How The Count Works
Drink Less. With your friends.
Do you hear yourself in any of the following?
- "Dude, I think I need to cut back."
- "I'll have a glass of wine while cooking dinner and suddenly I drank a whole bottle. On a Tuesday!"
- "I don't want to quit altogether. I just want to ease off a bit."
If you have ever asked yourself whether you're drinking too much, The Count is a casual way to enjoy life and keep drinking in check — on your own, or with friends.
One number a day
Each day The Count asks for yesterday's total. That's the whole job.
Keep it up and you get back a record of what you actually drank: your dry days, your light days, the weeks you eased off.
Your numbers are PRIVATE. Nobody sees them unless you choose to share.
What progress looks like
What you measure, you manage. Researchers call it assessment reactivity, and they've found that people who keep track of their drinking tend to drink a little less — with no advice attached. Counting isn't a neutral record of your drinking. It changes it.
My Record colours every day by what you drank, so a month tells its story at a glance.
Alone, or with a crew
On your own. A few seconds a day, and the record builds itself.
With a crew. Easing off is more fun in company. The Count started with a group of friends in their 30s who all wanted to ease off a bit. Your Crew shares daily numbers — golf buddies, you and your spouse, or one trusted friend. Nothing else is shared.
Set yourself a goal
Recording is the first step. Setting a goal is what makes it move.
- Challenge yourself. A goal just for you, on My Record. Nobody sees it.
- Challenge your crew. Same goal, everyone in, stakes on the honor system — "Last place in December buys dinner." Good for Sober October and Dry January too.
A no judgement zone
We are not doctors. The Count isn't a program or a replacement for treatment. It's a casual tool for people who want to ease off.
Frequently asked questions
How do I record my daily count?
Every day you record one number: how many drinks you had. That's the whole job. Be honest. At the end of the day, if you don't record the real number, you're "only lying to yourself!" (and maybe your "crew" inside the app).
Ways to record your count
- Spin the wheel. Tap the + in the middle to move one slice at a time, or turn it with your finger. Once you stop it saves on its own.
- Or answer the reminder. Each morning we ask about yesterday. Long-press the notification and tap a number, or reply to the email with one.
- Log as you go. Update today after each drink if that's easier than remembering tomorrow.
Missed a day? Tap the calendar and fill it in. You can change any day, any time.
How much is "a drink"?
The more precise answers are below. However, our suggestion is to not be too rigid with your measurements. When using The Count we think of "one" drink as "a beer," "a glass of wine," or "a shot or cocktail." We understand that some beers have more alcohol than others and that a cocktail might have multiple shots. In practice, the value of The Count is using it over weeks and months. Because the goal is to "ease off" over time, the specific amount in any individual drink matters less.
We suggest that you use your best judgment, and try to be consistent in how you count them.
If you want the official version, here is how the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines it. In the U.S., one standard drink is any serving with about 0.6 fluid ounces (14 grams) of pure alcohol.
- Beer: 12 ounces at about 5% ABV. That's a regular can or bottle. Stronger craft beers at 7–10%+ in the same 12 ounces can be 1.5–2 drinks.
- Wine: 5 ounces at about 12% ABV. That's a modest pour. Restaurant glasses are often larger. A 750 ml bottle is about 5 standard drinks.
- Spirits / liquor: 1.5 ounces (a shot) at 40% ABV, or 80 proof. That's vodka, whiskey, gin, rum, tequila, and the like. Mixed drinks can easily be 2 or more drinks if they're poured heavy.
Other common equivalents:
- Malt liquor or many hard seltzers: about 8–10 ounces at around 7%
- Fortified wine (port, sherry): 3–4 ounces
- Liqueurs: 2–3 ounces
ABV matters more than glass size. A 12-ounce IPA at 8% is closer to 1.6 standard drinks, not one. An 8-ounce wine pour is closer to 1.6 drinks. These sizes are for counting intake. They often don't match what bars actually pour.
What is the difference between zero and not recorded?
0 means you didn't drink. COUNT (the sand-colored slice of the wheel) means the day has not been recorded yet. They are different, so be honest with the wheel.
What is a streak?
Your streak is how many days you've recorded 0 since your last drink. Days you forgot to record don't break it, but they don't count toward it either. We'll show you which days are missing so you can fill them in.
Note: because The Count is about easing off rather than necessarily shooting for zero drinks, streaks can include "light days" as well. For example, the streak below consists of a light (1–2 drinks) day on the 6th and the 9th of the month, and zero drinks on the 7th and 8th.
How do Crews work? What does my Crew see?
Start a group and invite a few friends. You can be in more than one group, and you only record once; your count number shows up in all of them.
Your crew (or crews) sees your daily totals and your streak. That's it. Your email and any days you haven't recorded stay private.
What's the Locker Room?
Each crew has a "Locker Room" associated with it. The Locker Room is a messaging channel for just that crew. Messages you post in that Locker Room can be seen by anyone who is a member of that crew. Use the messaging to share inspiration and support. Or, if the crew is made up of good friends, s***-talk! ;-)
What are Challenges and how do they work?
Dry week? No more than 10 for the month? Anyone in a crew can call a challenge, and whoever's in has a goal and a deadline. You can also set one just for yourself, which nobody else sees.
- Pick a goal. Zero drinks, a cap on the total, or an average per week.
- Pick the days. This week, next month, or dates you choose.
- Stakes are up to you. "Last place buys dinner" is a fine wager.
The Count never handles money. We suggest you don't ever use money as stakes. The Count works on the honor system, and is only valuable if you are honest with your daily count.
Everyone in the crew sees the challenge in the Locker Room and taps I'm in or Pass. Once it starts, you're locked in. Days you don't record count against you, so keep up with them.
The Count keeps score and announces the result when it's over: who made it, who didn't, and who owes what.
What is the Scratch Sheet?
The page to the left of the wheel has a new post most days: a quote, a laugh, something worth watching.
Is my data private?
Yes. Your data is private.
We never look at your drink numbers — the admin tools are built so they can't show them. We do look at how the app gets used, like how often people record and which features get used, so we can make it better.
We don't sell your data. You can delete your account and everything in it from Settings.
Questions? hello@thecount.network