Running a Fair Giveaway with the Comment Picker

Published January 2026 · 6 min read

A giveaway is only worth running if people believe the result. The mechanics of drawing a name matter far less than whether your audience can see that nothing was rigged — and that's mostly about process, not software.

Step 1: Decide the rules before you collect entries

Write down, publicly, before entries open:

This is the single highest-value thing you can do. Almost every giveaway dispute traces back to a rule that was decided after someone noticed an edge case. Once rules are public and timestamped, the draw is just arithmetic.

Step 2: Collect the entries

Copy the entrant list into the Comment Picker. Paste comments or usernames one per line — you can paste the raw comment text and the tool will pull the @username out of each line automatically.

Take a screenshot or export of the raw comment list at the moment entries close. If anyone questions the result later, being able to show the exact pool you drew from settles it immediately.

Step 3: Handle duplicates deliberately

The Comment Picker has a "Remove duplicates" switch, and which way you set it is a real decision, not a technicality:

Neither is wrong. What matters is that you announced which one you'd use in step 1. If you didn't, remove duplicates — it's the interpretation most entrants expect, and it's the harder one to accuse you of gaming.

Step 4: Draw the winner on camera

Record the screen while you spin, or do it live. This is what actually creates trust. A screenshot of a result proves nothing — a continuous recording that shows the entry list being loaded, the wheel spinning, and the winner appearing is very hard to fake and obviously so.

Turn on a longer spin duration in Settings for this. A seven-second spin makes better video than a one-second one, and the anticipation is the entertainment.

Step 5: Multiple prizes — use Elimination mode

If you're drawing first, second and third place, switch to Elimination mode. After each winner is drawn you hide that name, so the same person can't win twice. Drawing three winners in Normal mode can legitimately produce the same name three times, which will not go down well.

Step 6: Draw backups at the same time

Some winners never respond. Draw two or three reserve names in the same recording and announce them as reserves. This saves you from running a second draw later, which always looks less credible than the first one — and it prevents the situation where you quietly pick someone yourself because the winner went quiet.

State a claim deadline when you announce: "If the winner hasn't replied within 48 hours, the prize passes to the first reserve." Then hold to it.

Proving the draw was fair

Three things, in order of how much they actually convince people:

  1. Public rules posted before entries opened. Nothing else comes close.
  2. An unbroken recording of the draw, including loading the list.
  3. The entry list published afterwards, so anyone can count.

You can also press Share after building your wheel, which produces a link containing the full entry list. Post that link alongside your announcement and anyone can open the identical wheel and see exactly who was in the draw.

A word on the legal side

Promotions are regulated differently in different countries, and the rules get stricter when entry requires a purchase. Prize draws, competitions of skill, and lotteries are treated as distinct things in most jurisdictions, and platforms like Instagram and Facebook have their own promotion rules on top. If your giveaway is anything more than a small informal prize, check the requirements that apply where you are — this article is about running a draw fairly, not legal advice.

Common mistakes

Open the Comment Picker →

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