What The Tech App of the Day: WaterLlama
BY JAMEY TUCKER, Consumer Tech Reporter
We track almost everything now. Steps. Sleep. Calories. Screen time. Packages. Even how many minutes we spend scrolling through apps we only opened to “check one thing.”
But most of us still have no idea how much water we drink in a day. That’s where Waterllama comes in. Waterllama is a hydration tracking app for iPhone and Apple Watch that reminds you to drink water throughout the day. Yes, you could set a basic reminder on your phone, but Waterllama makes the whole process a lot easier to stick with.
And a lot more fun.
The app calculates a daily hydration goal and then lets you log what you drink during the day. Each time you add water, one of the app’s animated characters fills up, giving you a quick visual look at your progress.
It is simple, but that is the point. Waterllama can also track more than just plain water. You can log coffee, tea, milk, soft drinks, juice, alcohol, and other beverages. The app treats those drinks differently because not every beverage hydrates the body the same way.
Some research has found that skim milk, whole milk, and oral rehydration drinks can help the body hold onto fluids longer than plain water. That is because they contain things like electrolytes, sugar, protein, or fat, which can slow how quickly fluid leaves the body.
Water is still the best everyday choice, but it is interesting to see an app account for the fact that not all drinks are equal. Alcohol is different, too. In Waterllama, some alcoholic drinks may count against your hydration goal, nudging you to drink more water to make up for it.
The trick, of course, is remembering to log what you drink. Waterllama helps with that by offering reminders, widgets, quick-add buttons, Apple Watch support, streaks, and challenges. It can also sync some information with Apple Health.
Waterllama is free to download, but many of the better features require an upgrade. The App Store lists premium features through monthly and annual subscriptions or a one-time purchase. Right now, a lifetime subscription is $8.99. No app can force you to drink more water. But if you need a little nudge, Waterllama turns hydration into a daily goal you might actually pay attention to.
