Guests cannot see the album

The event is still a draft

An event that has not gone live tells guests that the album is not open yet and that the host is still setting it up. Nothing is broken; the switch simply has not been flipped. This is the state a code printed early will lead to.

It is a frequent surprise at the start of a party, because the code works perfectly and the page still refuses.

1. Open the link on a borrowed phone. Signed in you see the owner view, which is never where the problem is.
2. Read what the page says. Each cause produces a different screen, and the wording tells you which one it is.
3. Fix the switch, not the link. Check the event settings before you touch the link. That is where all 5 causes live.

The event has been archived

Archiving under Settings → “End this event” stops the guest page and uploads at once. A guest who scans the code or opens the guest link then sees “This link has expired”, and a page someone already had open can no longer send anything.

The album itself stays visible through the album link, which you copy under Album → “Public”. Archiving cannot be undone from the dashboard, so tell guests where the album is.

Only the private album says “Album not found”. Everything else says something, and the wording identifies it.

The album is private

A private album makes the link show only “Album not found” — not an explanation, not a preview. That is correct behaviour, and it is why a guest hitting it concludes the whole thing is broken and does not try again.

If you set it private while tidying up, say so. “Album not found” with no explanation is the worst of the 5 for exactly that reason.

A password stands in front of it

A viewing password means every visitor types it once before seeing anything. It has to be at least 4 characters, and it is separate from the download password, which gates taking files rather than looking at them.

Guests forget which of the 2 they were given. Say in your message which one it is.

The album opens but is empty

This is the review queue. With review-first on, nothing reaches the album until you approve it, so guests see a working page with nothing in it — including the people who just uploaded. An album that stays empty all evening points at a queue nobody emptied.

The event overview tells you how many are waiting, so you can check without opening Moderation.

Or the window has closed

An album lives its plan s window measured from the event date: 30 days on the free tier, then 90, 183 or 365, followed by a 14-day grace period. After that the media is removed and the link has nothing left to show.

Warning emails go out 14 days, 3 days and 1 day beforehand. If guests report a blank album months later, this is the likely reason.