Schedule Your Event to Auto-Start

Fotify events do not go live on their own by default — they stay in Upcoming status until you click Start. If you'd rather not remember to do that on the day, you can schedule an auto-start instead. Your event will switch to Live automatically at the date and time you choose, and the photo upload window opens on its own.

Why Use Auto-Start

Auto-start is useful when you want the event to go live at a specific moment without you having to open the dashboard.

Common situations:

• Weddings and parties — the event goes live at the exact moment the ceremony begins, even if you're busy with guests.
• Conferences and corporate events — uploads open right when doors open, not a minute early or late.
• Time-zone coordination — you can schedule the start in the attendee's local time from anywhere in the world.
• Delegated events — a coordinator sets everything up, and the owner doesn't need to take any action on the day.

You can still click Start manually at any point before the scheduled time. Auto-start is an optional backup, not a replacement for the manual control.

How to Schedule Auto-Start

1. Open your Events page from the dashboard sidebar.
2. Select the event you want to schedule. It must be in Upcoming status.
3. Look at the status banner at the top of the page. If the event hasn't been scheduled yet, you'll see: "Your event won't start automatically — click Start when you're ready, or schedule an auto-start."
4. Click the Schedule auto-start button on the right side of that banner.
5. A modal opens with a date and time picker. Pick the exact moment you want the event to go live.
6. Click Save.

Once saved, the banner updates to show: "Auto-start scheduled for [date, time, timezone]", so you can confirm at a glance.

About Time Zones

The date and time picker uses your browser's local time zone, which is shown right under the field (for example, "Times are in your local timezone: Europe/Madrid (UTC+01:00)").

When your event is actually started, Fotify converts that local time to UTC internally, so the schedule runs correctly regardless of daylight saving changes or which device you use to view it later. The confirmation in the banner always renders in the local time zone of whoever is viewing the dashboard, with the time-zone abbreviation appended (for example, "Apr 25, 2026, 6:00 PM GMT+1").

If you travel between time zones before the scheduled moment, the event still starts at the absolute moment you originally picked — the underlying time does not shift.

Change or Remove the Schedule

Plans change. You can update or cancel an auto-start at any time while the event is still Upcoming.

1. On your event page, click Edit auto-start in the status banner.
2. To change the time, pick a new date and click Save.
3. To cancel the schedule entirely, click Remove auto-start. The event stays in Upcoming and waits for a manual start.

Once the event has already gone live (either automatically or because you clicked Start), the schedule is cleared and cannot be re-applied — a live event cannot be "unstarted."

What Happens at the Scheduled Time

At the scheduled moment, Fotify's background worker:

1. Switches the event status from Upcoming to Live.
2. Opens the upload window — guests can now upload photos and videos.
3. Starts the upload-window countdown (the countdown begins now, not when you created the event).
4. Sets an ending date based on your plan's event duration (7 days for Free, 30 days for Photo Gallery, 90 days for Premium).
5. Clears the Auto-start scheduled banner, since the job is done.

The background worker checks for due events every few minutes, so the actual transition typically happens within five minutes of the time you picked. If precision to the second matters, click Start manually at the exact moment.

Limits and Edge Cases

• Upcoming events only. You cannot schedule an auto-start for an event that is already Live, Paused, or Finished.
• Future dates only. The picker rejects any time in the past or within the next minute.
• Subscription limits. If you're on a subscription plan and already at your maximum number of active events, the auto-start will fail safely: the event stays in Upcoming, the autoStartAt field is cleared, and you can free up a slot and reschedule manually.
• RSVP is independent. Auto-starting the event does not change your RSVP invitation status. See Invitations vs. Photo Uploads for how the two timelines interact.
• Collaborators. Only the event owner can schedule, edit, or remove the auto-start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will my event start exactly at the second I picked? A: Not to the second. The background worker runs every few minutes, so there can be a short delay (usually under five minutes). If you need precise timing, click Start manually at the exact moment.

Q: What time zone does the picker use? A: Your browser's local time zone. The modal shows which one it detected (for example, Europe/Madrid (UTC+01:00)), and the scheduled time is stored in UTC internally.

Q: Can I still start the event manually before the scheduled time? A: Yes. The Start button works as usual. Once you start the event manually, the pending auto-start is cleared.

Q: What happens if I'm at my active-event limit when the schedule fires? A: The event will not be started. It stays in Upcoming, the scheduled time is cleared, and nothing breaks — you'll just need to free up a slot and reschedule.

Q: Does auto-start affect the upload-window countdown? A: No. The countdown begins at the moment the event actually goes Live, whether that's from a manual start or from auto-start. It does not matter when you created the event or when you scheduled the auto-start.

Q: Can I schedule auto-start from a phone? A: Yes. The modal and date picker work on mobile devices. They use your phone's local time zone.

Q: I cancelled my auto-start. Did I lose anything? A: No. Cancelling simply removes the scheduled time. Your event, invitations, branding, and settings are untouched.

What's Next?

• Understand how event durations, upload windows, and gallery access work together.
• Make sure your QR code is ready before the event so guests can scan the moment the event goes live.
• If you use invitations, review how RSVPs run on their own timeline separate from the event's Live status.