Picking a name out of a hat works until someone asks how you picked. A random name picker solves the practical problem (one winner out of 300 comments, or who presents first in class) and the trust problem, because everybody can watch the wheel spin.
This picker does both. The wheel is drawn from your list, the result is chosen with the same kind of random numbers browsers use for encryption, and giveaway mode writes a short record you can post with the result. It runs in your browser, and your list stays on your device.
How to pick a random name
- Paste or type names in the box, one per line. A column copied from a spreadsheet works as it is.
- Check the count under the box. It also tells you if the list has duplicates.
- Set Winners per spin if you need more than one, and type a prize or draw name if you want it on the result.
- Click Spin the wheel, or click the wheel itself. The pointer at the top lands on the winner and the name appears in large type under the wheel.
- Spin again for the next pick. Earlier picks are listed with the time of each spin.
The buttons under the list let you shuffle it, sort it A to Z, remove duplicates or clear it. Your list is kept in this browser, so it is still there if you reload the page.
Options
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Winners per spin | Draws 1 to 100 different entries in one spin. The wheel lands on the first; the rest are listed in draw order with their entry numbers. |
| Remove winners from the list after each spin | Deletes the drawn lines from the box, so the wheel only shows who is left. Good for turn-taking and raffles with several prizes. |
| Never pick the same entry twice in this session | Keeps winners on the wheel (shaded grey) but stops them winning again. On by default. |
| Giveaway mode | Writes a draw record with the time in UTC, the number of entries, a SHA-256 fingerprint of the list and the winners. |
| Skip the animation | Shows the winner instantly. It turns on by itself when your device asks for reduced motion. |
How the pick stays fair
Many online wheels use Math.random(), which is fine for games but is not designed to be unpredictable, and some pick the winner from wherever the animation happens to stop. This picker works the other way around:
- When you click spin, it asks the browser's
crypto.getRandomValues()for a random 32-bit number. That is the cryptographically secure generator browsers use for keys and tokens. - It turns that number into an entry position with rejection sampling. A 32-bit number has 4,294,967,296 possible values, which does not divide evenly by most list sizes. With 3 names, one value in that range would favor the first name slightly. The picker throws away the few values above the largest multiple of the list size and draws again, so every entry gets exactly the same chance.
- Only then does the wheel spin, with the stopping angle calculated so the pointer lands on the winner already drawn. The animation is decoration; it cannot change the result.
For several winners, it draws one, removes that entry from the pool and draws the next, so no one can win twice in the same spin. In our own test, 400 spins on a list of 4 names picked them 102, 107, 86 and 105 times. Each name was expected about 100 times, and differences of that size are normal random variation.
The secure generator is built into every current browser, including Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge on phones and computers. If a browser ever lacked it, the picker would show an error rather than quietly fall back to a weaker method.
Duplicates count as extra tickets
Each line is one entry. If "Sofia" appears three times, Sofia has three times the chance. That is what you want when people earn extra entries, for example one entry per comment or per friend tagged. If each person should have one chance, click Remove duplicates first. Matching ignores upper and lower case, so @Sofia and @sofia count as the same name.
Running a giveaway
Collecting entries
Instagram and Facebook do not give you a ready-made export of comments, so most small accounts copy commenter names into a document or spreadsheet, one per line, then paste them here. Paste usernames with or without the @. Decide your rules before you start: one entry per person, or one per comment, and remove your own account and team members.
Drawing and sharing the result
Turn on Giveaway mode, type the prize as the draw name and spin. You get a record like this one from our test with 250 entries and 3 winners:
Giveaway draw: October tote bag giveaway
Drawn: 2026-10-15 19:00:04 UTC
Entries: 250 (one line = one entry)
Entry list SHA-256: 487b6343…7088e608 (64 characters in the real record, shortened here)
Winners: 1. @user128 (entry #128), 2. @user040 (entry #40), 3. @user005 (entry #5)
Method: browser crypto.getRandomValues, equal chance for every entry, picked before the wheel animation.
Copy it into your announcement post, story or the email to the winner. Screen-record the spin as well if you want people to see it happen.
