Secret Santa on WhatsApp
Organise Secret Santa on WhatsApp
Wichtlify is a free website and app for Secret Santa: you add the names, it draws them in secret, and you send each person their own link in WhatsApp. They see only who they are buying for.
- The result never lands in the group chat
- Links open in the browser; only you need an account
- Free for the whole group
How it works
Secret Santa on WhatsApp in four steps
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Create the groupChoose the occasion, the date and a budget with a currency, such as £20 (or €20).
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Add the namesTwo people who must not draw each other, such as a couple, you set as an exclusion.
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Draw in secretNobody draws themselves, and nobody sees the whole list, not even you.
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Send the links in WhatsAppYou copy each link and send it in a private chat. In it the person adds wishes and, after the draw, sees who they are buying for.
Nine Hendersons, one chat
Everything happens in the family chat, except the result
The Hendersons’ family chat has nine people in it, from Grandad Ray in Whitby to a cousin at uni in Durham. Last year the cousin replied “I’ve got Uncle Rob!” to the whole chat instead of to her mum, and the surprise was gone before December.
This year Kate organises it, and hers is the only account. On Sunday 1 November 2026 she creates the group and types in the nine first names. The budget is £20 (or €20), and the family meal is on Tuesday 22 December. Ray and Nana Pat are a couple, so she sets an exclusion: those two never draw each other.
Everyone else opens their link in the browser, with no account and no app. The app for iPhone and Android is there for Kate, if she would rather organise from her phone.
Group chat and single chats
The rules go in the family chat, each link in a private chat
Kate creates the group and runs the draw on the free Secret Santa generator, where she adds the names, never in the chat itself. Each person’s link exists as soon as she types in their first name, so it can go out before the draw. She copies it and sends it herself in a private WhatsApp chat: Wichtlify reads no chat and sends no WhatsApp messages.
Before the draw, a link shows only its owner’s wish list. Once the wish lists are in, on Friday 6 November, Kate runs the draw, and from then on the same link shows the one name that person is buying for, with that person’s wishes, the budget and the date. No link shows the full list, not even Kate’s, so she takes part like everyone else.
The family chat still gets one post from Kate: a family-chat message with the budget, the date and one request, that nobody posts what they draw. Copy it and fill in your own details.
WhatsApp message
We’re doing Secret Santa again this year! I’ll send each of you your own link in a private message. Please open only yours and don’t forward it. Budget: £__ (or €__) Gifts swapped on: __ Add your wishes by: __ Whatever you draw, keep it out of this chat this time! If your link doesn’t work, message me.
Fill in
- The budget, with a currency
- The day presents are swapped
- A deadline for wishes
What Kate sees
Kate sees who has opened their link, never who drew whom
A draw typed into the chat, or a tool that shows you all the pairs, puts the whole list in someone’s hands. In Wichtlify, Kate needs only first names and no one’s email address. In her overview she sees who has opened their link and who has not entered wishes yet, so she knows whether a nudge in the chat is worth it.
Wichtlify also reminds people about empty wish lists, for free: a hint in the link, a push in the app and an email once someone has confirmed their address.
That is all an ordinary Secret Santa needs. If you want more, such as reminders on dates you choose or anonymous questions to the person you give to, there is Wichtlify Pro: €4.99 a year, renewing automatically, bought in the iOS or Android app and valid for all the groups on your account.
If a link slips
If a link lands in the family chat, Kate issues a new one
Say Ray’s link ends up in the family chat. Kate chooses “Reinvite” for him, the button that issues a fresh link: the old one stops working, and she sends the new one privately. If someone only deleted their link, she sends it again and nothing changes.
If someone drops out after the draw, the emergency repair gives a new name to just the people affected, and everyone else keeps theirs.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can I post all the links in the family chat instead?
You can, but whoever has a link can see the page behind it, so everyone in the chat could open everyone’s. One private message per person keeps each result private.
Does everyone need WhatsApp?
No. A link works wherever you send it: by text, email or another messenger. If you store someone’s email address, Wichtlify emails their link for you.
Does it cost anything?
Not for an ordinary Secret Santa. The group, the names, the draw, the links and the wish lists are free for everyone; only the optional Wichtlify Pro is paid.
Can someone join after the draw?
Only by drawing again, which is fine as long as nobody has looked at their result yet.
Next steps
Next steps for your WhatsApp Secret Santa
Once the links are out, the next questions are usually the rules and the presents.
Family Secret Santa
For families who meet once a year, across generations and towns.
Plan the family exchange
Secret Santa rules
Settle the budget, the gift style and the reveal before anyone draws.
Set the rules
Nine first names, nine private links
Name the group, add the first names, and the links are ready to send from your own phone.
Create your WhatsApp group