Do people need a Google account or an app to upload?

No. They tap your link in any browser, add their photos and videos, and that is it. You can ask them to sign in if you want names attached, but it is not required.

Where do the uploaded photos go?

Straight into a folder in your own Google Drive that Galrivo makes for this link. Nothing is stored on Galrivo, and the people uploading never see the rest of your Drive.

Can I stop strangers uploading?

Yes. Add a password, or set the link so people must sign in or be approved by you first. See letting people upload to your Drive safely.

Is there a size limit on videos?

You set the limits. Videos are welcome, and you can raise the per-file size and the total cap so even long clips fit.

Collecting media

How to create a link that lets people upload photos to you

Want everyone to send you their photos and videos without the chat-app blur or a pile of emails? Make one upload link. People tap it, add their media, and it lands straight in your Google Drive.

Arjun Mehta

Product at Galrivo·14 June 2026·4 min read

A group of friends adding photos from their phones

We have all been here. After a birthday, a trip, or a big family weekend, everyone has photos on their phone and nobody has all of them. The good shots are scattered across a dozen people, buried in chat threads, and squashed to a blurry mess by the time they reach you. There is a simpler way: send out one link that lets everyone add their photos and videos to a single place, at full quality.

Why the group chat is the worst place for photos

Photos arrive squashed and blurry, because chat apps shrink them to save data.
Videos refuse to send, or get cut to a few seconds.
Everything is scattered across threads, so collecting it all is a chore.
You become the unpaid archivist, screenshotting and saving one by one.

An upload link fixes every one of those. One place, full quality, gathered for you automatically.

What an upload link actually is

It is a single web address (and a matching QR code) that you share. Anyone who opens it sees a friendly page where they can drop in photos and videos, pick them from their phone, or take one on the spot. Everything they add goes straight into a folder in your own Google Drive. They never see your other files, and they do not need an account or an app.

The reverse of a gallery

Galrivo calls this a collect link. A gallery sends your media out to people; a collect link lets other people send media in, to you.

Make your upload link in four taps

From a blank dashboard to a link you can paste anywhere, here is the whole thing.

Tap New, then "Create a collect link"

On your dashboard, tap New. Galrivo asks what you want to make; choose the collect side.

galrivo.com/dashboard

make something

What would you like to make?

Create a galleryA gallery of your media for others to view.Continue

Create a collect linkA link others use to upload their media to you.Continue

Name the folder it lands in

Give it a clear name like "Mum's 70th". Galrivo makes this folder in your Drive and drops every upload inside it.

Folder name

Mum's 70th

We'll make this folder in your Drive and drop every upload inside it.

Choose who can upload

Let anyone with the link add media, ask people to sign in so names are attached, or approve each person yourself.

Who can upload

Signed-in peopleThey sign in, so every file has a real name attached. Recommended.

Only people you approvePeople ask first; they can upload once you say yes.

Anyone with the linkNo sign-in. Fastest for guests; you can still ask for a name.

Share the link or QR code

Copy the link into the group chat, email it, or show the QR code for people to scan. That is the whole setup.

Upload link

galrivo.com/c/mums-70th

Copy

What the people you send it to see

No app store, no sign-up wall. They tap your link and land on a clean page with your title at the top. They drag photos in, pick them from their phone, or take one right there. A progress bar shows each file going up, and a thank-you appears when they are done.

galrivo.com/c/mums-70th

Galrivo

add your media

Add your photos!

12 GB of 50 GB used76% free

Drag media here, or choose from your devicePhotos, videos & audio. Pick many at once.

Select media Take a photo/video

The page your people see. They tap Select media, or just drag photos straight in.

Where everything lands

Every upload arrives in the Drive folder you named, tagged with who added it. You can preview the lot, download it all as one zip, or weed out the odd duplicate. Because it is your Drive, the media is yours to keep, with no monthly limit imposed by anyone else.

Your side: everything people added, with names, ready to download or turn into a gallery.

Then share it all back

Once the media is in, point a gallery at the same folder and send one clean link back to everyone. See the complete guide to sharing.

Keeping it under your control

Add a password so only people you give it to can upload.
Pick who can upload: anyone with the link, signed-in people, or only those you approve.
Set size limits and a total cap so nobody fills your Drive.
Give it a closing date so the link stops accepting uploads when the moment has passed.
Let people delete their own mistaken uploads, without touching anyone else's.

Key takeaways

An upload link gathers everyone's photos and videos in one place, at full quality.
People tap a link or scan a QR code: no app, no account.
Everything lands in a folder in your own Google Drive, tagged with who sent it.
Passwords, sign-in rules, size limits and a closing date keep it under control.

Frequently asked questions

Share your media the easy way

Turn the photos and videos in your Google Drive into one clean link, with a password and an end date if you want. Free to start, no app for the people you send it to.

Make my first gallery

Arjun Mehta

Product at Galrivo

Arjun works on the Galrivo product and writes about sharing on the apps people actually use, from WhatsApp to the family group chat.