Help & FAQ
Questions, answered.
Everything about planning, sharing, and keeping the surprises safe. For step-by-step guides, see the Help Center.
Getting started
Is Wishpile free?
Yes, completely free. Lists, family groups, claiming, Secret Santa - all of it, no credit card required.
How does Wishpile make money if it’s free?
Through affiliate links. When you buy something through a product link in Wishpile, we earn a small referral fee from the retailer - at no extra cost to you. It never changes the price you pay or which gifts you see.
Which stores is Wishpile an affiliate of?
Right now: Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, Wishpile earns from qualifying purchases. We add stores to this list as we partner with them. Links to every other store work exactly the same, we just don’t earn anything from them.
Do the people I’m shopping for need an account?
No. Track gifts for anyone just by adding their name. For family wishlists, send an invite link - they can add and manage their own wishlist with no account needed. Add their email when you invite them and they’ll get automatic updates and reminders too, perfect for grandparents who’d rather not sign up for anything.
How is Wishpile different from a wishlist app?
A wishlist app answers one question: what does everyone want? Wishpile answers that too, and then handles the job that comes after it. You set a budget for each person, track every gift from idea to bought to wrapped to done, add gifts you thought of yourself instead of only things off a list, plan alongside your partner without spoiling each other's surprises, and split group gifts with whoever is chipping in. Wishlists are the easy half of gift giving; Wishpile is built for the other half.
Do I need to download an app?
No app store required. Wishpile runs in your phone's browser - add it to your home screen and it behaves just like a native app. It works great on desktop too.
Privacy & surprises
Can the people I’m planning for see their gifts?
Never. Your gift lists, budgets, and plans are private to you. People only ever see the wishlists they’re meant to - Wishpile automatically hides anything that would spoil their own surprise.
How do you keep surprises safe?
It’s built into the core of the app. When someone is connected to a wishlist, Wishpile hides the gifts, claims, and spending meant for them - even from a partner you co-plan with. They see what they’ve asked for; they never see what’s coming.
Is my data private? Do you sell it?
Your data belongs to your account, protected by per-user security rules, and we don’t sell it - ever. You stay in control of your lists and can remove them any time.
Family, groups & households
How do family wishlists work?
Create a family group and everyone adds what they’d actually love. You see the whole family’s wishes in one place, quietly claim what you’ll buy, and nobody double-buys - because claims stay hidden from the person receiving.
Can I plan gifts with my partner?
Yes - that’s a household. You and your partner co-plan from one shared gift list and budget, seeing each other’s ideas and spending, while Wishpile still hides the gifts meant for each of you.
Can someone help me plan all of one person’s gifts?
Yes. Make anyone a coordinator for a person and they can view, edit, and add gifts for just that one person - nothing else on your list. They only get access after accepting your email invite, and if they’re the person being planned for, Wishpile still keeps the surprise safe.
Can grandparents and kids join without being techy?
Absolutely. Invite anyone by link and they can add a wishlist without installing a thing - perfect for grandparents and kids.
Do my lists carry over year to year?
No, and that’s by design: each occasion gets its own list, so nothing from last year gets overwritten. When a season’s over, clone its list to start the next one. Pick who comes along, keep their budgets, and bring over no gifts, only the ideas you never got to, or everything (handy if your family repeats favorites). The original stays exactly as it was. Your family group stays put year to year too.
Can I hide last year’s list without deleting it?
Yes, archive it. An archived list leaves your list menu and reminders but keeps everything: who you shopped for, what they got, and what you spent. It opens read-only, and it’s always a tap away under Archived lists to look back on, clone for next year, or unarchive. About a month after a list’s date, Wishpile offers to archive it for you.
Can I send my wishlist by email?
Yes. Tap share on your wishlist and either send the link any way you like, or let Wishpile email it for you: up to five people at a time, with an optional note. They get an email with photos of a few of your wishes (never prices) and a button to open your list and claim something, no account needed. Replies go straight to you.
Gifts & shopping
Does pasting a link really fill in the gift?
Drop in a product link and Wishpile grabs the name, price, and photo automatically, in the shop’s own currency, so building a list takes seconds.
Can I split a gift with someone?
Yes. Track who chipped in and how much, then invite a coordinator by email - even someone who doesn’t have an account yet - so they can see and help manage that gift too. Great for group presents.
What do the gift stages mean?
Each gift moves from idea to bought to wrapped to done, so a single glance tells you exactly what’s left to do.
Can I save receipts and photos?
Every gift can hold photos and receipts, so returns and reimbursements are painless.
Secret Santa
How does Secret Santa work?
Add participants, set exclusions (couples don’t draw each other), and draw. Each participant signs in with a free Wishpile account to see who they drew, and Wishpile only ever shows each person their own draw, the organizer included. Add a date and location so everyone’s on the same page.
Budgets & reminders
How do budgets work?
Set a budget per person - or a shared household budget - and watch spent and remaining update as you go. Curious eyes nearby? Hide the totals with a tap.
Does Wishpile work in my currency?
Yes. Pick your currency in Profile settings and your budgets and totals use it. A link from a shop abroad keeps that shop’s currency, so a price in pounds or krona shows that way, and totals convert it at the day’s exchange rate.
Will Wishpile email me?
Only if you want. Optional updates let you know when your group gets new wishes, plus a gentle weekly reminder as an occasion approaches. Turn them off any time in your profile. If a friend shares their wishlist with you by email, every one of those emails has a link to stop them for good.
Still have a question?
How do I get in touch?
Email support@wishpile.com and a real person will get back to you - questions, bugs, feature ideas, all welcome.
Still stuck?
Ask Wishpile and get an answer in seconds, or email support@wishpile.com and a real person will get back to you.
Your turn
Got your answers? Now start your pile.
Every list, budget, family wishlist, and Secret Santa, all in one place.
Free.No credit card.Nothing to install.