Sober CounterAbout Sober Counter
Who we are
Sober Counter is made by Fivebar Studio, an independent app studio in the United Kingdom. We also make Verdict, a supplement label scanner, and Most Days, a habit tracker. The app, this site and sobercounter.app are the same thing.
Why it never goes back to zero
Addiction research has a name for what happens when a counter resets after one drink: the abstinence violation effect, described by the psychologist G. Alan Marlatt in his work on relapse prevention. A single lapse feels like total failure, the thought becomes "I have blown it anyway", and one drink turns into many.
So Sober Counter keeps two numbers. Days won counts every alcohol-free day since you started and never goes down. Your current streak sits beside it and is the only thing that restarts.
How health facts get into the app
Every health milestone in the app links to a public health source, such as the NHS or the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Nothing is written from memory. If a claim cannot be traced to a source, it does not go in.
How the blog is written
The blog answers the questions people search for after they stop drinking: what is happening to their body, how long it lasts, and when to get help. Every post follows the same rules.
- Every health claim has a source, read on the day the post is written. We use the NHS, NHS inform (Scotland's health service), the UK charity Drinkaware, and studies published in peer-reviewed journals. Nothing is written from memory.
- The sources are listed at the end of every post, with the date each page was last reviewed when the source gives one, so you can check them yourself.
- We say who a study measured, for example "94 moderate to heavy drinkers" or "people being treated for alcohol dependence", and we do not stretch a finding to people it did not study. Where nothing has been measured, such as a week by week timeline, we say so instead of guessing.
- Every post says when to get medical help, including that anyone who drinks heavily every day should speak to a doctor before stopping.
- Translations. Posts are written in English and translated into 15 more languages with the help of AI translation tools. Each translation is checked against the English: every number, quote, source and link must match, and the advice on emergency numbers follows the reader's language.
- Corrections. If a source changes or you spot a mistake, email support@sobercounter.app. We fix it and update the post.
What it is not
We are not doctors, and Sober Counter is not medical care. It is a tracker and a set of coping tools. If you drink heavily every day, speak to a doctor before you stop: alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous and sometimes needs medical support.