Why do I have to let a bunch of apps access my info to enter a lottery?

[lily carver]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 12:45pm

I realize it is. losing battle but I work hard on keeping my info out of marketers , online promos etc,  the only "social media" I have is Facebook and I keep the highest privacy settings, have never used on my phone ( my phone has a total of 5 apps and has location turned off) I have entered lotteries over the years going back to in person and then using email but now I would not only would have to use my facebook account to enter  I would have to agree to allow a BUNCH of marketing companies access to my info etc. I understand people will download an app to get a free donut but that is not me and I resent that I will be unable to even try to see shows where I can't afford the tickets for because I won't give them access not just to my facebook account name but to "turn on" Social Toaster and agree to allow it to access my activity. I really want to try to see LEOPOLDSTADT but not at the cost of agreeing to the terms to "enter" a lottery where I will still be paying for a ticket. I know I am very much an outlier on this but I am going to end up missing shows I really want to see.

[Wick3]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 1:27pm

It’s a tradeoff. This is why I miss the in-person lotteries.

I have a separate email address (with FB) I use just for marketing/lottery/junk mail stuff. 

Also, if Leopoldstadt is not selling well it’ll most likely show up on TDF. I know I’ve seen it on TKTS.

or… you can ask your friends to enter the lottery for 2 tickets and if they win, to take you as their plus 1. In that way you can venmo them the ticket cost and you didn’t have to give any of your digital information away!

[lily carver]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 1:47pm

I have a 2nd email address and is the one I use for FB account but as I understood it I had to allow "Social Toaster" access to FB contacts etc  and to allow it to connect by FB to other crap. I had to "turn on" access  for my FB account to all sorts of data collection is ALWAYS off.

I will try to get friends to enter and I did see it on TDF but of course at twice the price of the lottery

 

Updated On: 9/22/22 at 01:47 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 1:55pm

That’s why we create and use different email addresses.  I have one for work.  Another for online purchases.  And one for the random stuff like online lotteries, social media platforms, etc. Using the exact same email account for everything is setting you up for hackers as then everything is linked.

Also, I don’t use Facebook nor Twitter and have never had any issues signing up for anything.  

[sinister teashop]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 2:05pm

Because your info is worth more money when sold in bulk than the value of the tickets.

[spicemonkey]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 2:09pm

Leopoldstadt is up on TDF for a few upcoming perf before opening night right now : )

[JasonC3]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 2:36pm

I feel your pain, but none of us are entitled to get discounted tickets on the terms we prefer.  Those offering the discounts make the rules and we choose whether or not we're comfortable abiding by them.  So it has always been.  So it likely always will be.

[lily carver]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 3:59pm

I do have multiple emails but more and more lotteries including LEOPOLDSTADT require a SOCIAL media account and THEN they require you to agree to allow "Social Toaster" to link and access. If I have missed something please let me know but I tried a few times.

[lily carver]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 4:01pm

Up to a point I agree but to say the ONLY way to access a ticket lottery is via both a social media platform (not an email) and then allow that to access your info not only excludes me but I suspect a number of older theater goers who don't have any social media account.

[Wick3]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 4:35pm

Very true. Older members are also eligible to get tix through TDF.

[smokeline2]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 4:37pm

I definitely understand your frustration and would also prefer not to have to give social toaster any info, but why not set up a burner email and social media account just for lotteries? There's no requirement for it to be a real social media account you use regularly. Just make a twitter account you use only to log into social toaster, or tweet out the todaytix info for an extra entry. Social toaster/todaytix/etc. can't access your info if there isn't any in your account.

[lily carver]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 5:20pm

Thanks . I don't want to set up Twitter or Instagram neither of which I  have ever had ,  I can try another FB account but I will to set a   4th email address since my current FB account is already linked to my junk email. Or just skip lotteries

Lets face it they don't want old fogies  like me going anyway as I won't tweet about it

Updated On: 9/23/22 at 05:20 PM

[lily carver]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 5:39pm

and a happy ending at least for LEOPOLDSTADT. You see I am big theater buff but not student, not yet a senior, teacher, government employee etc so I thought I was not eligible for TDF BUT I just looked and I do qualify as a freelancer so this has been a very fruitful thread for me

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 5:43pm

Try as you may, most of our information has already been bought and sold. You’re not hacked, but it’s out there. My dad (who has never had social media or anything like it, only has a work email) recently signed up for a security thing at his bank that you can see what is out there - and almost all of his information is out. It just is what it is at this point.

If you wanna go see the show without having to do it, either wait for a rush policy, or pay for a regular ticket. 

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 9/23/22 at 12:20am

Social toaster has had my info for a bunch of years even before the pandemic and I've won lotteries through them and gotten great seats sitting next to people who paid 4 times what I did. I've never once noticed any misuse of my data and if the price for getting a $169 seat for $39 is to see an ad or two I might not otherwise have seen, I don't think that's a huge price to pay. They're not running a non-profit after all.

[RunnyBabbit]

Posted: 9/23/22 at 2:46am

I have a Twitter account that is set up solely to enter contests. I don’t tweet/like/follow anyone. And my account pretty much looks like a bot account. I don't think it’s even connected to a working email address anymore. I don’t use any social media, but still want lottery tickets and it works out well.

