Event Photos Backed Up to Google Drive
Guests scan one QR, upload from any phone, and approved photos mirror straight into a Google Drive folder you own. A backup-receipt page lists every file that landed in your Drive, with size, hash, and timestamp, so you can confirm the mirror without opening Drive.
- ✓Guests upload via QR — no Google account required
- ✓Approved photos mirror to a Drive folder you own
- ✓Backup receipt lists every file that reached Drive
- ✓drive.file scope — Galeira only sees what it writes
- ✓Folder stays in your Drive if you cancel Galeira
- ✓Original resolution preserved on mirror
Why Google Drive is the most-requested event backup
When hosts ask where their event photos should live after the day, Google Drive is the answer we hear most often. The reasons are practical: most hosts already have a Google account, Drive folders are easy to share with a partner or family member, and the storage counts against a quota the host already understands. Drive also plays well with the rest of a host's workflow — a folder can be linked into a doc, attached to an email, or handed to a video editor without exporting anything. Galeira leans into that. The host signs in to Drive once, picks or creates a folder, and from that moment every approved upload mirrors into that folder in the background. Guests never see Drive, never sign in, and never know which cloud is behind the QR. They just upload, and the host's Drive fills up with the originals.
- ✓Hosts already trust Drive for documents and photos
- ✓Folder is easy to share with a partner or planner
- ✓Drive quota is familiar — no new billing relationship
- ✓Originals stay reachable from phone, web, and desktop
- ✓Plays well with Docs, Gmail, and video editors
How the QR upload + Drive mirror flow works step by step
The flow is designed so guests do the simple part and the host does the cloud part once. First, the host creates the event in Galeira and connects Google Drive from the dashboard — a standard OAuth screen where the host picks the destination folder. Next, Galeira prints (or shows on a screen) a QR code for the event. Guests scan the QR, land on a mobile-friendly upload page, and send photos straight from their camera roll. Each upload runs through the host's moderation rules, and the moment a photo is approved, Galeira streams a copy into the connected Drive folder. The backup-receipt page updates in near real time, so the host can watch the mirror happen during the event. If the network drops on Galeira's side, the mirror retries; if Drive returns an error, the receipt shows the failure with a reason.
- ✓Host connects Drive once via OAuth, picks the folder
- ✓Galeira generates the event QR for guests
- ✓Guests scan, upload from camera roll, no account needed
- ✓Approved photos mirror to Drive automatically
- ✓Receipt page updates as files land in Drive
What ends up in your Drive folder (naming, structure, receipt)
The folder structure inside Drive is built to be useful long after the event. At the root sits the event folder the host picked during setup. Inside, Galeira creates a predictable layout: a main photos folder, an optional videos folder, and a receipts folder that mirrors the backup-receipt page as JSON and CSV. File names follow a host-chosen template — the default is a timestamp plus a short upload ID, which keeps everything sorted chronologically and avoids collisions when two guests upload at the same second. EXIF data is preserved on the original file. The receipt folder is what makes this trustworthy: every file written to Drive is logged with its size, content hash, upload time, and the moderation decision that approved it. If you ever need to prove that a specific photo did or did not reach your Drive, the receipt is the source of truth.
- ✓One root folder per event, chosen by you
- ✓Photos, videos, and receipts split into subfolders
- ✓Timestamp + upload-ID file names sort cleanly
- ✓EXIF preserved on the mirrored original
- ✓Receipt logs size, hash, time, and approval state
drive.file scope explained — what Galeira can and cannot see
Galeira requests the narrowest Drive permission Google offers for this use case: drive.file. That scope only lets an app see files it created or files a user explicitly opened with the app. It does not grant a view of the rest of your Drive. In plain terms, Galeira can create the event folder, write photos and receipts into it, and read back what it wrote — and nothing else. Your unrelated documents, spreadsheets, family photos, and shared folders stay invisible to Galeira. The OAuth screen Google shows you during connection will reflect this scope; if it ever asks for broader access, that is a sign something is wrong and you should not approve. You can also revoke the connection from your Google account settings at any time, and the folder Galeira created stays in your Drive.
