Privacy at Picknames
Effective date: October 13, 2026
Gather round, draw names, and keep your secrets. Picknames is the free Secret Santa party game, and we built it to need as little about you as possible. No accounts, no emails, no passwords. Here's exactly what happens to the little we do keep.
Who we are
Picknames (picknames.app) is made and run by Collapse LLC, Arlington, Texas, United States. Questions, requests or "please delete my room" messages go to hello@picknames.app.
What we collect, and why
When you play, the game keeps only what it needs to run your draw:
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| The name you type (any name or nickname works) | So everyone knows who's in the room and who they're buying for. |
| Room name and room settings (e.g. whether wishlists are required, how many Skips and Wishes are allowed) | To set up the game the way the leader chose. |
| Your Skip and Wish picks | To shape the draw: never giving you your Skip, and making your Wish more likely. |
| Your wishlist link, if you add one | So your Secret Santa can find gift ideas. You can see your own link the whole time. After the draw, the player buying for you can see it too. |
| The draw results (who gives to whom) | So each player can see who they're buying for, now and later. |
| Join code, internal room and player IDs | To let people join, and to let you rejoin on another device. |
That's it. Please don't put anything sensitive in names, room names or wishlist links. Names and the room name are visible to everyone in your room. Skips, wishes, and who you drew stay with you. A wishlist is shown to you and, after the draw, to the person buying for you.
What we don't collect
- No sign-up, account, email address, phone number or password.
- No payment details (the game is free).
- We don't sell your information, and we don't use it to profile you.
- We don't store IP addresses or request logs in our own database. Our hosting providers do see standard connection data (see below).
Cookies and local storage
Picknames doesn't set any cookies of its own today. Your browser's local storage (a small storage area on your own device, not on our servers) keeps:
-
picknames-recent: up to 8 rooms you've recently played (room ID, player ID, join code, room name, your name, and when you last opened that room), so you can hop back into a game quickly. -
picknames-tutorial: a note that you've seen the walkthrough.
You can clear these any time by clearing your browser's site data for picknames.app. Doing so just means you'll need your rejoin details to get back into a room.
Who helps us run Picknames
We use a few trusted providers. They process data on our behalf, only to run the service:
- Render (USA) hosts the app and its database. Your game data is stored in a Postgres database on Render, in the US (Oregon).
- Cloudflare (global network) sits in front of the site for speed and security. Like any web server, it handles your IP address and basic browser information to deliver pages and stop abuse.
- Google Fonts: our fonts load from Google's servers, so Google receives your IP address and browser info when the page loads.
If you're outside the US, this means your data is processed in the US.
Analytics
We don't use any analytics or tracking scripts.
How long we keep things
- Rooms and their draws stay saved so your group can check results and play again next year.
- When the last player leaves an open room, the room and all its games are deleted.
- There is no automatic clean-up of old rooms.
- Want your room or your name removed sooner? Email us with the room name and join code (or your rejoin details) and we'll delete it.
- Local storage stays on your device until you clear it.
Kids
Picknames is a family-friendly game, but it's not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. When kids play, we suggest a parent runs the game on their own phone, or has the child use a first name or nickname only. If you think a child has given us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us to:
- see what we hold about you,
- correct it,
- delete it,
- object to or restrict how we use it.
If you're in the EU or UK (GDPR/UK GDPR): we use your game data because it's needed to provide the game you asked for (contract), and for security and running the service (legitimate interests). You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
If you're in California (CCPA/CPRA): we don't sell or "share" personal information for cross-context advertising. You won't be treated differently for using your rights.
Because we don't have accounts, we may ask for your room name, join code or rejoin details to confirm a room is yours. Email hello@picknames.app and we'll reply within 30 days.
Security
Connections to picknames.app are encrypted (HTTPS). The database sits on a private network and isn't reachable from the internet. No system is perfect, so please treat names and room names as things your group can see, and a wishlist link as something your Secret Santa can see.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update it here and change the effective date at the top.
Contact
hello@picknames.app · Collapse LLC, Arlington, Texas, United States