You've been sent a link

What this is

Whenabouts is a website people use to find a time that suits a group, to share out who brings or does what, or to count who's coming. The link you were sent starts whenabouts.link, and the page belongs to whoever sent it. Their name is near the top.

It works in any browser, on a phone or a computer, and with JavaScript switched off.

Answering

What you see depends on what they're organizing.

• "When are you free?" is a grid of days and times. Pick every time that works for you, then press "Save my times". On a phone, tap a box, or press, hold and slide to fill several. Saving with nothing picked is fine; it tells them none of it works.
• "What can you take?" is a list of things to do or bring, or times to book, each saying how many places are left. Pick what you'll take and press "Sign me up". Full ones are greyed out.
• "Can you make it?" asks yes, maybe or no for one date. You might be asked how many people you're bringing, or a question from the organizer. Then press "Send my response".

The times are shown in the time zone the organizer chose, and the page says which. If you're somewhere else, it's worth a second look.

Your name, your email and a note

Your name is the only thing you have to give. It's how the organizer knows who answered, so use one they'll recognize.

Your email is up to you, unless the organizer of a sign-up sheet has asked everyone for one. If you give it, you get a copy of your answer with a link to change it, and anything the organizer sends about this, like a reminder or the time they pick.

A note, if there's a box for one, goes only to the organizer.

Changing your mind

Come back to the same link on the same phone or computer, and the page remembers your answer for 90 days, for the last 20 or so pages you've answered. Change it and save again, or press "Take my response back" ("Cancel my sign-up" on a sheet). Taking it back frees anything you'd taken for somebody else.

On a different device, or if you've cleared your browser, use the link in the email we sent you. It opens the page with your answer filled in. Keep that email; we only keep a scrambled copy of the link, so we can't send it again.

Either way, you can change your answer while the page is still taking answers. Once the organizer closes it, or its closing date passes, you can still see it but not change it.

On a grid or a head count, if your answer changed somewhere else after you opened the page, in another tab or on another device, saving doesn't write over it. The page shows what's saved now, so you can check it and send yours again.

Who sees what

• Anybody with the link can see the names of the people who answered, and what they picked, unless the organizer has hidden names.
• Your email address is never shown on the page. The organizer can see it, and it's in the spreadsheet they can download.
• Notes are seen only by the organizer and anybody helping them run the page.

The privacy page says what we keep, who it goes to and for how long.

The emails you might get

Only if you gave an address, and only about pages you answered:

• A copy of your answer, with the link to change it.
• "That's updated" when you change it from that link, and "That's cancelled" when you take it back.
• Whatever the organizer sends: a reminder, a message, or the time they've picked with a calendar file. And word if they take off something you'd taken, or take your answer off.
• On a head count, a reminder the day before, if you said yes or maybe.

One address gets only so many of the first two in a day, from every page together, so somebody typing your address into their answers can't fill your inbox. Past that, an answer still saves without its email. The page you land on after answering is your own link to it, so keep that instead.

If an organizer typed your address in to ask whether you can come, you get one email asking. It's never sent twice. Replying to a message the organizer wrote reaches them. Replies to the other emails reach them only if they put their email on the page, so if in doubt, use the page.

Stopping the emails

Reminders, messages and other updates from organizers have "Stop these emails" at the bottom. Press "Yes, stop them" on the page it opens, and they all stop for your address, from every page and every organizer, including any pages of your own. If you change your mind, that page has "Actually, put me back".

After that you still get emails about an answer you've just given, changed or taken back, and a warning before anything of yours is deleted.

If it asks for a PIN, or won't let you answer

• "This one needs a PIN". The organizer put a PIN on it. They'll have given it to you, probably wherever they sent the link. Once you've typed it, this browser remembers it.
• "This is closed now", "This closed on…" or "The deadline was…". It isn't taking answers any more. You can still see what everybody said.
• "Every place is taken". Everything's full. If you'd already answered, you can still change or cancel. On a head count you can still say maybe, or that you can't come.
• "This page is unavailable". We've paused it while we look at it. Nothing has been deleted.
• "We can't find that page". The link may be wrong, or the organizer deleted it. Ask them for the link again.

Removing your answers

To take back one answer, use "Take my response back" while the page is still open.

To remove every answer you've ever given with your email address, on every page, go to Remove your responses. We email you a link to make sure it's you, and nothing goes until you confirm. It can't be undone, and organizers aren't told who asked; they just see the places come free. If you have an account under that address, everything in its "Sent to you" goes too. The account itself stays if it holds things of its own, like pages, lists or a plan, so you can still manage them.

Something wrong with a page

If a page is asking for money or passwords, is spam, is abusive, or has somebody's private details on it, use "Report this page" at the bottom. You don't need an account, and we don't tell the organizer who reported it. A person here reads it, and a page can be paused while we look.

If you'd like to keep track of the things you're sent, a free account can hold them. Keeping track of what you're sent explains how.