Beat the Microbead 4+

Fight plastics in cosmetics‪!‬

Plastic Soup Foundation

Designed for iPhone

    • 3.9 • 10 Ratings
    • Free

iPhone Screenshots

Description

A small update, so that the app works even better. Your feedback about the app is welcome and we try to include as much as possible in next updates.

The Beat the Microbead app is the fastest way to learn if your cosmetics and personal care products contain plastic ingredients. This app uses state-of-the-art text recognition technology. Just scan the ingredients of your products and check them for microplastics. Not only that, but you can also get to know microplastic-free brands certified by us.

How does it work?

It’s straightforward: you can scan products with four easy steps:
- Find the ingredients list on your product.
- Position the full list within your camera frame.
- Make sure the ingredients are clear to read.
- Take a picture to scan!

A traffic light rating system

- RED: Products that contain microplastics.
- ORANGE: Products that contain what we call “sceptical” microplastics. With this, we mean synthetic polymers for which there is not enough information available.
- GREEN: Products that do not contain microplastics.

Help us enrich our database!

Every time you add a product to our database, you help us build a case against microplastics. With every product information, we can create evidence and convince authorities about the extensive use of plastic ingredients. A bit of extra effort on your side makes you a part of the fight against microplastics in cosmetics and care products. So, go ahead, scan the barcode of your product and help us get some more information!

By adding the products to our database, you can also discover our certified microplastic-free brands. These brands have their entire range of products free of all known microplastic ingredients.

Why is it important?

Plastic in cosmetics is a global problem! Microplastics are hardly visible ingredients that pollute our planet & may pose health risks. These microplastics, hardly visible to the naked eye, flow straight from the bathroom drain into the sewer system. Microplastics are not biodegradable, and once they enter the (marine) environment, they are almost impossible to remove.

Sea animals absorb or eat microplastics; these particles are passed along the marine food chain. Since humans are ultimately at the top of this food chain, it is likely that we also ingest microplastics.

Using body washes or cosmetics that contain microplastics can put the ocean, ourselves, and our children at risk! With this app, you can get aware of this issue and make environmentally friendly choices.

Who is behind this app?

The collaborators behind this app include the following partners:

Plastic Soup Foundation: NGO based in Amsterdam, initiators of the worldwide campaign “Beat the Microbead”. Their mission: No plastic in our water or our bodies!

PINCH: a renowned mobile development agency from Amsterdam that is proud of their work for the Plastic Soup Foundation.

What’s New

Version 3.1.0

A small update, so that the app works even better. Your feedback about the app is welcome and we try to include as much as possible in next updates.

Ratings and Reviews

3.9 out of 5
10 Ratings

10 Ratings

Minniepip ,

Love the app but have a suggestion

So useful to scan products before buying them to make sure I only buy microplastic free products.

One thing that would be a useful feature to add would be a personal database within the app where you can save products that you’ve scanned to a database that is visible to you and categorised into the different colour categories. Then you would be able to come back to the app to see which products and brands to avoid and which to buy, without having to scan them again. I would love that as a feature.

Keep up the good work!

Developer Response ,

Thank you for this review and your feedback! That's indeed a very good suggestion that we will definitely consider in the next major update. Have a lovely day!

caro b767 ,

Quick and easy

I tested this against a product I knew to be plastic free and one I suspected wasn’t. Green light for the organic product, red light for the one I believed probably contained plastic. Very useful! Would like a way to send ingredients lists from online shops to the app so I can check before I buy.

Developer Response ,

Hello,
Thank you for your review!

You can use the app to scan ingredients online as well, as long as there is a clear picture of the ingredients. That way you can check your products before buying them online.

Thanks again & have a lovely day!

Gwigwagwoo ,

Not off to a great start

I used to love this app, and still want to. Happy to add details and have the app use my camera, but I never have access to photo library and found it switched on. Turned it off and restarted, but the app STILL has access to my photo library. Please explain.

Also, I want to add details by products without barcodes but don’t seem to be able to.

EDIT: Had to change from 3-stars to 1-star as I’ve found products with microplastics in but the app says there aren’t due to not capturing a sufficiently focused photograph. It’s not good enough to just have a disclaimer no one will read

Developer Response ,

Hello,

Thank you for your review. An iOS app doesn’t need permission from the user to show the Apple provided photo picker that we use in the BTMB app (‘Library’ text you see when the app doesn’t have permission). The app does however need permission to access the photo library to be able to show the small ‘photo preview’ image in the bottom left corner of the app. That’s why you will only see this preview when the app has the right permission.

A barcode is a unique identifier of each cosmetic product. Hence, it is absolutely necessary for us to receive the barcode so we know exactly which product you are scanning.

We use optical character recognition technology to detect microplastics. Indeed, it is necessary that the picture is clear and the ingredients are readable for optimal results. This is how the technology operates.

We apologize for the inconvenience. We hope we have addressed your concerns.

Thank you again and have a lovely day.

App Privacy

The developer, Plastic Soup Foundation, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

  • Identifiers
  • Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary based on, for example, the features you use or your age. Learn More

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