Proving the list was not changed
The SHA-256 fingerprint is calculated from the exact list that was drawn. Click Download entry list to save that list as a text file, and keep it with the record. Anyone with the file can recalculate the fingerprint: on Windows run certutil -hashfile giveaway-entries.txt SHA256, on a Mac shasum -a 256 giveaway-entries.txt, and on Linux sha256sum giveaway-entries.txt. If one name is added, removed or changed, the fingerprint changes completely. The entry numbers in the record are line numbers in that file.
Note: Platform and legal rules apply to giveaways, not just a fair draw. As of October 2026, Instagram's promotion guidelines say you are responsible for running the promotion lawfully, must include a complete release of Instagram by each entrant and an acknowledgment that the promotion is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by Instagram, and must not ask people to tag content inaccurately. In the US, sweepstakes generally cannot require a purchase to enter. Read Instagram's promotion guidelines and check the rules for your country before launch.
When a winner does not reply
Set a reply deadline in your rules, such as 48 hours, and say that you will draw again if it passes. When it does, keep Remove winners from the list after each spin or Never pick the same entry twice on, set winners per spin to 1 and spin again. The new record shows the smaller entry count, which makes the redraw easy to explain in your stories.
Mistakes that make a fair draw look unfair
Most complaints about giveaways are not about the random numbers. They come from how the list was built or how the result was shown:
- Editing the list after the deadline. Close entries at the time you announced, copy the list once and draw from that copy. The fingerprint in the record only proves anything if the list was fixed before the spin.
- Silent rule changes. If you remove people who did not follow your account, say so in the rules before the giveaway starts, not after someone asks why a friend was skipped.
- Spinning until you like the result. Spin once per prize. Earlier picks are listed with their times, and people watching a live stream notice a second spin.
- Drawing off camera. A screen recording of the spin with the entry count visible answers most questions before they are asked.
- Forgetting the release. Platform rules such as Instagram's require specific wording in your terms; add it to the post or a linked rules page.
Planning a giveaway that brings the right followers
A fair draw protects your reputation, but the prize and the entry rules decide whether the giveaway helps your business. A few things that work for small brands and creators:
- Give away your own product. A gift card or your best seller attracts people who might buy. A phone or a cash prize attracts people who enter every giveaway and unfollow the next day.
- Ask a question in the entry comment. "Which color would you pick?" gives you product feedback and real comments, not just tags.
- Keep it short. Three to seven days keeps the post active without people forgetting about it.
- Announce publicly. Post the winner's handle with the draw record, and message the winner directly.
- Measure it. Compare the engagement rate on the giveaway post with your normal posts using the Instagram engagement rate calculator, and check how many new followers stayed a week later.
At markets and pop-up events, print a QR code that links to a short entry form, then paste the names from the form's spreadsheet into the picker at the end of the day and draw on screen in front of the crowd.
Other ways people use it
- Classrooms: pick who answers next, form presentation order or assign topics. With Remove winners on, everyone gets a turn before anyone goes twice.
- Teams: choose who runs the stand-up, who takes the support shift or the order of a demo day.
- Raffles at events: paste ticket numbers instead of names, set winners per spin to the number of prizes and draw them all at once.
- Decisions: lunch options, the next product to photograph, which blog idea to write first.
On a projector or a shared screen, zoom the browser to 150% or more so the wheel fills the view; the names on the slices scale with it. Turn on Skip the animation when you need many quick picks in a row, such as calling on students during a lesson.
For team splits you can also shuffle the list and take names in order: the shuffle uses the same secure random numbers as the spin.
Accessibility and limits
- The spin button works with the keyboard (Tab to it, then Enter or Space), and the winner is announced to screen readers.
- If your operating system is set to reduce motion, the wheel does not spin; the winner appears at once.
- The wheel shows names on its slices for lists of up to 80 entries. Longer lists still spin and draw fairly, and the winner is always shown in full under the wheel.
- Up to 10,000 entries are used. Names are stored only in your browser's local storage and never sent to our server.
Giveaways work best when they reach people who already care about your niche. Viral Finder in AM Jarvis shows what is trending in your niche across searches, videos and social posts, so your next giveaway post can ride a topic people are already talking about. For the chat that follows, the WhatsApp link generator gives winners a one-tap way to send you their details.