How to Set Up Echoes — Your Event's Audio Guestbook

Echoes is Fotify's audio guestbook. Instead of (or alongside) photos, your guests can leave a heartfelt voice message from any phone — they scan a QR code, hear a welcome greeting from you, and tap once to record. There's no app to download and no sign-up.

Every recording is saved straight into the event album you choose, so your voice messages live right next to your photos and videos.

Echoes is included in the Premium Event plan. See the pricing page for details.

Echoes vs. the Voice Tab

Fotify has two ways to collect audio, and they work well together:

• The voice tab on your regular upload page — one of several content types (alongside text messages and drawings) that guests see next to the photo uploader.
• Echoes — a dedicated, distraction-free audio guestbook with its own QR code, its own link, and a welcome greeting that plays before guests record. It's designed for one job: collecting beautiful voice messages.

Use Echoes when you want a focused "leave us a message" station — a sign by the gift table, a card on each seat, or a tap-to-record moment during the reception.

Perfect For

• Weddings — Spoken congratulations and well-wishes from every guest
• Milestone birthdays & anniversaries — A keepsake of voices to play back for years
• Memorials & celebrations of life — Shared memories in everyone's own words
• Baby showers — Advice and wishes for the new arrival
• Corporate events & farewells — Group messages for a colleague or a year in review

Step 1: Open Echoes

1. Go to your Dashboard and select your event
2. In the Quick Actions grid, click the Echoes card
3. This opens the Echoes manager for your event

If the Echoes card shows a Premium badge, your event isn't on the Premium Event plan yet — see the pricing page to upgrade.

Step 2: Turn On the Audio Guestbook

At the top of the Echoes manager, toggle Audio Guestbook on. This is what allows guests to record once you share the link. You can turn it off again at any time — even mid-event.

Step 3: Choose Where Recordings Are Saved

The first time you turn Echoes on, Fotify automatically creates a dedicated private "Voice Messages" album and saves recordings there. Keeping them in a private album means voice messages stay out of your public photo feed and live carousel — they're just for you.

You'll see this in Settings → Save recordings to, marked with a Private badge. This album is managed by Echoes and can't be deleted, so the feature always has a home.

If you'd rather collect recordings somewhere else, you can still change the destination:

• Main album — Recordings join your event's main gallery (visible publicly)
• Another named album — Choose any album you've created

Recordings appear in the chosen album right alongside photos and videos, and you can move them later just like any other item. To create a named album first, see Organizing Photos into Albums.

Step 4: Record a Welcome Greeting (Optional)

This is the signature touch of an audio guestbook — a short message guests hear before they record their own.

1. In the Welcome greeting section, click Record greeting
2. Allow microphone access when your browser asks
3. Record your message (up to 60 seconds) — for example, "Hi! It's Sofía and Carlos. We'd love to hear from you — leave us a message after the tone!"
4. Preview it, then save. You can Re-record or Remove it anytime.

You can also add a written greeting and a guest prompt (like "Leave a message for Sofía & Carlos") under Settings, which guests see on screen.

Step 5: Set the Recording Length

Under Maximum recording length, choose how long each guest message can be — 1, 2, 3, or 5 minutes. A shorter limit keeps messages punchy; a longer one is better for storytelling and toasts.

Step 6: Share the QR Code or Link

In the Share with guests section you'll find a QR code and a link to your audio guestbook. Guests who open it land on a clean recording screen — no app, no account.

• Download the QR code as an image with the Download QR button — drop it into printed signage, table cards, or your invitation
• Copy the link to send by text, email, or your event chat
• Display it at a dedicated "voice message" station

Make sure the Audio Guestbook toggle is on, or the page will tell guests it isn't accepting messages yet.

Using Echoes on a Custom Domain

If you've connected a custom domain to your event, Echoes works on it automatically. Your guestbook is reachable at yourdomain.com/echo, and you can even set Echoes as your domain's homepage so visitors go straight to recording.

To do that, open Branding → Custom Domain, and under Homepage choose Echoes (Audio Guestbook). Now anyone visiting yourdomain.com lands directly on your audio guestbook.

Listening to Your Messages

Back in the Echoes manager, the Voice messages section lists every recording you've received. For each one you can:

• Play it right in the dashboard
• Download the audio file to keep
• Delete it if needed

To save everything at once, use Download all in the section header — it packages every recording into a single .zip file named after your event. For busy events with lots of recordings, the list is paginated — use the page arrows at the bottom to browse through them, and Refresh to pull in the latest.

Recordings also appear in the album they're saved to, so they show up in your gallery and downloads like any other content. (Voice messages count toward your event's total content limit, the same as photos.)

What Guests See

1. They scan the QR code or open the link
2. They hear your welcome greeting (if you recorded one)
3. They optionally enter their name
4. They tap to record their message, then send it

That's it — the recording is instantly saved to your event. Everything happens in the phone's browser, so there's nothing to install.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do guests need to download an app? A: No. Recording happens directly in the guest's mobile browser. They just scan the QR code or open the link.

Q: Where do the voice messages go? A: When you enable Echoes, Fotify creates a private "Voice Messages" album and saves recordings there by default, so they stay out of your public feed. You can switch the destination to another album in Settings if you prefer. Either way, they appear in your gallery alongside photos and videos.

Q: Can I delete the Voice Messages album? A: No — that album is managed by Echoes and is protected from deletion so the feature always has a place to store recordings. You can still delete individual voice messages.

Q: How long can each message be? A: You choose the limit — 1, 2, 3, or 5 minutes per recording.

Q: Can I record a welcome greeting? A: Yes. You can record (or re-record) a greeting up to 60 seconds that plays before guests record their own message.

Q: Can I turn Echoes off after the event? A: Yes. Toggle the Audio Guestbook off at any time and guests can no longer record, while the messages you've collected stay safe in your album.

Q: Does Echoes work with my custom domain? A: Yes. It's available at yourdomain.com/echo, and you can set it as your domain's homepage from Branding → Custom Domain.

Q: How is this different from the voice tab on the upload page? A: The voice tab sits next to the photo uploader as one of several content types. Echoes is a dedicated, single-purpose audio guestbook with its own QR code and a welcome greeting — ideal as a "leave us a message" station.

Q: Can I download the recordings? A: Yes. Download a single message from the Echoes manager, grab them all at once with Download all (a single zip file), or include them in your event's bulk download on plans that support it.