Last updated: April 2, 2026
Terms of Service

Terms of Service
(The Human-Readable Version)

Every website has a Terms of Service page. Most of them are written by lawyers who get paid by the word. This one is written by a human who respects your time. Let's keep it short and honest.

The Even Shorter Version

1. Acceptance of These Terms

By using NameWheel.org (the "Site"), you agree to these Terms of Service. If you don't agree, you're free to leave. We won't hold it against you. There's no exit interview.

These terms apply to all visitors and users of the Site. Whether you're a teacher picking students, a streamer picking giveaway winners, or someone who just stumbled here because you googled "random name picker" at 2 AM, these terms apply to you equally.

We don't require you to check a box, create an account, or sign anything to use the site. By simply using the wheel, you're agreeing to these terms. That's how it works with websites. We didn't invent that system, but we're stuck with it.

2. What NameWheel Does (and Doesn't Do)

NameWheel is a free, browser-based spinning wheel tool. You type in names (or any text, really), spin the wheel, and it randomly picks one. That's it. That's the product.

Here's what we do:

Here's what we don't do:

Important: NameWheel is a randomization tool for fun and convenience. It is not a legally binding selection mechanism. If you're using it for something where the legal validity of the random selection matters, please consult a lawyer who can explain why you shouldn't be using a spinning wheel website for that purpose.

3. Your Content (Names Stay Local)

The names you type into the wheel are your content. They stay in your browser. They are not uploaded, transmitted, stored, cached, indexed, backed up, or in any way sent to our servers.

When you close the tab, the names disappear. When you refresh the page, the names are gone (unless you used the URL bookmark feature, which stores names in the URL itself, not on our servers). We cannot see, access, recover, or even guess what names you entered.

This means you're responsible for your own content. If you're typing names of real people, that's between you and those people. If you're typing silly answers for a party game, that's between you and your sense of humor. We have no involvement either way.

Technical detail: The wheel is rendered using an HTML5 Canvas element. The JavaScript running in your browser reads the text from the input field, draws it onto the canvas, runs the spin animation, and determines the result. At no point does any of this data leave your device. There is no XMLHttpRequest, no fetch call, no WebSocket connection sending your names anywhere. You can verify this yourself using your browser's developer tools network tab.

4. No Account Needed (We Mean It)

There is no account system on NameWheel. No signup form. No login page. No password. No email verification. No "continue with Google" button.

You might think this is because we're lazy. That's partially true. But it's mostly because an account system would mean storing your data, and storing your data is exactly what we're trying not to do. The absence of accounts is a feature, not a limitation.

This also means we can't lock you out, send you marketing emails, sell your email to a newsletter you didn't ask for, or send you "we miss you!" re-engagement emails. You're welcome.

5. Things You Shouldn't Do

We don't have a lot of rules, but we have a few. Please don't use NameWheel to:

That last point is intentionally vague. If you're reading this list and wondering whether your specific use case is allowed, it almost certainly is. Normal use of a name picker wheel is perfectly fine. We're really just asking you not to be a jerk about it.

For the record: Using the wheel to decide who buys the next round of drinks is encouraged. Using it to pick who gets laid off is strongly discouraged. Context matters.

6. Disclaimers (The "Not Our Fault" Section)

NameWheel is provided "as is" and "as available." We do our best to keep the site running, the wheel spinning, and the bugs squashed. But we're a small operation, and things can break sometimes.

We are not responsible for:

The wheel uses Math.random() from your browser's JavaScript engine to generate results. This is pseudorandom, which means it's random enough for picking names but probably not random enough for cryptographic purposes. If you need cryptographic randomness, you're looking at the wrong website. Try random.org or your operating system's entropy pool.

We make no warranties, express or implied, about the accuracy, reliability, or fitness of the tool for any particular purpose. We built a wheel. It spins. It picks a name. That's the warranty.

7. Availability and Uptime

We try to keep NameWheel online 24/7. Most of the time, we succeed. But we can't guarantee 100% uptime because we're hosting a website on the internet, and the internet is basically held together with duct tape and good intentions.

We may occasionally take the site down for maintenance, updates, or because we found a bug that needs fixing immediately. We won't send you a notification about this because we don't have your email (or any way to contact you, because we don't collect data, remember?).

If the site is down when you need it, we apologize in advance. Try again in a few minutes. If it's still down, it's probably a bigger issue and we're already working on it while stress-eating snacks.

8. Intellectual Property

The NameWheel name, logo, design, source code, and all original content on this site are the intellectual property of NameWheel.org. You can't copy the site and launch "BetterNameWheel.com" with our code. That would be rude and also illegal.

What you can do:

What you can't do:

9. Third-Party Links

Our site may occasionally link to other websites. For example, we link to Google's privacy policy because we use Google Fonts. We might link to blog posts or resources that are relevant to our users.

We are not responsible for the content, policies, or practices of any third-party website. If you click a link and end up somewhere weird, that's between you and that website. We did not send you there on purpose (unless it was a relevant resource, in which case we sent you there on purpose but are still not responsible for their content).

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, NameWheel.org and its founder, Abd Shanti, shall not be held liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages resulting from your use of or inability to use the service.

In plain English: if the wheel picks someone and that causes problems, that's not our fault. If the site goes down during your live stream giveaway, that's not our fault (though we'll feel really bad about it). If your cat steps on the keyboard and enters weird names into the wheel, that is definitely not our fault.

Our total liability to you for any claim arising from your use of the site shall not exceed zero dollars, because you paid zero dollars to use it. That math checks out, even if it's disappointing.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless NameWheel.org and its founder from any claims, losses, or damages (including legal fees) arising from your use of the site or your violation of these terms.

Translation: if you use the wheel in a way that gets someone upset enough to involve lawyers, that's your problem, not ours. We just built the wheel. We didn't tell you to put your mother-in-law's name in the "who does the dishes" spinner. That was your choice.

12. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. When we do, we'll update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Since we don't have your email or any way to contact you directly, this is the only way we can communicate changes.

Major changes will also be mentioned on our blog. If we ever introduce a significant new term (like, hypothetically, if we started charging for something, which we have no plans to do), we'd make it obvious.

Your continued use of the site after changes are posted means you accept the new terms. If you don't agree with the changes, you can stop using the site. We'll survive. Probably. We might cry a little.

13. Governing Law

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with applicable laws. Any disputes arising from these terms or your use of the site will be resolved through informal negotiation first, because nobody wants to go to court over a spinning wheel website.

If informal negotiation doesn't work, disputes will be resolved through binding arbitration. But honestly, if we've reached the point where someone is taking a free name picker wheel to arbitration, something has gone very wrong and we should all take a step back and think about our life choices.

14. Severability

If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that part will be removed and the rest of the terms will continue to apply. Think of it like removing a bad name from the wheel. The rest of the wheel keeps spinning.

15. Contact

Questions about these terms? Confused about something? Want to tell us how much you appreciate a terms of service page that doesn't put you to sleep? We'd love to hear from you.

You can reach us through the contact page at namewheel.org/contact.

We're a small team (okay, it's mostly just Abd), and we read every message. If you have a genuine concern about these terms, we'll address it. If you have a joke about these terms, we'll appreciate it. Both are welcome.