User Record Ownership with OctoberCMS & MySQL - php

Question

I'm using OctoberCMS based on Laravel, with the official User plugin.
I'm making a gallery where frontend users can upload files.
The user is the owner of their uploaded file and is the only one that has permission to edit.
My question, is this the correct way to design and handle user record ownership? All user upload records will be mixed together in one database table mysite_gallery_ and will be sorted and displayed in html with filters, such as viewing all uploads by a specific username.
Will this be slow? Should each user have their own table? Will it be secure enough to prevent another user, bot, or hack script from editing a file record they don't own?
MySQL Table
All upload records are saved to the table mysite_gallery_.
| id | username | filename | slug | title | tags |
| ---- | ---------- | ---------- | -------- | --------- | -------------------- |
| 1 | matt | xyz123 | xyz123 | My File | space, galaxy, stars |
Record Ownership
At upload, my custom Upload component uses Laravel to create a record in the database of the file's title, slug, tags, etc.
To define ownership I have the Upload component save the user's username to the record.
# Get Current User
$user = '';
if (Auth::check()) {
$user = Auth::getUser();
$user = $user->username;
}
# Create Record
$gallery = new Gallery();
$gallery->username = $user;
$gallery->filename = $name;
$gallery->title = $title;
$gallery->slug = $slug;
$gallery->tags = $tags;
$gallery->save();
Edit Record
If the user wants to edit the file properties, such as title, Laravel checks if current user matches the username in the record. If user is owner, it allows edit.
# Get File Record Owner
$owner = '';
if (Gallery::where('filename', '=', $filename)->exists()) {
$record = Gallery::where('filename', '=', $filename)->first();
$owner = $record->username;
}
# Authenticate Current User is Owner
$is_owner = false;
if (Auth::check()) {
# Get Current User
$user = Auth::getUser();
# Check if User is Owner
if ($user->username == $owner) {
$is_owner = true;
}
}
# Edit Record
if ($is_owner == true) {
# Update Record
Gallery::where('filename', '=', $filename)->update(['title' => $title]);
return Redirect::back();
}

Answer 1

It is a better idea to use the users id instead of the username. It'll take less space in the database and is also faster.
Also I would put the tags in another table. Although this depends on how you use the tags. If you have them in another table then it would be easier to get all the uploads for a tag for example.