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How do the match-share link and scorer invite work?

A match share link opens a plain page: two names, a live score, the current rack, the match's Spot if one's set, and a rack-by-rack history of the racks played so far. This is the one feature in 8nOut that isn't limited to members: anyone who has the link, or scans its QR code, can open it and watch. No 8nOut account, no login, and no connection to either of you is needed.

Once a link exists, it isn't limited to whoever it was first sent to. Anyone holding it can open it, and they're free to forward it, save it, or share it further — it keeps working for whoever has it until it's turned off, or until this match's one-hour recap window closes, whichever comes first. Treat it the way you'd treat any link you hand someone: it can travel further than the person you gave it to.

Before either of you can share anything, you both need to switch on Share match link — it's off by default for everyone. On iPhone that's a toggle in Settings, in the Privacy section, alongside Read receipts, Typing indicators, and the live-watching toggle. On the web app, the same toggle sits on your Profile page. Until you've both turned it on, there's nothing to share yet — the option to generate a link doesn't even appear on the scoreboard.

Once you're both switched on, either of you can tap Share match on the scoreboard to get the link and its QR code. Whoever generates it has their own name shown from that first moment — sharing the link is itself their way of agreeing to be named.

The other player gets a genuine choice instead of a single yes or no: how they're shown to anyone watching, picked from four options — their full first name, both initials (for example "M.K."), one initial ("M."), or Stay anonymous. Whichever of the first three they pick, their real, live score is shown too, exactly like the generator's. Stay anonymous is the one option that keeps everything about them out of it — the same "Opponent," with their score left blank, that this page has always shown for a player who hasn't disclosed anything.

Choosing doesn't affect whether the match itself is shared — it only decides what's shown about that one player. You don't have to decide the instant the prompt appears, either: leave it and come back to it later if you like. Closing the prompt without picking anything defaults to Stay anonymous, the same conservative default this page has always used.

Unlike before, this is never a one-time decision. Open the share card from the scoreboard at any point while the match is live and you'll see your current choice under "Your name shows as." Tap it to change your mind, as many times as you like, on either platform — it applies the moment you tap, with nothing else to save.

The link doesn't need refreshing between racks. It keeps working for the whole match, and carries straight over if you two play again right after — same link, same choices already made, so nobody watching needs to track down a new one. Leave a longer gap before your next match, or it's simply a different opponent, and 8nOut starts you both fresh: a new link, with the other player choosing again. Once you've finished playing for now, the page keeps showing the finished match — final score and full rack history — for about an hour, then it stops on its own.

Either of you can stop sharing at any moment — open the share card from the scoreboard and tap Stop sharing. It takes effect immediately: the link goes dead for anyone who has it, including anyone watching right now. Turning your Share match link setting off does the same thing for every match you're in, straight away.

The match's Spot — Even, or a handicap like 10 – 6 — always shows on the watch page, for both players, no matter what either of you has chosen about your own name or score. It's part of how the match was set up, not tied to either player's identity, so there's nothing to opt into here. See What is a Spot, and how do I set one? if you're not sure what it means.

The page also shows the match rack by rack, not just the current one. It follows the exact same rule as the live score above it: a rack's tally for a player who's staying anonymous is left blank there too, for every rack — not only the one in progress.

It updates faster than before — roughly every five seconds instead of every fifteen — so a finished rack shows up sooner. It's still not instant, live-push updating: the page works by quietly refreshing itself on a short timer, the same as it always has, just a tighter one.

The page also tries to keep your screen from locking on its own while it's open, so you're not tapping your phone awake every few minutes to check the score. It's best-effort: it depends on your browser supporting it, and it may not work if you opened the link inside another app's own built-in browser — tapping it from inside Instagram or Facebook, say, rather than opening it in Safari or Chrome. If your screen still locks on you there, that's a limit of that in-app browser, not a fault in the page.

Allow a scorer works differently from sharing. Instead of letting people watch, it lets you invite one specific person who doesn't have an 8nOut account to actually keep score for your match, on their own device. Once they accept, they can enter every point for both of you and declare the final winner — the same power either of you has right now. While their invite is active, neither of your phones can score: it genuinely is their board to run, not a helper alongside yours.

Like sharing, this is off by default and needs both of you to switch it on first. Allow a scorer sits right next to Share match link in the same Settings Privacy section on iPhone, or on your Profile page on the web app. Until you've both turned it on, the option to invite a scorer doesn't appear.

Once you're both switched on, either of you can tap Invite a scorer to get a link and a QR code for the person you want to hand the scoring to — show it to them at the table, or send them the link. Before it can be used, your opponent has to separately agree to letting someone else score, including declaring who won. Nothing changes until they say yes.

The person you invite doesn't need an 8nOut account. They open the link, type their own name, and accept. From that moment they're the only one who can enter scores or declare a winner — both your phones become view-only until the invite ends, with a line on each saying who's scoring. Either of you can revoke it at any time, and scoring comes back to your phones immediately and automatically, with no extra step to take it back.

Once accepted, your scorer has the same five buttons you'd use yourself. Point adds a ball to whoever's turn is currently highlighted, and Opp. pt adds one to the other player. Foul takes one away from whoever's turn it is and passes the turn to the other player, so there's no need to tap Switch after a foul. Switch corrects the turn if it's ever showing the wrong player, and Point and Opp. pt then follow whichever name is highlighted. Undo takes back the last entry, one at a time, up to the last 10, with exactly the same limits as yours. See What is the live scoreboard? for how those five buttons work in general.

If the breaker has their own pocket-choice preference switched on, your scorer sees the same Left/Right prompt at the start of that rack, sitting above the scoring buttons — tap one to log it, or leave it and carry on scoring either way. Once it's answered, a small marker by the breaker's name shows the choice for that rack. See Why does the live scoreboard ask me to pick a pocket every rack? for more on this.

Everything above about Spot, rack-by-rack history, and the screen staying awake applies to the scorer's page too. The one difference: since the person scoring already sees both real scores in full, nothing in their rack history is ever hidden — that's simply how the page already works for them, not a disclosure choice they make. It also refreshes faster than the watch link — roughly every two seconds rather than five — so the turn highlight and everything else on their board keeps up with what's happening at the table.

For a Spot-handicapped match, the ball-respot rings and on-screen reminder from What is a Spot, and how do I set one? show up on your scorer's board too, including the Respotted button to clear it — an even match won't show any of this to your scorer, just as it wouldn't to you.

When your scorer declares a winner, it isn't official straight away. Both of you get two minutes to confirm it or object. If neither of you objects, it's confirmed automatically once the two minutes pass. If either of you objects, that result is thrown out and the match simply goes back to being in progress — nobody's scoring access changes because of an objection, and the match can be finished normally afterwards the usual way.

If someone watching the page, or the person you've invited to score, spots a problem, there's a simple way to flag it right there on either page — a direct email link, so they don't need an 8nOut account to reach us either.