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Dry Days by AlcoChange app

Anyone trying to cut down on alcohol or quit drinking.

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Dry Days by AlcoChange app	By Zanec
	Features Tracking. App community private group on facebook. Calculator of money saved from not drinking. Basic journal to track sleep and mood Informative articles on the impact of drinking vs. sobriety, and tips/strategies to reduce drinking.
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Clinical review	Read a clinical review below.
Security and privacy	Does the app: Collect medical information? Yes Require a login? Yes Have password protection? No Have a privacy policy? Yes Require internet access to use? No Read more about safety and security when using apps. Brochures: Tips to improve your privacy and security [PDF, 65 KB] Healthify He Puna Waiora, NZ Staying safe online(external link) Netsafe, NZ
Cost	Free
Advertisements	This app contains no ads.
How to get the app	(external link) (external link) (external link)

The Dry Days app by AlcoChange is designed to support people to cut down or stop drinking alcohol. After adding details about your current drinking habits, you then track your drinking each day. You can track what type of alcohol you have had and how much, or whether you had a dry/sober day. You can also track your mood and sleep, so over time you can see how drinking / not drinking affects these.

Over time the app tracks your progress. It tracks an estimate of how much money you have spent on alcohol vs. how much you have saved compared to your starting point. It calculates number of dry days and number of drink days, as well as any streaks of dry days in a row. There is a calculation shown for estimated calories consumed on any alcohol you have drunk vs. how many calories you have cutdown. It also displays how many units of alcohol you have had compared to units you have cut down.

For the complete app description, go to the app website(external link), Google Play(external link), App Store(external link) or, for a more detailed review, see reviews below.

PROS	CONS
✔ Very easy to use. ✔ When you record a drink, you add in what type of drink (e.g. beer, wine, spirits), how much you had, and sometimes there is an option to choose the percentage of alcohol. This gets converted to a standard unit by the app. ✔ Positive messaging, even when you record a drink. ✔ Can add friends and create a competition/leaderboard for number of dry days. ✔ App community support via a private group on Facebook (Dry Days Global Community). ✔ The app uses a validated screening tool for calculating drinking habits risk. ✔ Can generate a report card of your progress, get a certificate, and share your success. ✔ A lot of the information is shown via easy-to-understand pictures.	✘ There is no option to choose NZD as the currency – the closest is AUD. ✘ The app automatically calculates how much each drink costs. Although there is an option to manually adjust how much you normally spend per week at baseline, there is no option to edit the cost of any specific drinks/future drinks added. This means the tracker for amount spent/saved is likely to be inaccurate. ✘ When calculating risk of drinking habits, the app does not have a function for recommending health professional advice for people who may be at risk of withdrawal when reducing/quitting drinking.

PROS

CONS

✔ Very easy to use.

✔ When you record a drink, you add in what type of drink (e.g. beer, wine, spirits), how much you had, and sometimes there is an option to choose the percentage of alcohol. This gets converted to a standard unit by the app.

✔ Positive messaging, even when you record a drink.

✔ Can add friends and create a competition/leaderboard for number of dry days.

✔ App community support via a private group on Facebook (Dry Days Global Community).

✔ The app uses a validated screening tool for calculating drinking habits risk.

✔ Can generate a report card of your progress, get a certificate, and share your success.

✔ A lot of the information is shown via easy-to-understand pictures.

✘ There is no option to choose NZD as the currency – the closest is AUD.

✘ The app automatically calculates how much each drink costs. Although there is an option to manually adjust how much you normally spend per week at baseline, there is no option to edit the cost of any specific drinks/future drinks added. This means the tracker for amount spent/saved is likely to be inaccurate.

✘ When calculating risk of drinking habits, the app does not have a function for recommending health professional advice for people who may be at risk of withdrawal when reducing/quitting drinking.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Emma Riddell, Clinical Pharmacist, Health New Zealand
Date of review: November 2024
Platform: Android
Version: 4.0.3
Comments: Overall I found this app quite good. It is very easy to use, and the displayed information is very clear and easy to understand.
In comparison to some other apps, this app allows you to select what type of alcohol you drink each time, as well as how much, and then the app converts this to an estimated standard unit. This means that there is more consistency and better understanding of how much you are actually drinking over time. However, it is important to note that the standard units are not exactly the same as NZ standard drinks.
There is positive and supportive messaging throughout the app, regardless of whether you are recording a drink, or recording a dry day.
I really liked the ability to record sleep and mood each morning, and when you view the journal it is very easy to relate changes in sleep/mood to how much you were drinking.
The app uses symbols/images to portray a lot of the information, which makes it very easy to see your progress at a glance.
If you are trying to cut down or quit drinking, this app could definitely be beneficial. However, if you score as “high risk” on the drinking health score in the app, I would recommend discussing your plan with a healthcare professional first, in case there are any risks of withdrawal.
Safety concerns: The app creates a “Drinking Health Score” based on the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) tool. However, the app only reports results as Low Risk, Medium Risk, or High Risk, even if you score very high. The AUDIT tool usually defines a score of >20 as possible dependence, with a recommendation for a referral to a specialist for advice and support in reducing/stopping drinking. This recommendation is not shown in the app, which may result in people at high risk of alcohol withdrawal trying to quit in an unsafe way.
New Zealand relevance: Yes
Concerns: No option to track financial costs/benefits in NZD. The app’s calculation for one unit of alcohol is slightly different to that used in NZ (NZ 1 unit = 10g pure alcohol, while the app tracks 1 unit = 8g pure alcohol)

Consumer guide – how to choose a health app
Clinicians guide – how to choose a health app
Alcohol use apps
New Zealand-based apps
NZ Health App Library

Disclaimer: The NZ Health App Library is a free consumer service to help you decide whether a health app would be suitable for you. Our review process is independent. We have no relationship with the app developers or companies and no responsibility for the service they provide. This means that if you have an issue with one of the apps we have reviewed, you will need to contact the app developer or company directly.