Lovatt and colleagues make the case that drinking guidelines informed by the experiences and behaviours of drinkers are likely to have increased relevance, credibility and efficacy. There is reason to believe that digital technologies such as crowdsourcing, social media, mobile digital devices and biosensing devices measure behaviours such as drinking with a level of detail and on a scale that has not been possible previously. The intensive measurement of behaviours enabled by these approaches, combined with appropriate modelling techniques, can reveal patterns of behaviours that, together with knowledge of the resultant negative or harmful consequences, can inform the development of improved guidelines.