DrinkControl app

The DrinkControl app helps you keep track of the type of alcohol you consume, how much you drink and how often. It uses a drinks' diary to log your drinks and a chart function to see your drinking habits in the past 24 hours, 7 days and 30 days, and whether you've reached binge drinking level. The app has motivational features – it helps you calculate the financial cost of your drinking. You can also learn about the caloric values of the alcoholic beverages in graph and picture formats. The conversion of alcohol into calories is an additional helpful tool to encourage you to reduce your alcohol consumption.

For a more detailed description of the app, see the app website(external link), iTunes(external link) and, for a detailed review, see reviews below.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Dr Roland Meyer, General Medicine specialist
Date of review: 15 November 2024
Version: 5.9.8
Platform: Apple
Comments: The DrinkControl app offers easy tracking of alcohol consumption. It provides useful insight into the potential health harm of alcohol consumption. You can learn about the pattern of your alcohol intake, the alcohol content of your beverages (in units) and how this fits with recommended amounts as per guidelines from other countries (non-New Zealand guidelines).

You'll also learn the financial costs and caloric values of your alcoholic beverages in graph and picture formats. The conversion of alcohol into calories is an additional helpful tool to reduce consumption.

Overall, the app is easy to use, with no ads or forced links.
Safety concerns: Aotearoa New Zealand users may be misled about how many units they're drinking, and whether their intake is within recommended guidelines, if they select the incorrect regions within the settings. The WHO settings have the same definition for a standard unit of alcohol as New Zealand, but the recommended guidelines differ.
New Zealand relevance: In Aotearoa New Zealand, a standard drink is defined as 10g of ethanol; however, there is no New Zealand region setting in the app. If you select the WHO definition of alcohol units in the settings then the definition is the same as in New Zealand. All other available regions have different definitions of a standard drink, eg, Canada 13.45g, Germany 15g, UK 8g and US 14g. Therefore, it's important for New Zealand users to ensure they select the WHO definition for alcohol consumption. This is the default option when the app is opened. However, even then the recommended alcohol intake thresholds will differ from New Zealand recommendations (the WHO recommended amount is lower).