No Phone Events on the Rise: Choosing Presence Over Posting

A quiet revolution is taking over the dancefloor. More and more festivals and club nights are choosing to go phone-free, placing real connection above screen time. It’s a shift that signals something deeper: a collective longing for presence. In a world saturated with highlights, filters, and Stories, many are craving the raw feeling of the now. They don’t want to record the memory, they want to live it.

Moves

One of the most talked-about newcomers this year is MOVES, a fresh event concept set on the beach in Zandvoort. Centered around the idea of movement, freedom, and pure experience, MOVES invites its guests to forget the outside world and fully embrace the music, the people, and the moment. Their slogan, “Make Your Move,” says it all.

First event ever to use the Sonder app

What makes MOVES especially groundbreaking is that it’s the first event ever to use the Sonder app: offering visitors a truly new approach. While phones stay tucked away, the event’s content team captures the best moments and shares them via Sonder, giving guests access to curated content after the event through a simple access code. This way, attendees don’t have to choose between being in the moment and reliving it later, they get both. It’s a blueprint for the future of immersive nightlife.

Intercell

Another major player in this shift is Intercell. Known for their carefully curated techno events, Intercell has enforced a no-camera policy for some time now. Phones are sealed with stickers at the entrance, reminding everyone that what happens inside, stays inside. The result is a highly immersive atmosphere that feels both intimate and liberating. With no glowing screens to interrupt the flow, energy moves collectively through the crowd. This year, during Amsterdam Dance Event, Intercell will host an impressive fifteen events — proof that their presence-first philosophy resonates deeply with today’s audience.

Tomodachi

On Ibiza, a new chapter is unfolding with the launch of Tomodachi, the island’s first fully no-phone club. In a place often associated with hedonism and excess, Tomodachi offers something radically different. Their philosophy is simple: no phones, no distractions, just sound and soul. The club’s design promotes low lighting, long sets, and a stripped-down vibe where you come not to be seen, but to feel. Since opening, Tomodachi has sparked global conversation, proving that even in nightlife’s most high-profile locations, people are ready for change.

DC-10

Even at iconic venues like DC-10, the movement is gaining ground. Solid Grooves, a beloved party series hosted at the legendary club, has held multiple successful no-phone editions. These nights are remembered for their electric atmosphere, where the dancefloor feels alive in a way that’s rarely captured on camera. There’s a shared sense of freedom: people dance harder, smile wider, and connect more honestly. Without screens, something magical returns: total presence.

People are tired

So why is this shift happening now? Because people are tired. Tired of watching the night through a lens. Tired of curating moments instead of living them. Tired of holding back out of fear of being filmed. More than ever, people want to reclaim their right to move freely, to lose themselves in the music, to be anonymous, expressive, and fully alive.

Pro-experience

No-phone events are giving that freedom back. They aren’t anti-technology, they’re pro-experience. And with platforms like Sonder, events no longer have to choose between being present and sharing memories. You live the moment fully, and access the highlights later — intentionally, not impulsively.

At Sonder, we believe this isn’t a passing trend. It’s a cultural shift. One where people choose presence over performance. Energy over aesthetics. Feeling over filming.

Because the best moments? You don’t post them. You carry them with you.

#MomentsYouHaveMissed #SonderExperience