Check-in and automatic attendance

Check-in tells you who actually came. Guests check themselves in with a PartyPass tap at the door, a printed QR, or by arriving with the iPhone app; you watch the list on the event page and get a recap two hours after check-in closes.

Updated September 30, 2026

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Check-in tells you who actually came, as opposed to who said they would. Guests can check in three ways: a PartyPass tap at the door, scanning a printed QR, or just being there with location check-in, which the iPhone app can do for them. Every check-in is tied to a signed-in Luau account. For an overview, see check-in and attendance tracking.

Turn it on

In the event's ••• menu → PartyPass Settings:

  • Use PartyPass for Check-in — As the event nears, taps check guests in instead of inviting. Your tags switch from invite mode to check-in mode automatically.
  • Location Check-in — Guests near the venue can check in without a tap. Needs a mappable event address.
  • Check-in Opens — At event start, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, or 4 hours before. Check-in stays open until the event ends.
  • Allow Walk-ins — Guests without an RSVP can tap to RSVP and check in together.

Once either mode is on, a Check-ins section appears on your event page.

Check in with a PartyPass tap

PartyPass Check-in
Fish Fry FundraiserSat, Oct 17 · 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM · Check-in is open
No RSVP yet? No problem — checking in will RSVP you as Going.
I'm Here — Check In
✓You're checked in!11:04 AM · Location verified · 38m from venue
View Event
Check-ins are verified by your PartyPass tap 🔐
What a guest sees after tapping a PartyPass at the door (or scanning the check-in QR).

During the check-in window, a tap opens check-in instead of the invite. A host or co-host at the door taps each arriving guest's phone, or you can mount a tag at the entrance for guests to tap themselves. On iPhone the App Clip shows Check-in is open and a Check in now button (first-timers confirm a phone number inside the clip). In a browser, the guest signs in (Sign in to Check In: your check-in is tied to your Luau account), sees either No RSVP yet? No problem — checking in will RSVP you as Going or This event is checking in RSVP'd guests only, and taps I'm Here — Check In. Either way: You're checked in! with the time.

The check-in link only works on the phone that was tapped, so it can't be forwarded (Check-in only works from the device that tapped the PartyPass). That is the difference from a QR code that opens a form: nobody can text a friend onto the attendance list. Without a tap, the check-in page shows Tap to Check In.

Check in with a printed QR

The QR is for Location Check-in. If you're running a Group Effort board, the board header and the Sign-ups are live screen offer Print a check-in QR. It encodes the event's check-in page, which is your event link with /checkin on the end; an event without a board has no print button, so make a QR of that link with any QR generator. Guests open it at the door and tap I'm Here — Check In; the page asks the browser for their location and confirms they're within about 150 meters of the venue. With PartyPass check-in only, the page shows Tap to Check In instead, so guests tap the tag.

Location check-in

In a browser, location check-in is manual: open the event's check-in page (from the QR, the event, or a tap), allow the browser's location prompt, and tap I'm Here — Check In. Luau confirms you're within about 150 meters (You don't appear to be at the event yet. Check in again when you arrive! if not). Automatic, no-tap check-in needs the iPhone app.

Walk-ins and repeats

  • With Allow Walk-ins on, a guest with no RSVP is RSVP'd Going as they check in (We also RSVP'd you as Going — welcome!), even if the event is full. Off, they see The host is only checking in guests who RSVP'd.
  • Checking in twice is harmless (You were already checked in!). Multi-day events allow one check-in per day.
  • Hosts and co-hosts can always check themselves in.

What the host sees

The Check-ins (N) section shows n of m going, each person with the time and how they got in: PartyPass tap, Nearby (auto) with Confirmed or Not confirmed yet, or Added by host. Each row has an undo. Below it, Not checked in (N) lists Going guests with a Check in button so you can mark people at the door yourself. The section stays on the event page after the event, so web hosts can review attendance there.

After the event

  • Recap: two hours after the check-in window closes, hosts and co-hosts get X of Y guests checked in by push and email, with walk-ins and no-shows. (A Group Effort board sends its own That's a wrap recap; running both means two.)
  • No-shows get a friendly Sorry you didn't make it note by push and email, unless the event was locked to PartyPass taps (tap-required RSVPs, or PartyPass check-in without location check-in), where a missed tap is treated as final.
  • Confirm Attendance (iPhone, ••• menu on a past event): a Who actually came list with each person's provenance (Tapped a PartyPass, Found via location — they confirmed, Seen nearby during the event, RSVP'd Going — never seen), toggles to correct it, and Add someone who came for mutuals who never RSVP'd. Your changes override what location and taps recorded and update connection strength for everyone you change. On the web, the Check in buttons in the Check-ins section keep working after the event for the same purpose.
  • Connection strength uses attendance: a checked-in hang counts more than an RSVP, and a Going RSVP with no check-in at a verified event counts for nothing. See Mutuals.

What's stored

For events with location check-in on, and only from guests who granted location access and RSVP'd, and only inside the check-in window: the check-in position, its accuracy, and the distance from the venue, plus the proximity samples the app sent while nearby. Nothing is recorded outside the window or for other events; it isn't a movement log, and Luau never sells location information. It's kept with the event's check-in record; there's no automatic purge today. A PartyPass check-in records the tap and a per-device key so the link can't be forwarded. Multi-day events allow one check-in per day, by any method.

Questions

Frequently asked.

How do I turn on check-in?
In the event's ••• menu → PartyPass Settings, turn on Use PartyPass for Check-in (you tap each guest's phone at the door, or mount a tag for them to tap) and/or Location Check-in (guests near the venue check themselves in, and the iPhone app can do it for them). Set Check-in Opens and Allow Walk-ins.
How does location check-in work automatically?
On iPhone, guests who've allowed location Always and turned on location personalization get a nudge when they arrive (Looks like you're here! Tap to check in 👋), and Luau records them as Nearby (auto) even if they don't tap. Confirming upgrades it to a confirmed check-in. It only runs during the event's check-in window.
Do guests need the app to check in?
No. A PartyPass tap or the printed QR opens the check-in page in the browser, where they tap I'm Here — Check In after signing in. Only automatic, no-tap check-in needs the iPhone app.
Do I have to run the door myself?
No. Guests do the check-in: get tapped, scan the QR, or arrive with the app. You watch the Check-ins section fill on the event page and use the Check in button only for people who need help.
How close do guests have to be?
Within about 150 meters of the event's address (a little more if the phone's location fix is rough). The iPhone app watches a 200-meter area around the venue and asks the server to confirm.
What if someone shows up without RSVPing?
With Allow Walk-ins on, checking in RSVPs them Going at the same time, even if the event is full. Turn it off to check in RSVP'd guests only.
What does the host see?
A Check-ins section on the event page: who's in, how (PartyPass tap, Nearby (auto), Added by host), whether an automatic check-in was confirmed, and a Not checked in list with a Check in button and an undo.
Is there a report afterwards?
Two hours after the check-in window closes you get a recap (X of Y guests checked in) by push and email. No-shows at events that allow it get a friendly note. Attendance also feeds connection strength: showing up counts more than an RSVP, and a no-show at a verified event counts for nothing.
What location data is stored?
Only for events with location check-in on, only from guests who granted location access and RSVP'd, only during the check-in window: the check-in position and distance from the venue, and the proximity samples the app sent while you were nearby. Luau never sells location information.
How do I turn location off?
In your iPhone's Settings → Luau → Location, choose Never or While Using. Automatic check-in and nearby suggestions stop immediately; you can still check in by tapping a PartyPass or the check-in page.