Skip to content

How to pick a giveaway winner on Threads

Threads is still young, which makes giveaways there a cheap way to grow. There's no export, and replies get ranked rather than listed in order, so you'll gather usernames by hand and then let a random draw do the rest.

Draw your Threads winner

Who's in?

0 entries
How many win?
Prizes (optional)

Doo draws with public randomness that doesn't exist until after your list is locked in. Anyone can check the result.

Get your Threads entries

  1. Ask for a reply, not a quote

    Replies collect under your post where you can see them. Quotes and reposts scatter across other people's feeds and are hard to gather in one place.

  2. Gather replies on threads.net

    Open the post on a computer and scroll through every reply. Expand nested replies only if your rules allow entries there.

  3. Write down one username per line

    Copy usernames into a note or spreadsheet. Threads usernames match Instagram handles, which helps when you need to contact the winner on either app.

  4. Note your total before drawing

    Count the lines and write the number in your announcement draft. Saying "117 entries" out loud makes a small giveaway feel honest.

Pick and check the winner

  1. Paste usernames into the Winner Picker

    The list goes in as plain text or a CSV. Remove duplicates first if your rules allowed one entry per person.

  2. Draw once

    The winner is chosen with public drand randomness that didn't exist until after your list was locked, so you couldn't have known the result in advance.

  3. Reply to your own post with the result

    Add the winner and the results link as a reply on the giveaway post, and tag the winner so they get a notification.

Mistakes that make a draw look rigged

  • Running the same giveaway on Instagram and Threads and forgetting to merge the lists and dedupe people who entered on both.
  • Treating likes as entries when you can't export who liked.
  • Copying only the replies Threads shows first, which are ranked, not chronological.
  • Skipping a check of Meta's current promotion guidelines, which apply to Threads as a Meta app.

Announce the winner

Post it where people entered, and link the results page so anyone can check the draw.

Threads winner post
Giveaway winner šŸ§µšŸŽ‰ Congrats @[winner], you've won [prize]! Message us on Threads or Instagram to claim. Drawn at random from [number] replies: [results link]. More soon.

Questions people ask

Can I combine Threads and Instagram entries in one draw?

Yes, as long as your rules said so. Put every username in one list, remove anyone who appears twice if it was one entry per person, and draw once.

How do I message a Threads winner?

Threads accounts are tied to Instagram accounts, so you can usually DM the winner on Instagram using the same username. Mention them in your announcement reply too.

Is it OK to ask people to follow me to enter?

It's common, but check Meta's current promotion guidelines before you post, and check the winner actually follows if you made it a rule.

Keep going