gift it — frequently asked questions

Create a free account, and a default list is set up for you automatically. You can rename it, add an occasion date, and start adding items straight away. To add more lists — for a different occasion or a separate wishlist — go to your account and tap "New list".

Yes. You can have as many lists as you like — a birthday list, a home list, a Christmas list, a running save-for-later. Each one can have its own occasion date, or none at all. All your lists sit on your public profile, where anyone with the link can browse them.

Yes — gift it works with any website. Paste a product link and the name, image, and price fill in automatically. You can also scan a barcode in any physical shop using your phone's camera — point it at the product and it's added in seconds. If the product isn't found automatically, you can enter the details yourself.

Open gift it on your phone, tap "Scan barcode", and point your camera at any product. The app reads the barcode and looks up the product details — no photo is uploaded or stored. It works in any physical shop. If a product isn't in any database we check, you can fill in the details yourself and the item is still saved to your list.

Yes. When you add an item, there's an optional note field — useful for specifying a size, colour, or anything else the gifter needs to know. Notes are only visible to people who are logged in and have access to your full list. Anonymous visitors browsing your list won't see them.

You can mark items on your list as "do not buy" — for example, if you've already bought something for yourself, or if circumstances have changed. Items marked this way are hidden from gifters, so they won't accidentally buy something you no longer need. They remain on your list so you can refer back to them.

Setting an occasion date — a birthday, wedding, Christmas — does two things. First, it gives gifters context for when they need to act. Second, it acts as a reveal date: once the occasion date passes, your list shows you exactly who bought what. Before that date, you see nothing — not which items have been bought, and not by whom. The whole picture is held back until the occasion has passed.

Each list has a unique link you can share however you like — via WhatsApp, text, email, or just copied and pasted anywhere. You can share an individual list directly, or share a link to your full profile, which shows all your public lists. Anyone with the link can view it without creating an account.

Lists are accessible to anyone with the link, but they're not indexed or searchable — so in practice, only people you share the link with will find them. If you want tighter control, you can use the follow request feature, which means gifters need to request access and you approve them individually before they can see the full list details.

If your account is set to private, anyone wanting to view your full list details can send a follow request. You'll be notified by email with their name and contact details, and you approve or decline. Approved followers see the complete list including notes and size information. Anonymous visitors who haven't requested access only see the basic product information.

No. If you've set an occasion date, your list reveals who bought what only after that date has passed. Until then, you see nothing — not which items have been bought, and not by whom. If you haven't set an occasion date, the reveal doesn't happen at all unless you trigger it manually from your list settings.

No. Anyone with a link can view a list without signing up or downloading anything. You can also follow links through to the retailer to buy without an account.

Yes. A free account is needed to claim an item. This lets other gifters know it's taken, so nobody buys the same thing twice. Creating an account takes seconds — just an email address, no password required.

No. The list owner sees nothing about who has or hasn't marked an item until after the occasion date passes. At that point, the full reveal happens and they'll see your name alongside what you bought. Before the occasion, the surprise is completely protected — they have no view of gifter activity at all.

Every item links directly to the original retailer — John Lewis, ASOS, Waterstones, wherever the person added it from. gift it never handles the transaction. You click through, pay the retailer directly, and the item arrives however that retailer usually delivers. gift it may earn a small commission from the retailer when you click through, at no cost to you.

Yes. When an item has a known price, gift it searches Google Shopping and shows alternatives from other UK retailers directly on the item — sorted cheapest first. If a cheaper option exists, you'll see how much you could save. You can buy from whichever retailer you prefer; gift it has no preference and takes no cut based on where you choose.

gift it searches Google Shopping for the same product at other UK retailers. Results are cached for up to 24 hours, so prices may not reflect the latest changes. Always check the price on the retailer's own site before buying — gift it can't guarantee the price shown is still accurate at the time you click through.

Price comparisons only appear when the item has a known price and gift it finds at least one alternative that's cheaper or similarly priced at another retailer. If no alternatives are found, or if the item was added without a price, the panel is hidden — the item card looks exactly the same either way.

Yes — you can unclaim an item at any time before the occasion date. Once you do, it becomes available again for other gifters to claim. If you've already bought the item and want to let others know, it's best to leave it claimed.

