Waitkeep

A standing waitlist with a position page

How it works

How the list, positions and holds work

The pro keeps one standing list. Each person who joins gets a private position page that shows their current place. When a slot opens the pro offers it, the place is held for a set time, and the person answers on the same page. These are the rules the server follows, in order.

Last updated 28 October 2026

The rules, in the order you meet them

  1. The pro signs in with a passkey. No password and no email address. The device keeps the private key behind a fingerprint, face or screen lock; the server keeps only the public half. Up to 10 passkeys per account, plus a one-time recovery code shown at sign up.
  2. Joining. A family or client opens the list's join link or QR code, gives the adult's name, a phone number or email address, and who the place is for as a nickname, initials or a pet name. The page then shows a private position link once, with Copy. That link is the only way back to the position page, so save it.
  3. Your position. Your number is 1 plus everyone on the same list who is waiting or has an open offer and sits before you. People who have a place, have left or were taken off never count. A new person joins at the end, in the order they joined.
  4. The pro may change the order. The pro can move anyone up or down, for example for a sibling already on the books. The position page says: Your position on the list. The pro may change the order; this page always shows the current one. The pro's own actions on your place are listed on your page with their dates: moving you, making you a new position link, and restoring a deleted list.
  5. Offers. When a slot opens the pro taps Offer, names the slot (such as Tuesdays 16:00) and sends the prepared message from their own phone.Waitkeep never offers the next person by itself. One person has at most one open offer at a time; a list can have several.
  6. How long a place is held. 24, 48 or 72 hours, chosen per list (48 by default). The hold is that many hours of elapsed time from the moment of the offer, so 48 hours across a clock change is still 48 hours. The end of the hold is shown in your own time zone with its name, such as BST.
  7. Answering. On the position page: Accept takes the slot and leaves the list. Not this slot, keep my place puts you back at the same place. Remove me takes you off the list. Take my name off the list, at the foot of the page, leaves the list at any time.
  8. When a hold runs out. With no answer by the end of the hold, the offer ends, you keep your place, and the pro sees one missed offer next to your name. An answer that arrives after the end is refused with: This hold has ended, your place on the list is kept.
  9. What the pro hears. Every answer and every ended hold appears in the pro's Outcomes strip. With a confirmed email address the pro also gets one short email per offer. Families never get email from Waitkeep.
  10. Limits. Up to 3 lists, 50 people waiting on each and 6 questions on the join form. At the limit the join page says the list is not taking new names right now, and everyone already on it keeps their place.
  11. When the server is busy. The site runs within a free hosting allowance with daily limits. When one is reached the page says saving is paused for now and keeps what you typed on your device.

Worked example

A tutor's list fills one morning: A joins at 09:00, B at 09:05 and C at 09:10, so their positions are 1, 2 and 3. C has a sibling already in a group, so the tutor moves C above A. Now C is 1, A is 2 and B is 3.

A Tuesday slot opens and the tutor offers it to A. A is still number 2 while the offer is open, because an open offer still counts. A accepts, so A has a place and leaves the count: C is 1 and B is 2.

The hold across a clock change: an offer made at 18:00 on Saturday 28 March 2026 in London with a 48 hour hold ends at 19:00 BST on Monday 30 March 2026. The clocks went forward on 29 March, so the local time moves by an hour while the hold is still exactly 48 hours.

What it is not