Password and expiry on every gallery

shoots.page, the Google Drive alternative for delivering client photos

shoots.page galleries are free up to 2 GB, with an optional password and expiry date on every gallery and no client account. Google Drive links have no password option, expiry dates exist only on eligible work or school accounts, and the free 15 GB is shared with Gmail and Google Photos.

Last updated 30 October 2026

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shoots.page vs Google Drive for photo delivery

Competitor prices checked on 29 October 2026 from Google One's public plans page; sharing rules from the Google Drive help center.

What matters	shoots.page	Google Drive
Built for	Client photo delivery: one lasting gallery link	General cloud storage and file sharing
What the client sees	480 px thumbnail grid, 60 photos per page, 2000 px viewer	File and folder list with thumbnails
Password	Optional on every gallery, 8 to 256 characters	Not offered
Link expiry	Optional expiry date on every gallery	Only on eligible work or school accounts; for folders, Viewer and Commenter roles
Recipient account	Never needed	Not needed with Anyone with the link; needed when you share with named people
Photo proofing	Built in: pick limit and optional priced extras	Not offered
Original quality	Originals byte-for-byte; RAWs as full-size JPEGs unless you allow RAW downloads	Drive help describes no compression; Storage saver compression is a Google Photos setting
Free storage	2 GB with every delivery feature	15 GB, shared with Gmail and Google Photos
Paid storage	Pro: 100 GB and 4 gallery designs for USD 9 a month or USD 90 a year before applicable tax (EUR 8 or EUR 80 in Europe, VAT included)	Google One: 100 GB for $1.99 a month or 2 TB for $9.99 a month (US)
When storage is full	Live galleries stay online; you can still upload a new set for review, up to 100 GB, and publish it once it fits your plan	No new Drive uploads or Photos backups; Gmail can be affected

Why photographers switch to shoots.page

Dedicated presentation: clients browse a thumbnail grid and view photos in a 2000 px viewer.
No recipient accounts: clients never create an account, sign in or install software to view and download their photos.
Delivery safeguards: an optional per-gallery password and an optional gallery expiry date.
Download switches: allow originals, 2000 px JPEG copies and, for RAW shoots, the RAW files, each as single files or one ZIP.
Built-in proofing: clients star favorites against your limit, with optional pricing for extra selections.
Delivery from the app: email the gallery link, get an email when a client opens or downloads it, and see views and downloads per gallery and per photo.
Unlisted links: galleries are noindex and left out of the sitemap.

What Google Drive is built for

Google Drive is general cloud storage. It stores any file type, syncs folders to your computer, shares files by link or with named people, and lets you edit Docs, Sheets and Slides together in the browser.

Where Drive stops being a client gallery

When a client opens your delivery link, they land in a file and folder list with thumbnails rather than a finished set. Folder permissions apply to everything inside, so internal files, drafts and notes need to live in a separate folder.

Sharing controls are limited for client delivery. Drive links have no password option. Expiration dates on shared access exist only for eligible work or school accounts, and on folders only for people with the Viewer or Commenter role. On a personal Google account, a shared link stays active until you remove access.

Storage is the other trade-off. The free 15 GB is shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. If client sets push you over the quota, you cannot upload new files to Drive or back up to Google Photos, and sending and receiving Gmail can be affected.

Using both

shoots.page is built for photo delivery. Contracts, invoices, schedules and RAW archives can stay in Google Drive, where document collaboration and folder sync matter; the finished files go into a shoots.page gallery, so client presentations stay out of your business drive.

Common questions

Can I set a password or expiry on a Google Drive link?

Every shoots.page gallery can take a password and an expiry date, free plan included. Google Drive links have no password option. Expiration dates on shared access are available only on eligible work or school accounts, and for folders only for the Viewer and Commenter roles. Personal Google accounts cannot set one, so the link stays active until you remove access.

Do clients need a Google account to open a shared folder?

Not if you set the link to Anyone with the link. Anyone with that link can open the folder and, by default, download files without signing in. If you keep the folder Restricted and add people by email, they have to sign in with a Google Account.

Why do photographers use a gallery service instead?

A shoots.page gallery shows clients the finished set instead of a folder list. It also adds proofing, ZIP downloads and a password and expiry date per gallery, without client accounts.

Does Google Drive compress photos?

Google's Drive help pages describe no compression for files you upload to Drive. Compression is a Google Photos setting: Storage saver compresses photos and resizes anything above 16 MP, while Original quality keeps full resolution. Our guide does Google Drive compress photos? goes further.

Is Google Drive free?

Every Google Account includes 15 GB of storage, shared across Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos. In the US, Google One adds 100 GB for $1.99 a month or 2 TB for $9.99 a month.

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