A free app to stop drinking
We made Auven because most apps for this felt like a scoreboard. This is what ours does, what it doesn't, and how to judge any app for yourself.
If you’re looking for an app to stop drinking, you’ve probably already seen the usual kind: a big number of days, a badge for each milestone, a notification when you slip. Some people like that. We didn’t want it: a counter can turn every bad day into a verdict.
So we built something else. The First Hour is a free tool for stopping drinking and staying sober, your way. This page says what it does, what it doesn’t, how your data is handled, and how to judge any app, ours included.
The short answer
Yes. The First Hour is a free app to stop drinking, with one thing to know up front: there is nothing to download. This website is the app. It behaves like one (you can put it on your home screen and it opens full screen), but it never asks you for an email, an account or any information. You just use it. It has three parts:
- Today: a small, editable morning routine and a one-tap check-in.
- Ease: tools for the hard moments: a craving, a racing head, a pull toward a drink.
- You: your own patterns over time, plus helplines and support that offer help in English.
It’s in beta, and it says so.
What each part does
Today
The home screen: a small routine for each day. It keeps things simple and predictable, and that’s deliberate: predictable days calm a nervous system that has been bracing for years. You can edit the routine, check in with one tap and move on.
Ease
Small tools, each for a particular moment. Ride out a craving walks you through an urge until it passes. Slow things down is a minute of guided breathing. Settle my mornings shows how steady your wake-up time is. There are tools for when your head is loud and for when you need to reach a person. Open Ease.
You
Your own record, kept on your device, with no score and no grade, plus a list of helplines by country. They offer support in English. Open You.
What it doesn’t do
We’d rather be plain about this.
- It isn’t treatment. It can’t diagnose you or watch over you through withdrawal.
- It can’t make withdrawal safe. If you drink heavily every day, stopping suddenly can be dangerous. Read the safety note at the end of this page first.
- It has no streaks, badges or scores. That isn’t an oversight.
- It has no community feature. For now it’s a quiet tool, not a social network.
- It isn’t finished. It’s in beta.
If you drink heavily every day, or you’ve had shaking, confusion or seizures when you went without, talk to a doctor before you stop. Seizures, confusion, hallucinations and fever are signs that need urgent care, and MedlinePlus says so plainly. An app can’t watch for those.
What the research says about apps
I don’t want to oversell this. Here is the strongest evidence I could open.
Tools like this are a small help, not a fix. Across 57 studies with 34,390 participants, people using digital tools (websites, apps, text messages and similar) drank about 1 to 3 fewer drinks a week than people with minimal or no intervention. That’s from a Cochrane review by Kaner and colleagues, and they rated their certainty as moderate.
Read that carefully:
- It’s a modest effect, on average.
- The studies mostly involved people drinking at hazardous or harmful levels, not people with severe alcohol dependence.
- It tells you about averages. It doesn’t predict your own result.
So the honest summary is: apps can help some people drink less, and they aren’t a cure. That’s why we built Auven as a companion for the hard hours, not a program.
How we handle your data
- No account. No email, no password, no sign-up.
- No database of users. We don’t hold your entries.
- Storage is your choice. Nothing is saved in your browser until you choose, and then it stays on your device.
- No ads and no sponsors today. See our editorial policy.
If you clear your browser data, your entries go with it. That’s a trade-off we accepted for privacy.
How to add it to your phone
There’s no app-store version, because the website itself is the app.
iPhone or iPad: open the site in Safari, tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.
Android: open the site in Chrome, open the menu (three dots), then Install app or Add to Home screen.
It will sit on your home screen like any other app and open full screen.
How to judge any app to stop drinking
Whether you use ours or another, these are the questions I’d ask:
- Does it make bad days worse? A counter that resets to zero can feel like punishment.
- Who gets your data? Does it need an account? Is it sold or shared?
- How does it make money? Subscriptions and ads shape what an app wants from you.
- Does it tell you about withdrawal safety? An app for stopping drinking should.
- Does it admit what it can’t do?
- Is there help for a crisis, and is it free?
Where to start
If you’re about to stop, begin with how to stop drinking alcohol. If you’re already stopped and want to stay that way, try how to stay sober. And if you just want something small for the next hour, open Today.
Keep reading in this guide
- What to look for in an app gives a checklist and red flags.
Do apps to stop drinking actually work?
A little. Across 57 studies with 34,390 people, those using digital tools drank about 1 to 3 fewer drinks a week than people with minimal or no intervention (Cochrane, moderate certainty). Most of them drank at hazardous levels, not at severe dependence.
Where is my data stored?
On your own device, in your browser, and only if you choose to allow it. We don't have a database of users and nothing is sent to us.
Does The First Hour use streaks or a sobriety counter?
No. We don't count days as a score, and we don't send guilt-trip reminders. If you want to see the shape of your weeks, You shows it without grading you.
How do I add The First Hour to my phone?
On iPhone, open the site in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. On Android, open it in Chrome, open the menu, then choose Install app or Add to Home screen.
Can an app replace medical help for withdrawal?
No. If you drink heavily every day, stopping suddenly can be dangerous, and an app can't monitor you. The safety note at the end of this page says why.
Sources
- Digital interventions to reduce hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption · Kaner and colleagues, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017
- Alcohol withdrawal (MedlinePlus) · U.S. National Library of Medicine, reviewed January 2025
We check these when we update a page. See how we write and check on the editorial policy.
Today is free and works in your browser. No account, no download, and your data stays on your device.
Open Today
The First Hour isn't medical advice, and we're not doctors. This is writing grounded in research by people who got sober and wanted to share what helped. It's not treatment, diagnosis, or a substitute for a doctor, therapist, or recovery program. Alcohol withdrawal can be medically dangerous. If you're detoxing, struggling, or in crisis, please reach out to a medical professional or a helpline.