[lily carver]

Posted: 9/23/22 at 1:29pm

thanks I may give that a try. I actually had a twitter account 15 years ago for 24 hours to do ONE thing but I never used it again and it probably long expired.

I don't think it is hard as everyone would suggest to keep some of your info private. Again I am extreme, I don't allow location on my phone and I opt out of any tracking as it is an apple phone, I go in to most everything I use to  opt out of tons of crap. I have only 4 apps ( I had to download seatgeek for a show but deleted it after). I also don't bank or pay bills online and have a freeze on my credit reports. That said I spent plenty of time on my computer browsing etc but I am extremely amused that Facebook and youtube in particular seem really clueless in what Ads they throw at me and I once downloaded my FB list of who they were selling my info to for ads and it was insanely off base ( luxury cars and real estate and. not only could I afford neither I have never learned to drive a car). I doubt it is worth all the trouble but it does make me feel a bit better.

[macnyc]

Posted: 4/23/23 at 11:49am

I just looked doing the digital rush for Good Night, Oscar, through the Telecharge rush. To do that, you have to sign up either with your Facebook or LinkedIn account (not Twitter) on https://rush.telecharge.com/ and must agree to the following:

SocialToaster would like to:
Use your name and photo
Use the primary email address associated with your LinkedIn account
Create, modify, and delete posts, comments, and reactions on your behalf
Use your 1st-degree connections' data
Retrieve your posts, comments, reactions, and other engagement data

What does "use" my email account mean? To send messages to me? Or send messages "from" me? Use the data of my friends/connections? Create, modify, and delete posts of mine? No way!

This is just too too much. Having an alternate email isn't enough to protect a person's privacy.

 

I believe there still is an in-person lottery for this show, so I will try that.

Updated On: 4/23/23 at 11:49 AM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 4/23/23 at 12:20pm

There is nothing stopping you from having a second FB acct.

Businesses logically do their best to monetize everything but you can logically unmonetize your self without much effort.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/23/23 at 4:32pm

Good news: you can still go to the box office in person and buy with cash (or credit card, unless you're also worried they will have your information if you pay with credit cards). No one is forcing you to do anything. 

Updated On: 4/23/23 at 04:32 PM

[Pashacar]

Posted: 4/24/23 at 3:38pm

It is still odd, though. If there's a sweepstakes, there's a "no purchase necessary" option. Even TodayTix lets me enter a lotto without connecting my social account. You would think there'd be a bypass.

[RUkiddingme]

Posted: 4/24/23 at 5:03pm

TDF isn't always the answer - most people don't qualify for membership with them.

Like the original poster, I don't like to share all my info.  I have a bogus twitter account I was using for social toaster but they recently stopped using twitter.  I created a bogus linkedin account to use.  Very annoying.

As for the comment about contests being free.  Requiring email addresses and or social media accounts don't cost money.  So sadly, companies can require them.

I prefer the old days when Hamilton and Mormon in person lotteries felt like events.

[dennisferrari769]

Posted: 8/29/23 at 10:55am

Wick3 said: "It’s a tradeoff. This is why I miss the in-person lotteries.

I have a separate email address (with FB) I use just for marketing/lottery/junk mail stuff.

Also, if Leopoldstadt is not selling well it’ll most likely show up on TDF. I know I’ve seen it on TKTS.

or… you can ask your friends to enter the lottery for 2 tickets and if they win, to take you as their plus 1. My friends and I love gambling, and I would like to recommend https://casinosanalyzer.com/online-casinos/google-pay service that provides lists of sites with reliable payment systems, such as Google Pay. In that way you can venmo them the ticket cost and you didn’t have to give any of your digital information away!"

This idea with a separate mail for marketing is just great.

Updated On: 8/31/23 at 10:55 AM

[ardiem]

Posted: 8/29/23 at 12:33pm

dennisferrari769 said: "This idea with a separate mail for marketing is just great."

You can take this concept really far! iPhones have a built-in "Hide My Email" feature that generates a unique email address that forwards to your "real" email address without revealing it to the sender. Any replies look like they're coming from the unique address.

If you don't want something so closely tied to the Apple ecosystem, other email services like Fastmail (which I use despite being an Apple user) have their own anonymous email capabilities, with great integrations with password managers like 1Password that make it effortless to auto-generate addresses and automatically fill in forms. I rarely need to type credentials in w/it.

On a similar note, I'd generally recommend moving off of services like GMail, since Google's technical support is nonexistent and they're prone to locking people out of their email accounts entirely for supposed infractions on other Google services (one such well-publicized example: https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/8/22272502/terraria-google-stadia-port-canceled-deceloper-locked-out).

 

Updated On: 8/29/23 at 12:33 PM

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 8/29/23 at 12:45pm

This may sound insane, but you should write to your local representatives about these practices. It's gross and data privacy is a hot topic these days. The more constituents speak up, the more our government will work to push back against policies that allow our data to be sold. 

For the record, I also think the practice of having to give our social media accounts over to these discount ticket sellers is ridiculous. I stopped doing it and found other ways to get cheap tickets.