diff --git a/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/optout/OptOutCloudSync.java b/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/optout/OptOutCloudSync.java
index d97153ec..4aa7f118 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/optout/OptOutCloudSync.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/optout/OptOutCloudSync.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ public class OptOutCloudSync implements ICloudSync {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory.getLogger(OptOutCloudSync.class);
 
     private final boolean fullSync;
+    private final boolean uploadOnly;
     private final String cloudFolder;
     private final String deltaConsumerDir;
     private final String partitionConsumerDir;
@@ -48,7 +49,12 @@ public class OptOutCloudSync implements ICloudSync {
     private AtomicReference<List<Consumer<Collection<String>>>> handlersNewCloudPaths = new AtomicReference<>(new ArrayList<>());
 
     public OptOutCloudSync(JsonObject jsonConfig, boolean fullSync) {
+        this(jsonConfig, fullSync, false);
+    }
+
+    public OptOutCloudSync(JsonObject jsonConfig, boolean fullSync, boolean uploadOnly) {
         this.fullSync = fullSync;
+        this.uploadOnly = uploadOnly;
         this.cloudFolder = CloudUtils.normalizDirPath(jsonConfig.getString(Const.Config.OptOutS3FolderProp));
         this.deltaConsumerDir = OptOutUtils.getDeltaConsumerDir(jsonConfig);
         this.partitionConsumerDir = OptOutUtils.getPartitionConsumerDir(jsonConfig);
@@ -84,6 +90,19 @@ public OptOutCloudSync(JsonObject jsonConfig, boolean fullSync) {
         this.mkdirsBlocking();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Creates an upload-only OptOutCloudSync instance.
+     * This skips all download/refresh operations.
+     */
+    public static OptOutCloudSync createUploadOnly(JsonObject jsonConfig, boolean fullSync) {
+        return new OptOutCloudSync(jsonConfig, fullSync, true);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isUploadOnly() {
+        return this.uploadOnly;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public String toCloudPath(String path) {
         if (OptOutUtils.isDeltaFile(path)) {
@@ -121,6 +140,11 @@ public String toLocalPath(String path) {
 
     @Override
     public boolean refresh(Instant now, ICloudStorage fsCloud, ICloudStorage fsLocal, Consumer<Set<String>> handleDownloads, Consumer<Set<String>> handleDeletes) throws CloudStorageException {
+        // In upload-only mode, skip all download/sync operations
+        if (uploadOnly) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
         // list local cached paths
         List<String> cachedPathList = new ArrayList<>();
         localListFiles(fsLocal, this.deltaConsumerDir, OptOutUtils.prefixDeltaFile, cachedPathList);
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/vertx/CloudSyncVerticle.java b/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/vertx/CloudSyncVerticle.java
index 9352c222..e0d77b11 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/vertx/CloudSyncVerticle.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/vertx/CloudSyncVerticle.java
@@ -167,19 +167,29 @@ public void start(Promise<Void> promise) {
         this.uploadExecutor = vertx.createSharedWorkerExecutor("cloudsync-" + name + "-upload-pool",
             this.uploadThreads);
 
-        // handle refresh event
-        vertx.eventBus().consumer(
-            eventRefresh,
-            o -> this.handleRefresh(o));
+        // handle refresh event (skip if upload-only)
+        if (!cloudSync.isUploadOnly()) {
+            vertx.eventBus().consumer(
+                eventRefresh,
+                o -> this.handleRefresh(o));
+        } else {
+            LOGGER.info("CloudSyncVerticle." + name + " is upload-only, skipping refresh event handler registration");
+        }
 
         // upload to cloud
         vertx.eventBus().<String>consumer(
             this.eventUpload,
             msg -> this.handleUpload(msg));
 
-        cloudRefresh()
-            .onFailure(t -> LOGGER.error("cloudRefresh failed: " + t.getMessage(), new Exception(t)))
-            .onComplete(ar -> promise.handle(ar));
+        // initial refresh (skip if upload-only)
+        if (!cloudSync.isUploadOnly()) {
+            cloudRefresh()
+                .onFailure(t -> LOGGER.error("cloudRefresh failed: " + t.getMessage(), new Exception(t)))
+                .onComplete(ar -> promise.handle(ar));
+        } else {
+            LOGGER.info("CloudSyncVerticle." + name + " is upload-only, skipping initial refresh");
+            promise.complete();
+        }
 
         promise.future()
             .onSuccess(v -> {
@@ -214,6 +224,10 @@ public String eventDownloaded() {
     }
 
     private void handleRefresh(Message m) {
+        if (cloudSync.isUploadOnly()) {
+            LOGGER.warn("handleRefresh called but this is upload-only mode");
+            return;
+        }
         cloudRefresh()
             .onSuccess(t -> this.storeRefreshIsFailing.set(0))
             .onFailure(t -> {
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/vertx/ICloudSync.java b/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/vertx/ICloudSync.java
index 05997255..8f11f70f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/vertx/ICloudSync.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/uid2/shared/vertx/ICloudSync.java
@@ -15,4 +15,13 @@ public interface ICloudSync {
     boolean refresh(Instant now, ICloudStorage fsCloud, ICloudStorage fsLocal,
                     Consumer<Set<String>> handleDownloads, Consumer<Set<String>> handleDeletes)
         throws CloudStorageException;
+
+    /**
+     * Returns true if this CloudSync instance only supports upload operations.
+     * When true, download/refresh operations will be skipped.
+     * Default is false for backward compatibility.
+     */
+    default boolean isUploadOnly() {
+        return false;
+    }
 }