diff --git a/config.sample.js b/config.sample.js
index 375404b..48de3d3 100644
--- a/config.sample.js
+++ b/config.sample.js
@@ -415,6 +415,20 @@ module.exports = {
     */
     cacheFileIdentifiers: true,
 
+    /*
+      An alternative to caching file identifiers.
+
+      Basically the service will instead query the database for stricter collision checks.
+      Right off the bat this has the disadvantage of adding one or more SQL queries on every
+      new uploads, but it has the advantage of not having to pre-cache anything.
+      Essentially this reduces the service's startup time and memory usage, but slows down new uploads.
+
+      As this is an alternative, you need to disable cacheFileIdentifiers to use this.
+
+      You'll have to figure out which method suits your use case best.
+    */
+    queryDbForFileCollisions: true,
+
     /*
       The length of the randomly generated identifier for albums.
     */
diff --git a/controllers/uploadController.js b/controllers/uploadController.js
index ef8ebfb..c50e745 100644
--- a/controllers/uploadController.js
+++ b/controllers/uploadController.js
@@ -13,7 +13,9 @@ const config = require('./../config')
 const logger = require('./../logger')
 const db = require('knex')(config.database)
 
-const self = {}
+const self = {
+  onHold: new Set()
+}
 
 const fileIdentifierLengthFallback = 32
 const fileIdentifierLengthChangeable = !config.uploads.fileIdentifierLength.force &&
@@ -191,6 +193,22 @@ self.getUniqueRandomName = async (length, extension) => {
       }
       utils.idSet.add(identifier)
       // logger.log(`Added ${identifier} to identifiers cache`)
+    } else if (config.uploads.queryDbForFileCollisions) {
+      if (self.onHold.has(identifier))
+        continue
+
+      // Put token on-hold (wait for it to be inserted to DB)
+      self.onHold.add(identifier)
+
+      const file = await db.table('files')
+        .where('name', 'like', 'identifier.%')
+        .select('id')
+        .first()
+      if (file) {
+        self.onHold.delete(identifier)
+        logger.log(`Identifier ${identifier} is already in use (${i + 1}/${utils.idMaxTries}).`)
+        continue
+      }
     } else {
       try {
         await paths.access(path.join(paths.uploads, name))
@@ -721,6 +739,13 @@ self.storeFilesToDb = async (req, res, user, infoMap) => {
     await db.table('files').insert(files)
     utils.invalidateStatsCache('uploads')
 
+    if (config.uploads.queryDbForFileCollisions)
+      for (const file of files) {
+        const extname = utils.extname(file.name)
+        const identifier = file.name.slice(0, -(extname.length))
+        self.onHold.delete(identifier)
+      }
+
     // Update albums' timestamp
     if (authorizedIds.length) {
       await db.table('albums')