Howbout - Social calendar & plans

Introducing Howbout, the social calendar application designed to help you stay connected with your friends – discover what they’re doing, their upcoming events, and their true selves. Join over 5 million users on Howbout, all of whom are fabulous...

FEATURES

SHARE CALENDARS

- Inform your friends about activities by adding them to the shared calendar.

MAKE PLANS

- Move discussions about plans out of group chats.

FRIENDS-ONLY ACTIVITY FEED

- The simplest way to keep track of everything your friends are up to.

SET WHO SEES WHAT

- Decide whether an event is visible to all friends, only Close Friends, or even no one.

CHAT

- Respond to events and message friends. Plus, a built-in group chat for organizing plans.

SEE WHEN EVERYONE’S FREE

- Identify when everyone is available to gather.

VOTE WITH POLLS

- Utilize polls to vote on various choices, such as activities or the best time to meet.

COUNTDOWN TO PLANS

- Attach calendar events to your home screen and count down to the dates.

KEEP MEMORIES

- Upload photos to pinned events to preserve memories.

ALL YOUR PLANS TOGETHER

- If you have to use another calendar for work, you can sync everything into Howbout.

BUCKET LISTS

- Input your bucket list items and convert them into actual plans.

SHARE PICS & VIDS

- Directly share images and videos in chats and plan discussions.

SEND INVITES

- Invite anyone to any event via a link – stepping into modern times!

Featured by notable outlets including Apple, BBC, MailOnline, TechCrunch, Business Insider, and many others that we don’t prioritize!

FAQS

How do I change the colours on my calendar?

To change the colours of your external phone calendars and friends' calendars in Howbout:

Head to the Calendar (🗓️) tab

1.Tap the ‘You’ button in the top left corner of the screen

2.Toggle on the calendars you want to see on your Howbout calendar

3.Tap the colour droplet next to your and your friends' calendars to change the colour 

While viewing a friend's calendar, all of your own calendars and events will temporarily become one colour to avoid you getting mixed up 😌

How do I make a group / shared calendar with friends?

On Howbout, we don't offer the ability to maintain separate 'group calendars' where you and your friends add to a communal calendar. By default, all your friends on Howbout will be able to see the events on your calendar unless you set your events to just 'Close Friends' or 'No one'. You can set these for synced calendars or for every plan you create in Howbout. Friends who aren't Close Friends will only be able to see that you're 'Busy' and won't be able to view the event details. Events set to 'No one' won't show any details, even to Close Friends. Rather than being a tool for calendar-sharing, Howbout groups are designed to make it easier to make plans with groups by providing you with a group chat and a shortcut to making plans together.

How do I see when everyone in my Howbout group is free?

To see when everyone in your Howbout group is free:

If you haven't created a Howbout group yet, you can find out how here. Want to work out when a specific friend is free? 

1.Head to the People (👤) tab

2.Select the group you want to view availability for

3.Tap on the ‘Availability’ button

4.The time & date page will show you which days your group members are free, busy or maybe busy. You won't be able to see the availability of any group member that you aren't friends with on Howbout

5.Select your desired date and create a plan 🙌

You can also create a time poll so the group can vote on the best time or dates for them.

How can I see all my upcoming events in a list view?

To see all of your upcoming events in a list:

1.Head to the calendar (🗓️) tab

2.Long press on the same calendar icon (🗓️) or tap the list icon in the top righthand corner to switch to list view. To switch back to month view, tap the calendar icon in the same location, or long press on the calendar icon in the tab bar.

How do I share calendars between devices?

To start sharing your calendar with your friend's devices:

1.Download Howbout here or head to your app store

2.Invite your friends

3.Sync your calendars 

You can also create a group in Howbout to make planning together and seeing what everyone’s up to even easier.

Why do you need my phone number to make an account?

We take privacy extremely seriously at Howbout 🔒 

We ask you for your phone number when creating an account to ensure your account is completely secure. Your data is safe with Howbout and is never passed on.

Having a phone number linked to your account also makes planning even easier, as you’ll instantly be notified whenever your friends join Howbout 🙌

Blog

The era of social calendars: Why everyone’s planning their life like a feed

25th March 2025

In 2025, your social calendar isn’t just a list of all the things you’re doing, it’s a representation of who you are. If it doesn’t look a little chaotic, a little colorful, and a little full of an embarrassing amount of times you gotten takeout that week, then you’re doing it wrong.

Welcome to the social calendar era, with Howbout at the forefront (obvs).

✨ Calendars aren’t just for work anymore

For way too long, calendars have reminded you of being tied to your desk, having an insane amount of deadlines, and the sound of the Google Calendar alert striking fear into your core. But now, your calendar is a reflection of who you are to all your friends.

With Howbout, your calendar reflects who you actually are, not just what you have to do. You share the plans that really matter to you with your friends. The spontaneous trips. The way-too-hot yoga class you swear by. The ‘Tinned Fish Night’ you host every Thursday.

And when you can see what your friends are up to, your calendaestops being a schedule and starts being fun.

👯‍♀️ Planning is the new posting

Everything is curated nowadays on social apps. Spotify playlists, Pinterest boards, Instagram highlights. In 2025, your crazy weekend plans deserve the same energy.

Your calendar becomes a feed of everything fun you’re doing, and everything your friends are up too as well.

And the best bit? Your updates don’t get buried under 29834729 unread messages like they do on the group chat. Your plans stay clear, visible, and available for all your friends to stalk.

Turn your calendar into a highlight reel

‘Drinks on Friday’ is whatever. But ‘villain era soft launch’? Now, I’m listening.

The way you name, share, and talk about your plans makes your calendar feel more like a social feed, just one that actually shares real-life moments with friends.

We’re so obsessed with this, we even wrote a whole blog post about the art of naming your plans.

If your calendar isn’t giving ~personality~, you’re doing it so wrong. Howbout is the social calendar app where sharing plans is almost as fun as the plans themselves. See what your friends are up to, share your own plans, and turn your weekend chaos into something worth posting about.

Download Howbout on iOS or Android — and make your calendar your new favorite way to keep up with friends.