Free · no sign-up · works for any gift exchange
Secret Santa generator
Add everyone's name, set who can't draw whom, and draw. Each person gets a private link by WhatsApp or email and sees only their own match. No account, no app, no email list to sign up for.
How to draw Secret Santa names online
- 1
Add the people
One name per person. A phone number or email is optional and never leaves your device: it's only used to prepare the message.
- 2
Set exclusions
Keep partners or housemates from drawing each other. You'll be told if the exclusions make a draw impossible.
- 3
Add a budget and a date
Both show up on everyone's private page, so nobody has to ask again in the group chat.
- 4
Draw and send the links
The draw runs on our server and nobody gets themselves. You get one link per person, with WhatsApp, email and copy buttons.
- 5
Everyone opens their own
Each person taps “Show who I got” and the name appears only for them. You can check who has opened their link without seeing any matches.
Why a private link for each person
Pulling names from a hat goes wrong when someone draws themselves, and a group chat draw means the organizer knows every match. With private links, the organizer can play too: the tracking view only shows who has opened their link.
The match is revealed only after the person taps the button, so link previews in messaging apps don't give anything away or count as opened.
What we store, and when it's deleted
To make the links work we keep the group name, date, budget, the names you typed and who drew whom. Phone numbers and emails are never sent to us.
Everything is deleted 30 days after the exchange date, or 90 days after the draw if you didn't set a date. You can also delete it right away with “Delete this draw now”.
Tips for a smoother gift exchange
A few agreements prevent the classic awkward moment of one very expensive gift next to a very cheap one.
- Agree on the budget first and put it in the budget field: it appears on every link.
- Ask everyone to share three gift ideas in the group chat, without saying who they drew.
- For an office exchange, draw at least two weeks ahead so people can order and receive gifts.
- Lost a link? The organizer can resend it from the same device used for the draw: the links are saved there.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this Secret Santa generator free?
- Yes. The draw, the private links and the “who has opened” view are free and need no account.
- Can someone draw their own name?
- No. The draw runs on the server and only accepts results where nobody gets themselves or anyone they're excluded from.
- Can the organizer see the matches?
- Not from the tracking view, which only shows who has opened their link. The organizer receives everyone's links in order to send them, so the rule is simple: don't open other people's links.
- How do I stop couples drawing each other?
- In step 2, pick one person, then the other, and keep “and the other way round” ticked. Repeat for each couple.
- How many people can join?
- From 3 to 100 people per draw.
- Do you keep my data?
- Only what the links need (names and matches), until 30 days after the exchange date. Phone numbers and emails are not sent to our server.