TIME&SPACE vs Photier: Two Face-Matching Platforms, Two Ways to Pay
TIME&SPACE · Business of Events
Photier and TIME&SPACE both match guests to event photos from a selfie. The difference is mostly in how you pay, what is published, and what comes with the event.
TIME&SPACE vs Photier: Two Face-Matching Platforms, Two Ways to Pay
In short: Photier and TIME&SPACE do the same core job. A guest scans a QR code, takes a selfie, and receives the photos they appear in. Where they differ is the commercial model. We sell a flat price per event with a published privacy and retention policy. Photier sells credits ("Photis") and does not publish what a credit costs on the pages we read. If you want the price in front of you before you talk to anyone, that is the difference that matters.
What Photier Is
Photier is a photo distribution platform for events with face recognition. Checked on 20 October 2026, their homepage describes it as "The World's First Photo Distribution Platform with Facial Recognition Technology". Organisers create an event and add photos, attendees join by scanning a QR code in the Photier app and take a selfie, and the matched photos are delivered to them.
Their site describes three products. Photier PRO delivers photos to attendees. Photier PM lets organisers sell photos to attendees. Their FAQ also mentions a smaller tier called Photier Go, with up to 500 photos per event and a maximum of 20 participants. Their site lists English, Turkish, German, French and Spanish, and gives offices in Istanbul, London and Dubai.
Where TIME&SPACE Is Stronger
A price you can read before you call. Our plans are per event: STARTER 188 EUR (500 guests, 1,500 photos), ADVANCED 488 EUR (2,000 guests, 5,000 photos, Event Branding) and PRO 888 EUR (up to 15,000 guests, unlimited photos, Event Branding). On the Photier pages we read, the credit model is described, one Photi for one photo distributed and 100 Photis on sign up, but no price per Photi appears. We cannot tell you what a Photier event costs, and neither can their public site.
Photo count does not change your bill. On their model, their FAQ notes that photos uploaded by photographers reduce your Photis. On ours, the plan is fixed per event, and PRO has no photo cap.
A published biometric policy. We do face matching, so we publish what happens to the data. Explicit tick-box consent comes before the selfie. The selfie image is deleted after 30 days and the face index one year after the photo was uploaded. All of it sits in our privacy policy. Their site says the facial data is used solely for identifying and distributing photos, and that it is anonymised. The pages we read do not state a retention period, a consent step for the selfie, or where data is hosted.
EU hosting and galleries that last. Our data is hosted in the EU, and every plan keeps the gallery live for 365 days.
The same inclusions on every plan. Analytics, unlimited team members, an embed widget and a public page for each event come with every plan.
We can supply the crew. Our agency arm can shoot the event. Their site describes software, with photographers added by the organiser.
Where Photier Is Stronger
Selling photos. Photier PM lets organisers sell photos to attendees, and their FAQ states it is free for organisers with no commission from Photier. We do not do that.
Very large and outdoor events. Their FAQ describes custom packages for marathons and festivals, priced by participant count, and accessory recognition for hats, glasses and helmets. We have nothing equivalent to the second.
A free start. New accounts receive 100 Photis, so you can try the product before buying anything. We have no free tier and no trial.
Reach. Their site cites offices in three cities and a larger language selector than our three.
Capability Comparison
| | TIME&SPACE | Photier | |---|---|---| | Face matching from a selfie | Yes | Yes | | Access by QR code | Yes | Yes, through their app | | Pricing model | Flat per event | Credits (Photis) | | Price published | Yes, from 188 EUR per event | Not on the pages we read | | Free start | No | 100 Photis on sign up | | Photo cap on top plan | None | Not stated | | Sell photos to attendees | No | Yes, Photier PM | | Published selfie and face-index retention | Yes, 30 days and one year | Not stated | | Explicit consent before selfie | Yes, tick-box | Not described | | Gallery lifetime | 365 days, every plan | Not stated | | Photography crews available | Yes, agency arm | Not described | | Languages | English, Portuguese, Spanish | English, Turkish, German, French, Spanish |
Everything about Photier above was read from their live site on 20 October 2026. We make no performance claims for either product, and where their site does not state something we say so rather than guess. Check their pages before deciding.
GDPR: What Changes When the Vendor Is Outside the EU
Face matching processes biometric data, which GDPR treats as a special category (Article 9) that normally needs the person's explicit consent. Three things follow for an organiser whose guests are in the EU, and none of them depends on which vendor you pick:
- The rules follow your guests, not the vendor's address. GDPR applies to processing aimed at people in the EU even when the company is based elsewhere (Article 3(2)).
- Moving the data out of the EU needs a legal mechanism such as an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses (Chapter V). If the vendor will not say where the data sits, you cannot check this.
- You are normally the controller, the vendor is your processor. That means a data processing agreement, a known storage location, a stated retention period and an answer to who handles a deletion request.
What Photier's own documents say, read on 20 October 2026. Photier lists offices in Istanbul, London and Dubai. Its FAQ and privacy notice say facial data is used solely to identify and distribute photos and is anonymised. In the pages we read there is no retention period, no hosting location and no description of a consent step for the selfie.
What to ask Photier before you buy: where the face data is stored, for how long, under which transfer mechanism, whether they will sign a data processing agreement, whether they have an EU representative, and how a guest withdraws consent.
On our side: TIME&SPACE is based in Portugal, stores and processes biometric data only in the EU, gets explicit tick-box consent before the selfie, deletes selfie data after 30 days and the face index one year after the photo is uploaded, and provides a data processing agreement. The detail is in our privacy policy. This is general information, not legal advice; your own data protection officer or lawyer should decide.
Which to Choose
Choose TIME&SPACE if you want a fixed price per event, a written retention and consent policy to show your legal team, EU hosting, and the option of a crew from the same company.
Choose Photier if you want to sell photos to attendees, you are running a marathon or festival and want a package priced by participants, or you want to start with free credits.
Ask both for a quote if the event is large and you are comparing the total, because their credit price is not public.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much does Photier cost?
Their public pages do not state a price per Photi. Their FAQ says new accounts receive 100 Photis, one Photi covers one photo distributed, and more can be bought in the control panel. For large events they offer custom packages. Ask them for a quote. Ours is 188, 488 and 888 EUR per event.
Q: Does Photier delete selfies and face data?
Their FAQ says the facial data is used solely for identifying and distributing photos and is anonymised, and that you can delete your account and photos. The pages we read do not give a retention period. Ours is 30 days for the selfie image and one year after upload for the face index.
Q: Can guests use Photier without an app?
Their site describes guests joining through the Photier app. Ours works from a QR code with no app download.
Q: Is TIME&SPACE cheaper than Photier?
We cannot say, because their credit price is not published. We do not claim to be the cheapest. What we offer is a fixed price per event and clear terms on what is included.
Founder, TIME&SPACE