Real-Time for pre-partys
Use Snapr real-time for your pre-party. Simple, free, and no app — perfect for collecting guest photos and displaying them live on the big screen.
- 200 photos free — no registration
- QR code guests scan with their phones
- Live slideshow on the big screen in real-time
- Works on all devices without an app
No registration required
How to get started
Three steps, no app and no sign-up.
- 1
Create event
Name your event and get a unique QR code in seconds.
- 2
Share QR code
Display the QR code or print it. Guests scan with their phones.
- 3
Watch photos live
Photos appear on the big screen in real-time as guests upload.
How real-time works for pre-partys
Snapr makes real-time for your pre-party simple and effortless. Create an event in seconds, get a unique QR code, and share it with your guests. They scan the code and upload photos directly — no app download needed.
The big screen holds an open subscription to the event's photo list in the database. When a guest's upload finishes, the record is written and the screen is pushed the change over that connection — no polling, no page refresh. The photo is preloaded, then slotted into the running slideshow.
Everything is included in the free tier: up to 200 photos, live slideshow, QR code, and 14-day storage. Need more? Premium keeps the photos a full year, with original-quality downloads and unlimited uploads, for a one-time payment.
Setting up Real-Time
- 1Open the event's slideshow page in a browser on the machine driving the screen or projector, and leave that tab open — the live connection lives in the page.
- 2Press F for fullscreen. The controls fade out after three seconds of no mouse movement, so the room only sees photos.
- 3Leave the QR code visible (Q toggles it) so late arrivals can join without anyone having to explain how.
- 4Check the small wifi icon top right: green means the connection is live. Adjust slide time with + and − if photos are arriving faster than five seconds a slide.
Real-Time — the specifics
- How updates travel
- Open subscription to the event's media node in Firebase Realtime Database. The server pushes; the screen never asks.
- Typical delay, upload finished to on screen
- A couple of seconds. Nearly all of the wait a guest experiences is their own upload, not the screen.
- Page refresh needed
- Never. The slideshow can run all evening on one page load.
- Where a new photo lands in the queue
- Preloaded first, then inserted right after the current slide in single view, or within the next grid cycle in grid view.
- Slide interval
- 5 seconds by default, adjustable from 1 to 30 seconds. Videos play to the end before advancing.
- If the screen loses the network
- The wifi indicator turns red and the slideshow keeps playing what it already has; the subscription resumes and catches up when the connection returns.
When something goes wrong
Guests say they've uploaded, but nothing new reaches the screen.
Look at the wifi indicator in the top right corner of the slideshow. Red means the screen's own connection dropped — reconnect that machine to the network. Green means the photos have not finished uploading yet on the guests' side; that is upstream bandwidth, not the screen.
Photos arrive within seconds early on, then take a minute or two once the room fills up.
Twenty phones on one venue access point share the same upstream. Nothing is broken. If you know the room will be full, ask guests to upload a handful at a time rather than a batch of twenty, and expect videos to take noticeably longer than photos.
The screen goes black or the screensaver kicks in halfway through the evening.
Disable sleep and screensaver on the machine driving the screen before the event starts, and press F for fullscreen — fullscreen keeps most laptops awake but power settings still win. Plug the laptop into mains power too; battery savers dim and suspend the display.
What it is not good for
This shows photos as they finish uploading — it is not a live video feed, and on a weak venue connection a photo can take minutes rather than seconds to make it up from a guest's phone.
Why Snapr for pre-partys?
No app needed
Guests don't need to download anything — everything works in the browser.
Free to start
200 photos free per event. Upgrade if you need more.
Live on big screen
Connect to TV or projector and watch photos arrive in real-time.
Secure & private
Only those with the link have access. Your photos stay private.
Related features
Explore everything Snapr can do for your pre-party.
QR Code — pre-party
Learn how Snapr QR code works for your pre-party.
See how QR code works for your pre-party.Live Slideshow — pre-party
Learn how Snapr live slideshow works for your pre-party.
See how live slideshow works for your pre-party.Photo Sharing — pre-party
Learn how Snapr photo sharing works for your pre-party.
See how photo sharing works for your pre-party.Photo Wall — pre-party
Learn how Snapr photo wall works for your pre-party.
See how photo wall works for your pre-party.TV Display — pre-party
Learn how Snapr TV display works for your pre-party.
See how TV display works for your pre-party.Photo Booth Alternative — pre-party
Learn how Snapr photo booth alternative works for your pre-party.
See how photo booth alternative works for your pre-party.Frequently Asked Questions
What guests and hosts ask about most.
Is it worth setting up Snapr for a short pre-party before heading out?
Can guests keep adding photos later in the evening, after they've left for town?
Does a small pre-party need the paid version?
All Events
Find the Snapr guide for your event.
Real-Time for pre-partys
Create a free event in 30 seconds. Guests scan the QR code — no app required.
Create a free eventNo registration required