Every host knows the morning after. The best candids are scattered across twenty phones, and getting them means a group chat full of "can you send me yours?" and a week of gentle nagging. Some photos arrive late, some arrive squashed, and some never arrive at all.
Camera synchronization with sync.camera turns that around. Instead of collecting photos afterwards, you let every guest's phone feed one shared event album while the event is happening. Guests join from a QR code or an eight-character invite with no account required, and you decide when everyone gets to see the results. Free to start, with a one-time upgrade per event if you need more room.
How camera synchronization works
It starts with the host. You create an event, give it a name and pick an end time. That event becomes the single album that everything else flows into.
Next, guests join. They scan a QR code or type an eight-character invite, and that is the whole sign-up: no account required, and any modern phone browser works through the invite link. There is nothing to install before the first photo.
From there, the photos from every guest's phone go into the one shared event album. You are not merging camera rolls or forwarding files afterwards, because the album fills as people shoot. The host also chooses when guests can see what has been collected, which is covered in the reveal modes below.
Joining takes one scan
Getting guests in should take seconds, so the join step is built around a single scan. Show the QR code on a phone screen or on a printed card, or simply share the invite link with people who are not in the room. Whichever way they arrive, guests land in the same event.
Installing the iOS or Android app is optional. Guests who do install it get better camera controls and push notifications for new photos, but nobody is required to. A guest who only has a browser can still contribute.
If you split your event into stages with Moments, guests move between them without switching apps. The same people who scanned at the ceremony can carry on shooting through the reception and the after-party.
Choose when everyone sees the photos
Collecting photos is only half of the job. The other half is deciding when guests get to look at them, and the host picks one of three reveal modes.
During means guests see photos live as they are taken, which suits an event where seeing the album fill up is part of the fun. After the event keeps the gallery locked until the event ends, so the first look happens all at once. Additional delay unlocks the gallery a set number of hours after the event ends, which gives the host a little room before everyone dives in.
See the reveal modes page for more on how timing works, and the shared event albums page for how the album itself is organised.
Who it is for
Wedding couples
Guests scan a table-card QR code, and the couple gets one album of candids from every table instead of chasing photos from the group chat. See the [wedding guest photo sharing app](https://sync.camera/for/wedding-guest-photo-sharing-app) page for more.
Birthday party hosts
Friends add shots through the night, and the host can hold the gallery back until the event ends so the photos stay a surprise. See [birthday party](https://sync.camera/for/birthday-party) albums.
Group trip organizers
Everyone on the trip contributes to one album, and the host can narrow it to one traveler's shots with Filter by photographer. See [group vacation](https://sync.camera/for/group-vacation) albums.
Corporate event teams
Attendees join by QR code with no account, and moments such as sessions and dinner keep the album organized by stage. See [corporate event](https://sync.camera/for/corporate-event) albums.
Features
QR code or invite join
Guests join from a QR code or an eight-character invite, with no account required.
Three reveal modes
Show photos during the event, after it ends, or a set number of hours after it ends.
Moments
Split an event into stages such as ceremony, reception and after-party, each with its own QR code and reveal timing.
Filter by photographer
Narrow the album to one contributor's shots.
Export your favorites
Pick the photos you want to keep and export them.
Privacy-forward by design
Photos are encrypted in transit and stored in event-scoped buckets with per-event row-level security. No ads, no cross-app tracking, and your photos are never sold.
Frequently asked questions
Do guests need a sync.camera account?
No. Guests join from a QR code or an eight-character invite, with no account required. They can use any modern phone browser via the invite link, and installing the iOS or Android app is optional.
Is camera synchronization free?
The free tier supports up to 7 guest uploaders per event. For bigger events, SYNC PRO is a one-time purchase, not a subscription, that expands the guest and photo limits for a single event, so you upgrade again only when you create a larger event.
When can guests see the photos?
The host picks one of three reveal modes. During shows photos live as they are taken, After the event unlocks the gallery when the event ends, and Additional delay unlocks it a set number of hours after the event ends.
Can I split a long event into parts?
Yes, with Moments. Split an event into stages like ceremony, reception and after-party, each with its own QR code and reveal timing. Guests move between them without switching apps.
Does sync.camera track me or sell my photos?
sync.camera does not sell your photos or your data, shows no ads and does no cross-app tracking. To be accurate about what it does use: pseudonymous product analytics (PostHog), a third-party crash reporter and Firebase Cloud Messaging for Android push. It does not collect advertising identifiers.
What happens to the photos if I delete my account?
Deleting an account removes the profile, the events it owns and their photos within 30 days.