Prices and stock are controlled entirely by the retailer — gift it has no visibility into whether an item is in stock at the point you click through. If something is unavailable, you can un-mark it on the list and let the list owner know, or look for the same product at another retailer.

Yes — use the group gifting feature. On any unclaimed item, you'll see a "Share this gift" button alongside the usual claim button. Each contributor pledges an amount; once the pledges cover the full price, the gift is marked as claimed and everyone who contributed is introduced by email with each other's contact details, so you can organise the purchase between yourselves. gift it doesn't handle any money — it just coordinates who's in and connects you.

Yes. You need to be signed in to place a share offer — this is how gift it can track who has contributed and make sure the same person doesn't pledge twice. Creating an account takes seconds and only requires an email address.

Only once the gift is fully funded. When the total pledges reach the item price, gift it sends an intro email to all contributors containing everyone's name, email address, and phone number (if you provided one). This is how the group can then coordinate buying the gift together. Your details are not shared with anyone before that point.

Nothing automatic — the item simply stays in a sharing state. Active pledges remain in place; nobody is charged anything and nobody is notified of a failure. If the occasion passes without the gift being fully funded, the item shows as unclaimed in the reveal. Contributors can continue pledging after the occasion date if they choose.

The calendar is a private list of the people you buy gifts for and their occasions — birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, weddings, or anything else with a date. Add a person once and gift it emails you ahead of each occasion, so you find out in time to sort a gift rather than the night before. You'll find it in the Calendar tab of your account.

No. Your calendar is completely private — nobody can see it, including the people in it. If you link a person to their gift it account, they are never notified and never see that they're in your calendar. Your notes about them are private too.

Each occasion has its own reminders — choose from 1, 7, 14, or 30 days before, or set your own (up to 90 days). You can set several per occasion if you like an early warning and a final nudge. If the person is on gift it and you follow their lists, the email includes what's still unclaimed on their wishlist. You can mute a single occasion, or switch occasion reminders off entirely in settings without affecting your other gift it emails.

When a list owner approves you as a follower and their list has an occasion date, that date is added to your calendar automatically so you won't miss it. There's a one-tap remove if you don't want it — and once removed, it won't be added back for that list.

Yes, two ways. Import from Google Contacts — a one-off import where you review and choose who to add; gift it doesn't keep access to your contacts, and the connection is discarded as soon as the import finishes. Or paste a simple list of names and dates (one per line, like "Mum, 14/03") and review before anything is added.

Yes. Every occasion has an "Add to Google Calendar" link and a downloadable calendar file (.ics). You can also subscribe once to your personal gift it calendar feed from settings, and all your occasions stay in sync automatically. The feed link contains names and dates only, and you can reset it at any time.

It's optional, and it's just for you. Picking a person from your calendar when you claim an item builds a private gifting history per person — so next year you can check what you got them last time. The list owner never sees it, and it doesn't change how claiming works.

Yes. gift it is completely free for everyone — people building lists and people buying from them. There are no premium tiers, no paid features, and no subscription.

When someone clicks through to buy something from a list, gift it may earn a small affiliate commission from the retailer — similar to how price comparison sites work. This is disclosed clearly in the product and during sign-up. It never costs you or the gifter anything extra, and it never influences what goes on anyone's list. If you decline affiliate tracking cookies, links still work and take you directly to the retailer — gift it simply earns no commission on that click.

For list owners: we collect your email address (for sign-in), display name, and the items you add to your lists. For gifters browsing without an account: we collect only what's needed to show you the list. If you accept affiliate tracking cookies, a cookie is placed to attribute any purchase to gift it — this is optional and you can decline without losing any functionality.

Any of them — birthdays, Christmas, weddings, baby showers, new homes, graduations, anniversaries, Secret Santa, or no occasion at all. A lot of people use gift it as a personal save-for-later, building a running list of things they want across different shops, with no intention of ever sharing it.

Yes. gift it works in any modern browser on any device — phone, tablet, or desktop. There's no app to download. Barcode scanning works on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. If you're opening a shared list from within a WhatsApp or iMessage conversation, you may need to open it in your default browser to use the scan feature.

You can delete your account from account settings at any time. Deleting your account permanently removes your lists, items, and personal data. If you'd like help with account deletion, contact us at hello@giftit.club.