- ✓Galeira uses drive.file, not full-Drive scope
- ✓It only sees files it created in your event folder
- ✓The rest of your Drive stays invisible to Galeira
- ✓OAuth screen will reflect the narrow scope
- ✓Revoke any time — your folder stays in your Drive
When Drive is the right choice (vs Photos / Dropbox / OneDrive)
Drive is the right destination when the host wants a folder-shaped result — something they can rename, move, share with a partner, or hand to an editor. It is also the right choice when the host plans to keep working with the photos inside Google's ecosystem: pulling them into a Doc, attaching to Gmail, or sharing with a Workspace team. If the host wants the photos to appear in a personal photo timeline on their phone, that is a different need; Galeira does not offer Google Photos as a connectable destination, because the available APIs do not support host-friendly write access for event use. Dropbox and OneDrive are sensible alternatives when the host already lives in those clouds, and Galeira supports both with the same QR-upload and receipt model. The choice is about where the host already keeps their files — Galeira mirrors there.
- ✓Pick Drive when you want a folder you can share and edit
- ✓Pick Drive when you live in Docs, Gmail, or Workspace
- ✓Google Photos is not offered as a connectable destination
- ✓Dropbox or OneDrive work if that is your home cloud
- ✓QR upload and receipt model are identical across destinations
Back up originals to a cloud you already own.
Galeira stores the event gallery so guests can view and download it, but the important part is ownership. When you connect a cloud destination, approved originals mirror to a place you control: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, S3, or WebDAV. The backup-status page shows what copied, what is pending, and what needs attention.
External cloud-provider outages and account deletions are outside Galeira's control — which is exactly why the receipt matters. You can verify, retry, and export while your archive is active.
How Galeira compares to the methods people try
Each method gets photos somewhere. The differences are in friction, quality, privacy, and what you can recover afterward.
Questions hosts ask before they create the QR
Do guests need a Google account to upload?
No. Guests scan the event QR and upload from their phone browser. The Drive connection lives on the host side, so guests never see it and never sign in.
Whose Google Drive quota does the mirror use?
It uses the host's Drive quota, because the folder lives in the host's Drive. Plan accordingly if you expect a large event; Drive shows the quota you have left during setup.
Can I pick the Drive folder, or does Galeira create one?
You can do either. During the connect step you can select an existing folder or let Galeira create a new one with the event name. You can rename it in Drive afterwards without breaking the mirror.
Are the original files mirrored, or compressed copies?
Galeira mirrors the original file the guest uploaded, with EXIF preserved. There is no compression step on the way into Drive.
How do I know a specific photo reached Drive?
Check the backup-receipt page. Every file written to Drive is logged with its name, size, content hash, and timestamp, and you can filter by guest or by approval state.
What happens to the Drive folder if I cancel Galeira?
The folder stays in your Drive. Galeira stops writing to it and loses access on its side, but the files already mirrored remain in your account.
Can I disconnect Drive mid-event and reconnect later?
Yes. Disconnecting pauses the mirror; uploads still flow into Galeira and are queued. When you reconnect, the queued approved photos catch up to Drive.
Does Galeira read my other Drive files?
No. The connection uses the drive.file scope, which only lets Galeira see files it created or files you opened with it. The rest of your Drive is invisible to Galeira.
Can I share the Drive folder with my partner or planner?
Yes. Once the folder exists in your Drive, you share it the normal way — right-click, share, pick who can view or edit. Galeira keeps mirroring into it regardless of who else has access.
What about Google Photos — can you mirror there instead?
Galeira does not offer Google Photos as a connectable destination. The available Photos APIs do not give event hosts the kind of write access this workflow needs, so Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive are the supported cloud destinations.
Keep reading
Create your event QR in about 60 seconds
Guests scan, upload, and view the gallery. You keep full-resolution originals backed up to your own cloud.