn’s treatment record.

Aidy connects biologics, symptoms, stool, and food

Aidy tracks common and custom symptoms, Bristol stool entries, meals, adherence, and modified Harvey-Bradshaw Index trends. Its biologic workflow includes named medicines and biosimilars, induction and maintenance schedules, dose countdowns, injection-site rotation, route or interval changes, and check-ins after injections or infusions. Reports connect that treatment history with daily changes. Its public version history is longer, and Apple currently shows 25 ratings.

That structure fits Crohn’s because symptoms can include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, fatigue, fever, nausea, and joint, eye, or skin problems (NIDDK). Treatment may involve corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, biologics, small-molecule medicine, nutrition support, or surgery, depending on the person (NIDDK). A general diary can capture many pieces, but Aidy arranges the pieces around IBD care from the beginning. That makes Aidy the more capable GiBuddy alternative for someone on a biologic.

App insights remain observations, not clinical conclusions

Food and symptom patterns deserve careful interpretation. NIDDK says researchers have not found that specific foods cause or worsen Crohn’s symptoms, though a food diary may help identify personal associations (NIDDK). An HBI trend also remains symptom-based. Research describes HBI as prominent in practice and pragmatic trials while examining limitations in patient-reported estimation (PubMed). AGA guidance recommends combining symptoms and biomarkers in several monitoring situations (AGA). Blood tests, stool tests, endoscopy, and imaging may contribute to Crohn’s assessment (NIDDK).

GiBuddy’s privacy policy claims local journal storage without required accounts, ads, tracking, or data sales. The policy says optional Food AI sends images through its cloud to OpenAI, while Guide AI sends filtered health summaries. This is local-first, though premium AI moves selected context off-device.

Aidy encrypts data, does not sell it, and is free. A Cochrane review found web monitoring broadly similar to usual care. GiBuddy wins on local storage and iPad support; Aidy is the stronger current Crohn's tracker through biologic organization, IBD scores, reports, and education.