Keep gifts a surprise and reveal them when ready
Updated
In this guide
GiftList hides shoppers' recorded purchases and gift-giver details from the list owner by default. Other shoppers can see what is taken so they can choose something else. The owner can choose to reveal gifts when ready. Cash funds and group gifts are the exception: the owner can always see who contributed.
Keep the surprise
As the owner, don't open the reveal. You can keep editing your list without seeing its purchase details. A purchased gift may look available in your owner view while shoppers see its purchased status; that difference protects the surprise.
As a shopper, use the shared link and mark the gift purchased after buying it. Avoid sending the owner a screenshot that shows claimed items or your confirmation email. Do not use another person's signed-in account to shop.
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Cash funds and group gifts are not anonymous
When you contribute to a cash fund or chip in on a group gift, the list owner (and anyone helping edit the list) can see each contribution's name, amount, message and payment method, whether or not gifts have been revealed. Your payment app also shows the owner who sent the money. If you want to stay anonymous, buy a regular gift instead of contributing.
Reveal purchases and givers
- Sign in to the account that owns the list and open it.
- On the website, choose Tracker. In the mobile app, open the list menu and choose Gift tracker.
- Choose Reveal gifts. There is no confirmation step on the Tracker: one tap shows every recorded gift and giver, so decide before you tap.
- Review the gifts and the giver details recorded with them. Any order, tracking or receipt information depends on what the giver supplied.
The list's Settings also includes Reveal purchased gifts. You can hide the display again with Hide these again or that setting, but that cannot erase what you or someone viewing with you already saw.
Hide gifts until a date
If you might be tempted to peek, or someone else uses your account, you can lock the reveal until a date you choose. Until that day, nobody signed in to the list can reveal its gifts or givers, and the date can't be removed or moved earlier. Only the list owner can set it, and it doesn't hide what other shoppers can see on the shared list.
- New list: in Create list, open More options and turn on Hide gifts until a date, then pick the day.
- Existing list: in the list's Settings, under Reveal purchased gifts, choose Hide until a date. You can also choose it under Reveal gifts in Tracker (Gift tracker in the app). If you had already revealed gifts, they are hidden again.
While the lock is on, Tracker shows the date instead of a Reveal gifts button. On that day the gifts stay hidden until you choose Reveal gifts; nothing is revealed automatically. Organization lists don't offer this setting, and older versions of the app may still show a reveal button that won't work until the date.
Remove a purchase you recorded yourself
If you marked a gift purchased yourself, for example "by unknown" before you knew who sent it, you can delete just that record. In Tracker (Gift tracker in the app), open that purchase and choose Remove this record, then Remove record. If you instead choose Unmark as purchased on a gift that also has someone else's claim, the dialog offers Remove only that record. Only the purchase you added is deleted; other people's claims stay as they are. This is available to the list owner and collaborators, and needs a current version of GiftList.
Choosing Unmark as purchased itself on a revealed list deletes every claim on that gift, including other people's names and contact details, and they are not told. Read the dialog before confirming.
Notifications and privacy limits
Purchase emails are off by default. In the list's settings, Email notifications lets you opt in; detailed purchase emails are sent once gifts are revealed. Before reveal, a general first-gift heads-up may still arrive without naming the gift or giver.
Surprise protection is not permanent anonymity. The owner can reveal gifts and see recorded giver details. It also does not control retailer emails, shared inboxes, delivery notifications or what another shopper tells the recipient. Organization giving and Secret Santa have different roles; do not assume this personal-list setting hides every exchange assignment or organizational donation.
If you cannot find Tracker, confirm that you own the list and that you are using the correct account. A shopper's shared view does not include the owner's tracker. Use sign-in help if needed.
Related: Mark a gift purchased, cash funds and group gifts, list privacy, join Secret Santa.
Still have questions?
Ask our AI help assistant a follow-up, or email the GiftList team.