This one switch decides whether your album knows who's in it. On, every upload has a person behind it. Off, anyone with the link can add photos without saying who they are.
- Dashboard
- Your event
- Settings
- Guest uploads
- Require accounts to upload
On (the default)
A guest who opens the link sees the newest 9 photos as a preview, with a count of the rest. To see everything and add their own, they confirm an email: a 6-digit code (or a link) in one email, no password, no app. That confirmation is a free Partyreel account, which is also how they can save the event and find their uploads later. Then they pick a display name.
For you, that means every upload in the album carries a name, and the email behind it shows in your own view of the photo. It's on for every plan at no cost.
What you can see, and can't do
The uploader's email appears only to you, per photo, in the photo viewer on your event page. Guests never see it, and it isn't listed anywhere else: there's no guest email export and no way to message your guests through Partyreel. It's there so you know who sent what, not as a mailing list.
Off
Flip the switch off and Partyreel asks you to confirm with Allow anonymous uploads?. It spells out the trade: anyone with the link can view everything and add photos without an account, uploads won't be tied to an email, and abuse is harder to trace. Keep accounts required backs out; Allow anyone to upload goes ahead, then tap Save changes. Anonymous uploads show as Anonymous in the album. Turning it back on is instant and needs no confirmation.
Which to choose
- On for almost everything: weddings, family events, anything with children in the photos, corporate events, and any event with a screen in the room.
- Off for a small, trusted crowd where the extra step would cost you photos, or an event where guests have explicitly asked not to give an email.
Guests who'd rather not confirm can still browse the preview; only the full album and uploading need it. Their side of it is in why an event asks for your email.
This isn't a password
Requiring accounts confirms who a guest is; it doesn't stop anyone with the link from joining. To limit who can get in at all, add a password: see password-protect your event.