DrunkBlocker review

Damien McFerran

We review DrunkBlocker, an Android application that prevents you from making embarrassing phone calls when drunk

Published on Nov 27, 2009

Just as sayings like “a watched pot never boils” and “bread always falls butter-side down” ring true, it’s commonly accepted that copious amounts of alcohol combined with using a mobile phone can only result in embarrassment, misery and regret.

If you’ve never made a telephone call whilst under the influence then you can consider yourself supremely lucky; those of us that have probably can’t recall anything about the actual conversation but the resultant fallout the following day is sure to leave an nasty taste in the mouth – and one that has nothing to do with the dodgy kebab you ingested on the walk home from the nightclub.

Whether the recipient of your call is an ex-girlfriend or someone who isn’t aware you have the hots for them, you’re bound to have uttered something incredibly awkward thanks to the intoxicating effects of booze.

If this all sounds painfully familiar then we recommend you download DrunkBlocker for your Android phone at the earliest possible opportunity.

This app is the digital equivalent of your level-headed sober friend who snatches your mobile from your sweaty palms before you can make that fateful call.

It requires a little bit of setting up before it can save your blushes, however. You have to specify which numbers are no-go areas when you’re drunk – so we’re talking ex-partners, your boss and possible future conquests. If you really don’t trust yourself then you can quickly mark all numbers as blocked.

You also need to set the time period during which you expect yourself to be half-cut, otherwise the app’s functionality will stray into portions of the day when you’re in full control of your faculties. Once you’ve done all this you can drink in peace, safe in the knowledge that DrunkBlocker will be there to prevent any ill-advised telephonic tomfoolery.

It automatically blocks the pre-determined numbers you’ve selected so should you attempt to call them you’ll be suitably rebuffed. As a safety measure the only way to disable the service during the designated “block period” is to pass a sobriety test, the difficulty of which can be adjusted from the settings screen.

These tests involve various tasks such as counting on-screen objects and finding a word in a jumbled up-block of text, and are hard enough to do when you have a clear head, let alone a fuzzy one.

While the interface of the app could do with a bit of work, there’s no denying that DrunkBlocker is a very useful piece of software. It’s one of those apps that makes you wonder how you ever lived with it and has the potential to save you a hearty dose of acute humiliation in the future.