What to look for in an app to stop drinking
Most apps ask for your email and your story before they help. Here's what to check first.
You’re about to type something very personal into a phone. That’s worth thirty seconds of checking. Here’s the checklist I’d use, and how we answer each point so you can hold us to it.
The short answer
Check seven things: whether it needs an account, what its privacy policy says, whether it carries ads or trackers, how it treats a slip, whether its claims are honest, whether it gives safety information where it matters, and how it makes money. If it fails the first three, think twice.
The checklist
| Question | Good sign | Red flag | The First Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does it need an account? | You can use it without one | Email, phone or social login before anything useful | No account |
| Where does your data go? | On your device, or clearly explained | Vague policy, “may share with partners” | On your device. Nothing is stored until you choose |
| Ads or trackers? | None | Third-party ad or tracking code | None today |
| How does it treat a slip? | As information | A reset to zero and a shaming message | No streaks, no scores, no badges |
| Are the claims honest? | ”May help”, with sources | ”Cure,” “guaranteed,” “100 percent” | We say what we know and what we don’t |
| Does it give safety information? | Clear warning about withdrawal | None | Safety guide and helplines at the start |
| How does it make money? | Clearly stated | Unclear, or it sells your data | Free. We say so if that changes |
Red flags
- It asks for your story before it helps. Questionnaires first, consent later.
- A policy you can’t read in five minutes. If it’s vague, assume the worst.
- Medical promises. Nobody can guarantee you’ll stop.
- Pressure. Countdown timers, “only today” offers, guilt notifications.
- A scoreboard. The number goes up, then one bad night wipes it.
What the research says
Privacy in this corner is shaky. Of 32 mental health apps reviewed in 2023, 19 of them, or 59 percent, carried the Mozilla Foundation’s privacy warning label. About 40 percent were worse than the year before and about a third improved. Some asked for consent only after the questionnaire, and many policies were vague. That review covered mental health apps in general, not alcohol apps specifically, but the pattern is the thing to check for.
Do apps help? A little. Across 57 studies with 34,390 people, those using digital tools drank about one to three fewer drinks a week than people with minimal or no intervention (Cochrane, moderate certainty). Modest, but real, and a reason to pick one carefully, not skip it.
That finding is about reducing drinking in people who drink at hazardous levels, not about stopping completely after heavy dependence. It doesn’t tell you any one app will work for you.
Do you need one?
No. Apps are one tool among many, and many people stop with none. If you want one, make it earn your trust.
Try ours, and judge it
This website is the app. There’s nothing to download. Today is a small routine, Ease is for the hard moments, You shows your own patterns. All free. More: our app, explained.
Are alcohol quitting apps safe for your privacy?
Not always. Of 32 mental health apps reviewed in 2023, 19 (59 percent) carried the Mozilla Foundation's privacy warning label, and many had vague policies.
Are streak counters good or bad?
It depends on you. For some people they motivate. For others a broken streak feels like a verdict. We don't use them.
Are free alcohol apps worth using?
Sometimes. Free is fine if the privacy is. Check how the app makes money.
Sources
- Digital interventions to reduce hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption · Kaner and colleagues, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017
- Privacy Not Included: mental health apps · Mozilla Foundation, 2023
We check these when we update a page. See how we write and check on the editorial policy.
This website is the app. No download, no account, nothing leaves your device. Try Today and judge it yourself.
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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.