Help & Support

We require Gmail accounts for several important reasons:

• Security: Google's authentication is highly secure and trusted
• Spam prevention: Gmail users tend to be more serious about privacy
• Quality control: Reduces fake accounts and abuse
• Easy sharing: Most people already have Gmail for invitations

Don't have Gmail? You can create a free account at gmail.com in just a few minutes.

Photos: JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC (up to 10MB each)

Videos: MP4, MOV, AVI (up to 100MB each)

Sharing is simple and secure:

1. Open the album you want to share
2. Click the "Share" button
3. Enter Gmail addresses of people you want to invite
4. Choose permissions: "View Only" or "Can Upload"
5. Set expiry date (up to 1 year)
6. Click "Send Invitations"

Each person will receive a secure email invitation with their personal access link.

No! This is one of our key privacy features.

Each viewer has a completely isolated experience:

• They can only see your original photos in the album
• They cannot see who else has access
• They cannot see photos uploaded by other viewers
• Their uploads are private to you

Expiry dates give you complete control over access timing:

• Automatic expiry: Access stops working on the date you set
• No exceptions: Links become invalid immediately
• You control timing: Set any date up to 1 year in the future
• Manual revocation: You can also revoke access anytime before expiry

Common use cases: Wedding photos (3 months), vacation sharing (6 months), work projects (until completion).

Your photos are protected with multiple layers of security:

• Private storage: Photos stored in private AWS S3 buckets
• Encryption: AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS/SSL in transit
• Access control: Secure, time-limited tokens for all access
• No public URLs: Photos are never publicly accessible
• Audit logging: Complete records of all access

Absolutely not! We have a strict no-AI-training policy:

• No analysis: We don't analyze your photo content
• No AI training: Your photos are never used for machine learning
• No data mining: We don't extract information from your images
• Service only: We only use your photos to show them to you and authorized viewers

This is a core part of our privacy-first philosophy and will never change.

Yes! You have complete control over your content:

• Individual photos: Delete specific photos from any album
• Entire albums: Delete whole albums with all contents
• Account deletion: Close your account and delete everything
• Immediate effect: Deleted content becomes inaccessible instantly
• Permanent removal: All copies deleted within 30 days

Slow uploads are usually caused by connection or file size issues:

• Check your internet: Test your upload speed at speedtest.net
• Reduce file sizes: Large files (>5MB) take longer to upload
• Upload fewer files: Try uploading 5-10 photos at a time
• Use a different browser: Chrome and Firefox work best
• Clear browser cache: Sometimes helps with connection issues

If you can't access a shared album, try these steps:

1. Check the link: Make sure you're using the exact link from the email
2. Check expiry date: The album may have expired
3. Try a different browser: Sometimes browser issues cause access problems
4. Clear cookies: Old cookies can interfere with access
5. Contact the owner: They may have revoked access or changed settings

Still having issues? Contact us at support@guardedgallery.com with the error message.

Mobile issues are usually browser or connection related:

• Update your browser: Use the latest version of Chrome, Safari, or Firefox
• Clear browser data: Clear cache and cookies
• Check your connection: Make sure you have good WiFi or mobile signal
• Close other apps: Free up memory on your phone
• Restart your browser: Close and reopen the browser app