Telegram Wishlist Bot: Keep a Wishlist in Telegram, Share It in Any Chat and Collect Gift Ideas with a Group

Who wrote this. The wishdo.io team, who made the bot, so this guide is about ours. It's free. Every button and command named here was checked against the bot on 7 November 2026.

One bot, three places to use it:

You don't need an account to start. Your friends don't need Telegram or an account to see your list and reserve a gift.

Search for @wishdoiobot in Telegram or open t.me/wishdoiobot, then tap Start.

Copy it from any shop, or tap Share in the shop's app and pick the bot. A few seconds later the bot answers with a card: the photo, the title, the price, the shop, the list the idea went to and who can see it.

A photo with a caption becomes an idea with your photo. A few words, such as "Lego Technic Porsche 911", get the question "Save «Lego Technic Porsche 911» as an idea?". If a shop won't let the bot read its page, the bot asks you for the name, or you tap Save just the link.

Tap Share under any idea and pick a chat. Your friend gets a card of your list with an Open the list button.

Your first link creates a list called "Want". Only people who have its link can see it, and it's never shown in search on wishdo.io.

Would you rather not know which gift is taken? Surprise mode hides that from you. It's a list setting on wishdo.io, so it needs an account (see below).

There are two ways:

Friends get a card with the list's name, the number of ideas and an Open the list button. Only lists that others can open are offered, the ones set to Everyone or By link. Lists for friends, chosen people or only you stay out.

Not to start. An account adds more lists, more control and the group features:

How to switch: tap Keep the list in an account under an idea or in /lists. Telegram signs you in to wishdo.io in one step; a new account then asks you to add and confirm your email. The whole list moves across, with its link and your friends' reservations. If you're already signed in to wishdo.io in that browser, the site asks whether to connect Telegram to that account.

With an account, the buttons under each idea do more: List moves the idea to another list, Who sees changes who can see it, and Delete removes it (with a way to bring it back).

A friend sends a link you like in a chat? Reply to that message with @wishdoiobot and tap Send. Telegram first shows your lists above the message field (that's for sharing a list): skip them and send. The idea goes to your hidden "Spotted" list, and the card arrives in your chat with the bot. The others in that chat only see "Saved to wishdo.io".

This needs an up-to-date Telegram app: guest mentions arrived in May 2026. It works in chats with other people and in groups, not in Saved Messages.

This needs an account. In Settings → Telegram on wishdo.io, "Ideas from other chats" can point to any of your lists instead of "Spotted".

With an account, send /topics in your chat with the bot. Each list gets its own topic (up to 20): a link sent in a topic goes into that list, and renaming a list renames its topic.

Without topics, links go to the list chosen in Settings → Telegram → Ideas from the private chat. The List button under an idea moves just that idea; it doesn't change where the next link goes.

Add it as an ordinary member: it needs no admin rights.

Someone who is an admin of the group and has a wishdo.io account sends /auth, taps Connect in private chat and confirms in the chat with the bot with Connect the group.

Pick the collection that ideas from the group go to: one of yours, or New collection «name of the group». A new one is set to By link, so everyone in the group can open it.

Send /add and the link in one message: /add https://…. The message gets a 👌, and only the person who added it sees the card. Members don't need an account.

The bot shows the collection only to whoever asked: up to 10 open ideas with prices, and how many are reserved, hidden under a spoiler.

If the group has other bots, write /add@wishdoiobot and the link, so the command reaches the right bot. Just mentioning @wishdoiobot in a group does nothing: the bot only sees commands.

A group has one collection, and the ideas are saved into the account of the person who connected it. That person can switch the collection with /settings; any group admin can disconnect the group with /disconnect.

Secret Santa? The bot doesn't draw names. Run the draw on wishdo.io/secret-santa: each player gets a ward and sees that person's wishlist there.

People keep wishlists in Telegram in four ways. Here's what each one does:

Comparing wishlist apps outside Telegram too? See the best wishlist apps for iPhone, Android and the web.