# Secret Santa - gift exchange — Draw names & share wish lists

> App for organizing Secret Santa gift exchanges with optional wish lists. (iPhone/iPad app by Joylord Systems Ltd.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/secret-santa-gift-exchange/id1065534129 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Joylord Systems Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/308717123)
- Category: Utilities, Lifestyle
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.68/5 from 2,466 App Store ratings · 120 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 18.0 · 15 MB
- Languages: English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
- Released: 2015-12-21
- Data updated: 2026-08-23
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/secret-santa-gift-exchange/id1065534129/reviews.md

## What is Secret Santa?

The quickest, friendliest way to run a Secret Santa gift exchange, with fully shareable Wish Lists.

Set up your exchange in a few taps and let the app do the matching. Only you need the app. Everyone else receives their secret match by email or SMS, with nothing to install.

How it works:
• Create an event, set a gift budget, and add a personal message.
• Add people from your contacts, or just type a name and an email or phone number.
• Choose any "must buy for" or "must not buy for" pairings.
• Tap once and everyone is secretly matched.
• Send the assignments by email or SMS, or export a PDF to hand out.

Wish Lists (in-app purchase):
Let every guest share a few gift ideas, so their Secret Santa always gets it right. No more guessing, no more unwanted gifts.

Gift ideas:
Every guest sees a couple of suggestions for the person they're buying for, matched to your budget, with a link to shop for each one online.

Why people love it:
• No account and no sign-in. Start straight away.
• Private by design. Your events are stored on your device and backed up to your own private iCloud. Contact details are only ever used to send the assignments, never for marketing.
• Only the organiser installs the app. Everyone else is notified by email or SMS.
• Send messages in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, or German.
• Copy last year's exchange and add rules so the same pairs never repeat.
• Great for kids' parties too: use a child's name with a parent's email, or print their invite.

Not just for Christmas. Perfect for birthdays, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, office parties, and any time a group wants to swap gifts.

Your privacy matters. You never have to create an account, and contact details are only ever used to send the assignments. Read more: https://www.secretsantas.gifts/privacy-policy

## Key features

- Effortless event creation
- Participant selection
- Customizable gift rules
- Automatic assignment
- Wish list implementation
- Guest notifications (email/SMS)
- Multilingual support

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Secret Santa | $4.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Secret Santa?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Useful features
- 🎄 Great for holiday gift exchanges
- 💡 Customizable options
- 🎅 Helps organize Secret Santa

**Cons**

- 💰 Paid features required for larger groups
- 🤔 Organizer can see gift assignments
- 🙅‍♀️ Limited to 6 participants in free version
- 🤨 Unclear pricing upfront
- 🐛 Technical issues with sending emails/texts

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Wish list not working
- Inconsistent behavior when upgrading
- Emails not being delivered
- Crashes and freezing

**Most requested features**

- Ability to hide gift assignments from organizer
- Option to add non-contact participants
- Wish list functionality for participants
- Bulk sending of messages
- Customizable email/text templates

## Recent user reviews (10 of 120)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/secret-santa-gift-exchange/id1065534129/reviews.md

### 5/5 — Love this app

*2025-11-20, version 3.0.11*

I’ve been using this app for 6 years and love how easy it is to use. Best feature, results can be text. 🎄😀

### 5/5 — Great App

*2025-11-15, version 3.0.11*

Lovely touches like tailoring who buys for who -

### 5/5 — Awesome joy lord app

*2024-12-11, version 3.0.11*

Best app ever !

### 4/5 — Wishlist

*2024-12-10, version 3.0.11*

Have used secret Santa gift exchange for the last 3 years, but this year the invitees were having trouble accessing the Wishlist. I emailed Ashley tonight advise and as a quick as a flash she had given me two options to sort the problem. It all worked well and now everyone can use the Wishlist and hopefully they’ll receive exactly what they’ve asked for. Thanks so much for sorting out for me so quickly.

