findatime is a free social scheduling app that finds when you and your friends are both free. You mark your available hours each week, share a single link, and findatime automatically surfaces the times that overlap — so you can stop the back-and-forth of 'when are you free?' texts and just make the plan.

How do casual plans work on findatime?

Instead of polling a group chat, you post what you're up for — a gym session, a hike, a coffee — along with a time. Share it with a Group so the whole crew sees it at once. Friends who are free tap 'I'm Keen'. No RSVPs to chase, no one feels pressured.

Does findatime sync with my calendar?

No. findatime does not sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, or any calendar app. You manually mark the hours you're free each week, which takes about 30 seconds. Your contacts and calendar data stay completely private.

Can I use findatime to catch up with friends overseas?

Yes. findatime works across timezones. You mark your free hours in your local time, your friend marks theirs in their local time, and the app shows you the overlap in your own timezone — no mental math required.

Yes, findatime is free to use. Set your availability, share your link, and start making plans at no cost.

How is findatime different from a group chat?

Group chats require back-and-forth messages to find a time everyone's free. findatime eliminates that: you mark your availability once, share a link, and the app shows the overlap automatically. For casual plans, you post once and see who's keen — no chasing RSVPs.

Why Group Chats Kill Plans (And What to Do Instead)

The group chat planning disaster

Someone drops a message in the group: "We should all do dinner next week!"

What happens next is predictable:

Person A: "I'm free Thursday!"
Person B: "Can't Thursday. Friday?"
Person C: "Friday works for me."
Person A: "Actually I can't Friday now. Saturday?"
Person B: "Saturday I've got a thing until 8. After?"
Person C: "That's late for me."
Person D: "I haven't been following. What are we doing?"
Person A: "Let me just check with everyone and get back to the group."
The thread dies. Three weeks later, someone asks "did we ever do that dinner?"

If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. Group chats are optimized for sharing content, not for coordinating schedules. And when you try to use them for planning, the result is almost always frustration.

Why group chats fail at planning

1. The coordination problem scales badly

With two people, finding a time is a negotiation between two schedules. With five people, it's a negotiation between ten pairs of schedules — every person's availability affects every other person's options. The cognitive load doesn't just increase; it multiplies.

2. Messages create noise, not decisions

Every "I'm free Thursday!" message feels like progress, but it's actually just data. It doesn't move the plan forward — it just adds another variable to the equation. By the time person E responds, the information from person A is buried under 20 messages and nobody remembers who said what.

3. Nobody wants to be the planner

In every group, there's usually one person who takes on the emotional labour of coordinating. They're the one who sends the "okay, so it looks like Saturday at 7 works for most people — does that work for everyone?" message. That person is doing unpaid project management, and they're the reason any group plan ever happens. But they also burn out — and when they stop driving, the plans stop happening.

4. The "silent no" problem

In a group chat, people who can't make a proposed time often just... don't respond. They don't want to be the person who kills the plan by saying "I can't." So they stay quiet, the planner doesn't know whether to proceed or wait, and the plan stalls in ambiguity.

What actually works for group planning

1. Separate the conversation from the coordination

Group chats are for talking. Planning needs a different tool. Instead of negotiating in the chat, share a link that lets everyone mark their availability independently. The conversation stays social; the scheduling happens in the background.

2. Let everyone contribute without coordinating

The problem with "who's free Thursday?" is that it requires everyone to respond in sequence. The fix is to let everyone mark their availability in parallel — at the same time, independently, without seeing each other's responses first. Then the overlap is visible to everyone at once.

3. Make the default action easy

In a group chat, the default action is "reply with your availability." That's high-effort. The default action should be "tap a few time slots and close the page." That's what findatime does — each person marks their free hours on their own time, and the group sees the overlap when it appears.

The system that works

One person shares a link in the group chat: "Mark when you're free this week — I'll see when we all overlap."
Everyone marks their availability independently, on their own time. No group negotiation. No sequential responses.
The overlap appears for everyone to see. If there's a time that works for the whole group, it's obvious. If there isn't, you can see the near-misses and adjust (maybe two people can do Wednesday, three can do Thursday — split into two smaller plans).
Someone taps "I'm Keen" on the time that works. Others do the same. When enough people are keen, the plan is confirmed.

No one had to be the planner. No one had to send 15 messages. No one had to be the person who says "so... is this happening?"

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people is too many for a group chat plan?

Above four people, group chat planning starts to fall apart. The coordination overhead grows faster than the group size. For groups of 5+, use a shared availability tool instead.

What if only some people in the group are on findatime?

findatime doesn't require an account to mark availability. You share a link, people tap their free times, and the overlap appears. No download, no signup, no friction for the people who just want to say "I'm free Tuesday at 7."

Should I just stop trying to plan with groups?

No — group plans are worth the effort. The issue isn't the group; it's the tool. Group chats are designed for conversation, not coordination. Use the right tool for each job.

What if there's no time that works for everyone?

That's normal, and it's not a failure. If 4 out of 6 people can make Thursday, do Thursday with 4. The 2 who can't will join next time. Trying to find a time that works for 100% of a group is the fastest way to never do anything.