How the answer is chosen
Each press asks your browser's cryptographic random number generator (the same machinery used to create encryption keys) for a fresh, unpredictable value and maps it to an answer with exactly equal probability. In standard mode yes and no are a perfect 50/50; tick allow maybe and all three answers share an identical 1 in 3 chance. Everything happens on your device, so nothing is uploaded and nobody can see or steer the outcome.
The tally underneath keeps count of your answers for the session. It is purely a record: the counts never influence the next press, so a run of five yeses leaves the next question at exactly the same odds as the first.
The odds behind the button
A trick for decisions that actually matter
There is a well-known piece of advice for hard choices: flip a coin, and while it is in the air notice which side you are hoping for. This button works the same way. Ask your real question, press once and pay attention to the half-second after the answer appears. A flicker of relief means the button agreed with you; a sinking feeling means it did not, and now you know what you actually wanted.
Used like that, the answer is not a command but a probe. You are not outsourcing the decision, you are surfacing a preference that was already there but hard to hear. Psychologists call the underlying problem decision fatigue: the more small choices you make in a day, the worse the later ones get. Handing the trivial ones to chance keeps your energy for the decisions that deserve it.
When to let chance decide
- Genuinely even choices: takeaway or cook, film or book, park or gym. If both options are fine, any answer is a good answer, and you save the ten minutes of dithering.
- Breaking deadlocks: when two people each prefer a different option and neither strongly, agree in advance to accept the button's verdict, press once, and move on without resentment.
- Games and forfeits: an impartial referee for dares, quiz tiebreaks and who-goes-first arguments.
- Deferrable decisions: tick allow maybe when "not yet" is a real option, such as whether to buy something today. Treat maybe as "ask again tomorrow".
One caution: for anything with real consequences (money, health, other people), treat the answer as a prompt for reflection rather than an instruction. The button is scrupulously fair, but fairness is not the same as wisdom.
Frequently asked questions
Is the answer really 50/50?
Yes. Each press uses your browser's cryptographic random number generator (crypto.getRandomValues), so yes and no are exactly equally likely. With the maybe option ticked, all three answers have an identical 1 in 3 chance.
What does the maybe option do?
It adds a third possible answer alongside yes and no, each with an equal 1 in 3 chance. Use it when deferring is a genuine option, for example asking whether to buy something now, where maybe can stand for ask again next week.
Why do I keep getting the same answer?
Streaks are a normal part of randomness. Three identical answers in a row has a 1 in 8 chance in yes/no mode, so it happens often. Every press is independent, and past answers never influence the next one.
Should I actually follow the answer?
For trivial choices, absolutely, that is the point. For bigger ones, use it as a gut check: notice your reaction the moment the answer appears. Relief or disappointment tells you what you really wanted, and you are free to overrule the button.
How is this different from flipping a coin?
The odds are identical in yes/no mode, a fair 50/50. The differences are convenience (your question is answered in words, not heads or tails) and the optional maybe answer, which a coin cannot give you. Our coin flip tool keeps a heads and tails tally instead.