Futures in Scala are composable, so this becomes: val upload = for { p <- Future(setPerms(private)) u <- Future(uploadPhoto(photo)) } yield

Futures in Scala are composable, so this becomes: val upload = for { p <- Future(setPerms(private)) u <- Future(uploadPhoto(photo)) } yield u upload onComplete { case Success(uploadStatus) => // do stuff case Failure(why) => // do stuff } These will not happen concurrently unless the futures are declared outside of the for comprehension.