---
title: Collecting files with guest upload
slug: guest-upload
category: sharing-distribution
tags: guest-upload, uploads, external-contributors, requested, uncategorized
summary: Let external contributors submit assets through a link — no account required — and review them before they enter your library.
updated: 2026-07-07
url: https://support.collage.inc/articles/guest-upload
---

# Collecting files with guest upload

When you need people outside your team — a photographer, an agency, a vendor — to send you files, **guest upload** lets them submit assets through a link, without a Collage account. Their files arrive in a review area, so nothing lands in your library unchecked. It's the opposite of a [share link](https://support.collage.inc/articles/creating-share-links), which sends content *out*.

## How it works

1. Share a **guest upload link** with your contributor.
2. They open the link and upload their files — no account needed (access is secured, typically with a one-time password).
3. Their submissions arrive in your **Uncategorized** area, grouped as **Requested** uploads and kept separate from your team's own uploads.
4. You review each submission — rename, [tag](https://support.collage.inc/articles/tagging-and-custom-fields), and file it into the right folder — before it becomes part of your library.

## Why review first

Keeping guest submissions in a separate, pending state lets outside contributors add files freely without anyone's unreviewed content appearing in your organized library or on your brand portal. You stay in control of what's kept and how it's tagged.

## Create a guest upload link

1. Go to **Account Settings** and open the **Guest Upload Manager**.
2. Copy the **Guest URL** and share it with your contributor.
3. Use **Add New User** to authorize specific contributors.

Still stuck? Reach out to [support@collage.inc](mailto:support@collage.inc).

## Guest upload vs share links

- **Collecting** files *from* someone outside your team → **guest upload**.
- **Delivering** files *to* someone → [share link](https://support.collage.inc/articles/creating-share-links).