Inviting without the app

Invite friends without making them install the app

Updated on 17 August 20266 min read

No, your friends have nothing to install. The outing's link is all they need: from their browser, with no account and no download, they reply, change their mind, tick the slots that work for them and send their photos on the night.

5.0 on the App Store
Install the app

Free · ad-free · iOS & Android

  1. 1

    Replyyes, maybe or no, with a first name and an email address. The answer is saved straight away — no confirmation email to go and find.

  2. 2

    Change their mindby reopening the same link. Nothing is asked again: the link already knows who they are.

  3. 3

    Vote on the dateif the outing has no date yet, the guest ticks the proposed slots and can add their own.

  4. 4

    Send their photosduring the outing, their photos join the shared album and are revealed with everyone else's.

It's the only reason an app for a group of friends can work at all: nobody organises a party for twelve if all twelve have to install something first. The people organising install the app; everyone else answers the link.

What happens when your friend opens the link

Four screens, no account, no password.

Step 1

They see the outing

Title, date (or "date to be decided"), place, who's hosting, who's already coming. Nothing to unlock to read the invitation.

Step 2

They reply

First name, email, yes / maybe / no, and a profile photo if they want one. That's it, and it's saved immediately.

Step 3

They vote on the date, if needed

When the outing has no date yet, the slot poll opens right after their reply. Their votes count exactly like those of app members.

Step 4

They keep the link for the day

On the night, the same link opens photo uploading. Before it starts, it shows the appointment — and the link to hold on to, token included, so they can find it again from another phone.

With the link alone, and with the app

The full picture, no grey areas. What a guest without an account is missing isn't permissions: it's notifications and history, and both of those need an account.

What a guest doesWith the linkWith the app
See the invitation and the outing's details
Reply yes / maybe / no
Change their answer later
Tick the proposed slots and add their own
Send photos during the outing
Get an automatic reminder before the outing
Chat with the group inside the outing
Browse the album after the reveal
Delete a photo they already sent
Cross-reference their calendar with the group's

Key: yes · no.

A guest without an account gets no notifications and no reminders: it's up to the host to send them the link again the day before. That's the trade-off for "nothing to install", and the only real one.

5.0 on the App Store
Install the app

Free · ad-free · iOS & Android

Why we ask for a first name and an email

The first name is there to show who's coming. The email address does exactly one job: recognising the same person again. It's what brings back their votes and their photos if the browser is wiped, or if the invitation is reopened on another phone.

Replying creates no account, sets no password and sends no email. If the guest later decides to create an account with that same address, their answers and photos become theirs — which is what gives them the right to delete them, something a link kept in a browser isn't enough to prove.

Every guest gets a distinct token, specific to that one outing: it opens nothing else. And it only writes the answer — the first name, the address and the photo can't be changed through the link, so a link that gets passed around can't rewrite someone's identity.

Who should install, and who doesn't need to

The rule is simple: the people deciding install it, the people replying don't have to.

Install the app

  • You're organising the outing, or you're a co-host
  • You want your calendar cross-referenced with the group's automatically
  • You want the reminders before the outing and the photo prompt during it
  • You want to browse the album and find past outings again
  • You go out regularly with the same group

The link is enough

  • You've been invited to one outing, once
  • You're replying and you just want to say whether you're coming
  • You've no room on your phone, or no interest
  • You're a parent, a colleague, a plus-one — outside the group

Finding a common date with friends

Guests without an account: frequently asked questions

Do my friends have to install the app to reply?

No. The outing's link opens in any browser, on a phone or a computer. The guest sees the invitation, replies yes / maybe / no, and the answer is saved immediately. No account, no password, no confirmation email to go and dig out of their inbox.

Can a guest without an account vote on the date?

Yes. When the outing has no date yet, the slot poll opens right after their reply: they tick the slots that work and can propose others. Their votes count like any group member's, and the host is notified when someone votes.

Can they change their answer afterwards?

Yes, by reopening the same link. Nothing is asked again — not the first name, not the address: the link already knows who they are. Going from "I'm in" to "maybe" takes one tap, and stays possible even after the outing; only a cancelled outing closes the screen.

Can they send photos without the app?

Yes, if they replied "I'm coming". During the outing, the same link opens photo uploading: their shots join the shared album and are revealed alongside everyone else's once the night is over. The upload window is the outing's own — it opens when the outing starts and closes at the reveal.

Do they get a reminder before the outing?

No, and that's the link's real limit. Reminders and the photo prompt are notifications: they assume an account and the app installed. For a guest without an account, it's up to the host to send the link again the day before — and that same link is what gives them access to the photos on the night.

Why ask for an email address if no email is sent?

To recognise the same person. The link is remembered in the browser, which survives neither a clear-out nor a change of phone: replying again with the same address restores the same access, so the same votes and the same photos. The address also links the answers to an account if the guest creates one later with it. It is never shown to the other guests.

Can the link be passed on to someone else?

The outing's share link, yes — that's what it's for, anyone can forward it. A guest's personal link only opens that one outing and only their own answer: it can't change their first name, address or photo, and it can't touch anyone else's reply. For an outing where the list has to stay closed, invite people one by one rather than posting the link in a group chat.

How is this different from a Doodle or Framadate poll?

A poll stops at the date, and then you recreate the invitation somewhere else, the reminders somewhere else again, and the photos nowhere at all. Here, the reply, the date vote, the guest list and the photos live in one place, and the guest reaches all of it with the same link from start to finish. That said, for a one-off poll with people you'll never see again — a club meeting, outside speakers — a polling tool is still more direct.

You install it. For them, a link is enough.

Create the outing, send the link to the group. They reply from their browser, with nothing to install.

Free · no ads · iOS & Android

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