Event Photos Backed Up to OneDrive
Connect your own OneDrive once and Galeira mirrors every approved event photo into a host-owned folder, while a per-event backup-receipt page lists exactly which files reached your drive and which are still queued.
- ✓Mirrors approved photos into your own OneDrive
- ✓No guest Microsoft account required to upload
- ✓Per-event subfolder with date and event slug
- ✓Backup-receipt page lists every mirrored file
- ✓Works with personal OneDrive and OneDrive for Business
- ✓Disconnect anytime; your folder stays with you
Why OneDrive works well for company events and family archives
OneDrive is already where a lot of hosts keep work and family files, so pointing event photos at the same drive removes one more place to remember. For company events, the IT team usually controls OneDrive for Business under Microsoft 365, which means the photos land inside a tenant the company already audits, backs up, and retains. For family hosts, personal OneDrive ships with Windows and Microsoft 365 Family plans, so quota and billing are already handled. Galeira does not host the long-term archive for you. Instead it acts as the collection layer at the event, runs moderation and host approval, then mirrors the approved gallery into a folder your Microsoft account owns. That separation matters: if you ever pause your Galeira subscription, the OneDrive folder keeps working, because the files are stored under your tenant or your personal account, not ours.
- ✓Reuses storage the host or company already pays for
- ✓Keeps event photos under existing Microsoft 365 governance
- ✓Survives a paused or cancelled Galeira subscription
- ✓Familiar sharing model for non-technical family members
- ✓Plays nicely with corporate retention and eDiscovery
How Galeira connects to OneDrive (Files.ReadWrite.AppFolder)
Connecting OneDrive takes one sign-in. The host opens the integrations screen, clicks Connect OneDrive, and signs in with the Microsoft account that should own the archive. Galeira requests the Files.ReadWrite.AppFolder scope, which limits write access to a dedicated app folder inside the host's OneDrive instead of the whole drive. That means Galeira can create event subfolders and write photos there, but it cannot read or modify the rest of the host's files. The Microsoft consent screen shows the exact scope before the host approves, and the connection can be revoked at any time from the Microsoft account security page or from Galeira's integrations screen. Guests never see this connection. They scan the event QR, upload through Galeira, and only host-approved photos get mirrored. The Microsoft account belongs to the host, not the guests.
- ✓Single Microsoft sign-in on the integrations screen
- ✓Uses the Files.ReadWrite.AppFolder least-privilege scope
- ✓Writes only inside Galeira's dedicated app folder
- ✓Revocable from Microsoft account or Galeira at any time
- ✓Guests never authenticate with Microsoft
What lands in your OneDrive folder and the per-event subfolder layout
Inside the Galeira app folder, every event gets its own subfolder named with the event date and a short slug, so a year of company offsites stays sortable in OneDrive. The mirrored files keep the original filename when possible, with a short suffix when guests upload duplicates with the same name. Galeira mirrors the full-resolution original that the guest sent from their phone, not a compressed web preview, so the OneDrive copy is suitable for printing, editing, and long-term archive. Alongside the photos, Galeira writes a small manifest file that lists who uploaded which photo, when it was approved, and the original device filename. That manifest is what powers the backup-receipt page on the host dashboard, so the host can prove file by file what reached OneDrive without opening File Explorer.
- ✓One subfolder per event, named with date and slug
- ✓Full-resolution originals, not web previews
- ✓Duplicate filenames get a short collision suffix
- ✓Manifest file records uploader, approval time, original name
- ✓Folder layout stays sortable across many events
Personal OneDrive vs OneDrive for Business — what changes
Personal OneDrive and OneDrive for Business look similar but behave differently for event archives. Personal OneDrive is tied to a consumer Microsoft account, has its own storage quota under a Microsoft 365 plan, and is governed only by the host. OneDrive for Business sits inside a Microsoft 365 tenant, which means corporate IT controls quota, retention, sharing limits, and conditional access. For company events, hosting the archive in OneDrive for Business is usually the right call, because the photos inherit the same governance as other company files and are covered by the existing backup posture. For family events, personal OneDrive is simpler. Galeira does not change file format or moderation behaviour based on which type the host picks; it only adapts to tenant policies like blocked external sharing or required labels, and surfaces those policy blocks on the backup-receipt page so the host is not guessing.
- ✓Personal OneDrive: host controls everything, consumer quota
- ✓OneDrive for Business: corporate IT controls governance
- ✓Tenant policies (sharing, labels) are respected, not bypassed
- ✓Policy blocks show up explicitly on the backup-receipt page
- ✓Moderation and approval flow stay identical either way
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 Microsoft account to upload?
No. Guests scan the event QR and upload through Galeira like any other event photo flow. Only the host signs in with Microsoft, once, to connect their OneDrive.
Which OneDrive scope does Galeira request?
Galeira asks for Files.ReadWrite.AppFolder, which limits write access to a dedicated app folder. Galeira cannot read or modify other files in the host's OneDrive.
Does this work with OneDrive for Business?
Yes. The same connect flow signs in with a Microsoft 365 work account and writes into the Galeira app folder inside that tenant. Tenant policies such as labels and sharing limits are respected.
What gets mirrored — full resolution or a web preview?
Galeira mirrors the original full-resolution file the guest uploaded, not a compressed web preview. The OneDrive copy is suitable for printing, editing, and long-term archive.
How are unapproved or rejected photos handled?
Only host-approved photos mirror to OneDrive. Pending and rejected uploads stay inside Galeira's moderation queue and never reach the host's drive.
Can I see exactly which files reached OneDrive?
Yes. The backup-receipt page lists every approved file, its status (mirrored, queued, blocked), the upload time, and the OneDrive path. It is designed to be auditable by the host.
What happens to the OneDrive folder if I disconnect Galeira?
The folder and every file already mirrored stay in place under the host's Microsoft account. Galeira simply stops mirroring new uploads to OneDrive from that point onward.
Does Galeira count against my OneDrive storage quota?
Yes. The mirrored files live in the host's OneDrive and count toward the personal or tenant quota, which is the trade-off for the host owning the archive directly.
Can I connect more than one OneDrive account?
Each event mirrors to one connected OneDrive at a time, which keeps the per-event subfolder clear. Different events can be connected to different Microsoft accounts if the host runs both personal and work archives.
How is this different from connecting OneDrive to Google Drive or Dropbox?
The flow is the same: connect once, mirror approved photos into a host-owned folder, and audit the result on the backup-receipt page. Only the destination provider and its specific scopes change.
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.