Secret Santa Pairing

Secret Santa generator for group chats.

Paste the names, draw once, and send one link. Everyone taps their own name.

  • No signup
  • No email
  • Nobody draws themselves

2 to 50 people. Two people with the same name become Alex and Alex (2).

Shown on the result page as “You're invited by …”.

See a sample draw →

You're buying for

Sam

See who you're buying for

Example draw · A little mystery.

How it works

Three steps, no account, and the whole thing is done before the kettle boils.

  1. 1

    Paste the group's names into the box, one per line, from two people up to fifty.

  2. 2

    Tap Draw names and the page shuffles the list, then pairs everyone so that nobody is matched with themselves.

  3. 3

    Send the link to the group chat, and each person opens it and taps their own name to see who they are buying for.

Why there is no email

Most draws ask for an email address, and that is usually where the group quietly falls apart. One person does not open the message, another mistypes their address, and the organizer spends two days chasing people inside a chat they were already using anyway.

This one never asks. The names and the pairs are encoded into the link itself, after the hash symbol, which browsers never send to a server. There is nothing to sign up for, nothing to confirm, and no inbox to check. The organizer copies one link into the group chat, and everybody else just taps their name.

The trade is worth stating plainly: whoever holds the link can open it, so keep it inside the group and do not post it publicly. Nothing is stored anywhere, which also means nothing can be looked up later. If the link is lost, the draw is lost with it, so pin the message.

Questions

Is it free?

Yes. There is no account, no card, no trial period and no upgrade prompt. The draw runs in the browser from the link itself, so there is nothing to bill and nothing to expire. You can run as many draws as you like, for one group or ten.

Do I need an email?

No. There is no email field anywhere and no confirmation step. The names and the pairs are encoded into the link, so nobody has to be contacted individually. The group only needs the link, pasted into whatever chat you already use, and each person taps their own name when they open it.

How do I share it on WhatsApp?

Open the result page and tap Send on WhatsApp. WhatsApp opens with the message already written, link included, and you choose the group. If the preview card does not appear, the link itself still works. Adding a version parameter to the end of the address forces WhatsApp to fetch the page again instead of reusing its cache.

Can I use it for 30 people?

Yes. The limit is 50 names, and a 30-person draw produces a link of roughly 300 characters, which chat apps handle without cutting it. Above thirty people a single gift stops feeling personal, so many teams split into two draws of fifteen and run both on the same day with two links.

Can someone draw themselves?

No. The names are shuffled, then shifted around a ring by a random offset between one and the number of people, so every person is matched with somebody else. The page rebuilds and checks the pairs before it writes the link, and it will not produce a result where a person is paired with their own name.

Can I redraw?

Yes, but treat it as a brand new draw. Tap Start a new draw, paste the names again, and share the fresh link. The old link keeps working and still shows the old pairs, so tell the group plainly that the previous link is dead. Two live links in one chat is the fastest way to confuse everybody.

Can we use it for an office or a family?

Yes. Use it with coworkers, family members, or friends. You can reuse the same list for a fresh draw; for a large group, consider splitting into smaller batches.

Do I need to install an app?

No app to install and no registration needed. Open the link in your phone’s browser, or use it on a computer.

Is there a wish list?

There is no wish list feature right now. Ask everyone to post their three gift wishes directly in the group chat.