A sobriety counter on the iPhone Lock Screen

Three widget shapes, how to add one, and what it costs.

The short answer

iOS 16 and later can show a widget on the Lock Screen, so a sober-day count can sit there permanently. There are three shapes: a small circular widget (a ring works well for a day count), a rectangular panel that fits two lines, and the inline slot — a single line of text directly above the clock.

How to add one

1. Touch and hold the Lock Screen, then tap Customise.
2. Tap the Lock Screen image, then tap the widget area under the clock — or the line above the clock for the inline slot.
3. Pick the app, then pick the widget size.
4. Tap Done. The count appears without unlocking the phone.

The same applies to the home screen: touch and hold an empty area, tap +, and find the app.

What the free options do

If you only want a number somewhere visible, you have choices that cost nothing:

• A countdown or counter app you already have. Several generic day-counter apps ship Lock Screen widgets and will count from any date. They know nothing about sobriety, which some people prefer.
• Apple Shortcuts can compute days since a date, but Shortcuts has no Lock Screen widget that renders arbitrary text, so this does not get you the thing you wanted.
• Try Dry (Alcohol Change UK) and Drink Free Days (NHS) are free and well made. Check their current listings for which widgets they include before assuming.

What Kern does

Kern is a sobriety counter for iPhone with a Lock Screen widget. It shows one number — the days — on the Lock Screen, in a home-screen widget, and in a plain app. No account, no ads, no subscription, and no data collected. It is free for the one thing you are counting; a single one-time purchase adds more counts, and every widget stays free either way.

• All three Lock Screen sizes — ring, panel, and the inline line above the clock
• A home-screen widget that sits next to your weather and calendar
• Your own label — alcohol-free by default, or whatever you call it
• Works offline — there is no server to be unreachable
• Milestones from day 1 to 1000 — marked, not celebrated loudly

With more than one count, you can either show a widget listing every count, or a small widget pinned to whichever one you choose.

Honest limits

Kern is iPhone software and needs iOS 16 or later. It runs on an iPad, but in an iPhone-shaped window — there is no iPad layout of its own, and no Apple Watch app. It is a counter, not a clinical tool, and it gives no advice.

More answers

Tracking Dry January on an iPhone · Counting days since you quit smoking · Sobriety counters without a subscription