How to Run a Fair Instagram Giveaway

By Nektarios Livitsanos · Updated September 15, 2026

A giveaway can grow an Instagram account fast, or leave it with angry comments and a flagged post. The difference is almost always in the preparation: clear rules, a clean entry list and a draw people can see.

1. Know what Instagram actually requires

Instagram allows giveaways and contests. Its Promotion Guidelines are short, and they put everything on the organizer. You are responsible for:

• Running the promotion lawfully, including the official rules.
• The offer terms, such as age limits and which countries can enter.
• Local regulations for the promotion and the prizes, including any registration or approval your country requires.

Every Instagram promotion must also include:

• A release of Instagram by each entrant.
• An acknowledgement that the promotion is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram.

And one thing is explicitly not allowed: inaccurate tagging. Do not ask people to tag themselves in a photo they are not in. Instagram also states that it will not help you administer the promotion.

2. Write short official rules

Put the rules in the caption or link to them from your bio. They protect you when someone asks why they did not win. A simple starting point:

For the same process on any platform, see how to run a fair giveaway. Running it on Facebook or TikTok too? See the Facebook and TikTok giveaway guide. Adapt the rules to your country. Some countries require extra terms, a free entry route or registration for prize draws. This guide is practical advice, not legal advice.

3. Choose an entry method that stays clean

• Comment to enter is the easiest to verify: every entry is visible and tied to an account.
• One entry per account keeps things simple. If you allow several comments, say so in the rules.
• "Tag a friend" is common and not listed as prohibited, but decide in advance whether the tagged friend can also win, and make sure it is not used to spam people.
• Avoid entry conditions you cannot check, such as "share to your Story", unless you can really verify them for every entrant. Unverifiable conditions are the top cause of disputes after the draw.

4. Collect the entries

Instagram does not offer third-party tools a public way to read the comments of a post, so no random picker can honestly "connect" to any Instagram post and fetch them. You have two reliable options:

1. Small giveaways: open the post on a computer and copy each commenter's username into a list, one per line. In Instant Draw, Import → Paste comments can help: with Instagram selected, it keeps the username from lines that start with it (for example username: great prize!) and drops the rest. Always check the preview, because copied comments often put the text on a separate line.
2. Large giveaways: use a dedicated comment export tool that you sign in to with your own account, export to CSV, and load the file into GoPickaro with Import → TXT/CSV. The first column is used as the name.

Then clean the list:

• Remove duplicates if the rules say one entry per account. In Instant Draw, the No duplicate winners option does this for you.
• Remove your own account, your team and anyone the rules exclude.
• Check Instagram's hidden comments. Instagram may filter some comments into "hidden comments". Review them before you build the list, or genuine entries can be missed.

5. Pick the winner in public

1. Start a screen recording or go live.
2. Show the total number of entries before the draw.
3. Paste the list into the Spin Wheel for a visible, on-camera moment, or into Instant Draw for many winners at once. With prizes in the wheel's second ring, one spin shows the winner and their prize together.
4. Save the winners list and post the draw as a Story.

Every result is generated in your browser with a cryptographically secure random generator. The fairness page explains the method if a follower asks.

6. Contact the winner safely

• Announce the winner publicly first, in a Story and in a reply to the winning comment.
• Contact them only from your official account, and tell followers that in the caption.
• Never ask for payment, card details or login codes, and say so in your rules.
• Ask the winner to reply from the same account that entered, before you ship anything.
• If they do not reply within the deadline, draw again with the same list and announce it.

Pre-launch checklist

• Prize, quantity and shipping area decided
• Official rules written, including the Instagram release and "not sponsored by Instagram" statement
• Age and country limits checked against your local law
• Entry method you can verify for every entrant
• End date, time and time zone announced
• Plan for collecting comments and removing duplicates
• Screen recording ready for the draw
• Scam warning in the caption

Frequently asked questions

What does Instagram require for a giveaway?

Official rules and terms, compliance with local law, a release of Instagram by each entrant, and a statement that Instagram is not a sponsor or administrator. No inaccurate tagging.

Can GoPickaro import Instagram comments automatically?

No. Paste the usernames or load a CSV or TXT export. For YouTube, automatic import is available: see how to pick a YouTube comment winner.

Can I run the same giveaway on Instagram and YouTube?

Yes. Import the YouTube commenters, then paste the Instagram usernames with Append to existing turned on. State in the rules whether someone who entered on both platforms gets one entry or two.

Related guides

• How to run a fair giveaway: rules, entries you can check and a public draw, on any platform.
• How to use a giveaway wheel with prizes: prize quantities, odds and running the double wheel live.
• How to run a Facebook or TikTok giveaway: platform rules, comments and a fair draw.