diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 956c3b23..d066ec46 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -130,5 +130,6 @@ docker-compose.dev.yml
 # New layout development files
 new-layouts/
 
-# Generated CRM/accounting documents (runtime) — never commit
-backend/storage/business-docs/
+# Backend runtime storage (generated media, previews, thumbnails,
+# CRM/accounting documents) — never commit
+backend/storage/
diff --git a/backend/.dockerignore b/backend/.dockerignore
index e4d1265f..ef5a7a92 100644
--- a/backend/.dockerignore
+++ b/backend/.dockerignore
@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 node_modules
 npm-debug.log
 .env
-storage/events/active/*
-storage/events/archived/*
-storage/thumbnails/*
+storage
 data/*.db
 logs/*
 coverage
diff --git a/backend/src/utils/fileSecurityUtils.js b/backend/src/utils/fileSecurityUtils.js
index 5eec0f0f..05dbb194 100644
--- a/backend/src/utils/fileSecurityUtils.js
+++ b/backend/src/utils/fileSecurityUtils.js
@@ -213,25 +213,6 @@ async function validateFileContent(filePath, expectedMimeType) {
   }
 }
 
-/**
- * Get safe filename for storage
- * @param {string} originalFilename - Original filename
- * @returns {string} - Safe filename
- */
-function getSafeFilename(originalFilename) {
-  const timestamp = Date.now();
-  const randomString = Math.random().toString(36).substring(2, 15);
-  const ext = path.extname(originalFilename).toLowerCase();
-
-  // Validate extension - including both image and video extensions
-  const validExtensions = ['.jpg', '.jpeg', '.png', '.webp', '.gif', '.svg', '.ico', '.mp4', '.m4v', '.webm', '.mov', '.avi'];
-  if (!validExtensions.includes(ext)) {
-    throw new Error('Invalid file extension');
-  }
-
-  return `upload_${timestamp}_${randomString}${ext}`;
-}
-
 /**
  * Create a file upload validator middleware
  * @param {Object} options - Validation options
@@ -295,7 +276,6 @@ module.exports = {
   isPathSafe,
   validateFileType,
   validateFileContent,
-  getSafeFilename,
   createFileUploadValidator,
   ALLOWED_IMAGE_TYPES,
   ALLOWED_VIDEO_TYPES,