### 5/5 — Great App

*2024-12-03, version 3.0.11*

We have used this app every year for the last 4 years as a family Secret Santa gift exchange assignments.  GREAT APP!!!

### 5/5 — Super helpful

*2024-11-25, version 3.0.11*

This app has everything I need to organize a gift exchange, including making sure that couples aren’t buying gifts for each other. Great work!

### 5/5 — Nice easy to use app

*2024-11-16, version 3.0.11*

I use it every year for our secret Santa. Works very well and allows to ensure some people can’t pick others (we do it so spouse don’t pick each others). Je le recommande!

### 3/5 — v3.0.11 sending bug when added as a guest only

*2024-11-08, version 3.0.11*

There is an option to add guests as guests or guests and contacts. When adding as guests only, unable to send (either email or phone). Error: guest does not have any contact details. Sending out works only when a guest is added to contacts.

### 1/5 — Secret Santa has gone missing

*2024-06-02, version 3.0.4*

The recent update crashes and doesn’t load. Please bring back Santa before Christmas.

### 5/5 — Great Secret Santa app

*2023-11-15, version 2.19.2*

We do Secret Santa with my family every year and I’ve been using this app for years and I keep coming back to it as it has everything I need. I love being able to set that spouses cannot get one another and that I can send the notifications easily without me seeing anything myself. This app makes the logistics so easy since we all live far from one another.

## Frequently asked questions about Secret Santa

### What does the Secret Santa app do?

This app helps you organize and manage Secret Santa gift exchanges for any occasion. You can create events, add participants, set gift-giving rules, and automatically assign who buys for whom. It also offers an optional wish list feature to help gifters choose presents.

### How do I create a gift exchange event?

To create an event, you simply set up the details like the gift cost limit and add a message. Then, you can choose participants from your contacts or enter them manually. You can also customize rules about who should or shouldn't buy for specific guests.

### Is the wish list feature free?

The wish list feature is available via an In-App Purchase. This allows guests to share their desired gifts with their Secret Santa, making gift-giving more targeted and enjoyable.

### Who needs to download the app?

Only the event organizer needs to download and use the app. Guests are conveniently notified via email or SMS about their assignments and can participate without needing the app themselves. SMS and PDF export are also available via In-App Purchase.

### What occasions is this app suitable for?

This app is versatile and perfect for various gift exchanges beyond just Christmas. It can be used for birthdays, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, office parties, or any other event where a fun gift exchange is planned.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.2.2 — 2026-08-22

Bug fixes and performance improvements.

Happy gifting!

### 4.2.1 — 2026-08-16

Fixed

• Opening an event would close the app

Happy gifting!

### 4.2.0 — 2026-08-14

Updated

• Duplicating an event names and dates it for the year ahead
• Tidied up the Must buy for and Must NOT buy for screens

Fixed

• "Don't buy for" rules from previous years piled up instead of replacing each other, which could eventually make a draw impossible
• If a draw isn't possible we now explain why, instead of showing an error code

Happy gifting!

### 4.1.0 — 2026-08-08

Gift ideas for every guest

• Each guest's page now shows a couple of gift ideas for the person they're buying for, matched to your event's budget.
• Change the budget and the ideas update to match.
• Anything a guest adds to their own wish list can be looked up online in one tap.

Happy gifting!

### 4.0.0 — 2026-08-04

A big update, just in time for the season!

Fresh new look
• The whole app has been redesigned, with a festive theme for every event.

Picks stay secret
• Invitation emails and texts no longer contain the name of anyone's match. Each guest gets a private link to their own page instead, so nothing is revealed if a message is seen by the wrong person.
• Printable hand-outs have a fresh design too, with a QR code that takes each guest straight to their page.

Wish lists on the web
• Guests can say what they'd like on their own page, with nothing to install.
• Everyone can browse the event's wish list with a single link.

Happy gifting!

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## More apps by Joylord Systems Ltd

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All apps by Joylord Systems Ltd: https://appshunter.io/developer/308717123

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-23.*