I am not comfortable providing a private cell phone number. The two factor authentication can be achieved by sending the code to the email you already have on file for a designer.
As it is now, I am unable to assist a customer via chat because I have not provided my personal cell phone number. The customer is able to send me a message via chat (as was tested by ColsCreations in another thread) but they do not receive anything on their end to inform them I cannot receive this.
Please reconsider this 2FA and include an email option.
I put this in a new thread because in the other one I had started a couple days ago (asking what was going on with the pop up verification prompt) it got an “accepted solution” put on it because it was explained that the popup is a new ‘feature’. But I don’t believe that it solves the having to provide a private cell phone number issue and I didn’t want that getting overlooked.
I don’t understand how this is supposed to stop spam messages. I can go to any number of places right now, get a temp phone number long enough to respond to the verification code, and spam my heart out. Registering a phone number, specifically a cell phone number, doesn’t stop spam.
I wonder how long it will take for those who gave their numbers to start receiving text messages from Zazzle.
@DM1 that is a good point about why it would not stop spam messages if someone was determined to spam. I know in other threads moderators have said that Zazzle won’t use it for anything other than verification, but if verification is the real goal then that could also be done via email.
Zazzle’s Privacy Notice https://www.zazzle.com/mk/policy/privacy_policy in section 4 spells out conditions in which they may share/sell/disclose personal information to service providers and as part of corporate transactions such as the sale of the business, merger, asset sale or bankruptcy.
Personal data such as email, phone numbers, mailing address etc is a valuable corporate asset. Zazzle’s Privacy Notice specifies they can sell this. I am not saying they are or will, just that in their own words they say that they _ can _. If Zazzle is ever in need to raise some cash, merge with another company or go bankrupt, I do not want my private cell phone number getting out in the wild. I worry about that angle as well as receiving unwanted calls or texts.
@klstock Zazzle also said that the shirts they got rid of at the end of 2018 would come back. (Spoiler: they never came back.) Maybe I’m wrong, and the phone numbers will never be used for anything other than this issue. It just doesn’t make sense to me why designers need to register. I have been with Zazzle for 16 years. I’m not spamming anyone. Their assurance that us giving up our phone numbers will stop spammers just doesn’t click.
@Zorinda your link to the NYT article was behind a paywall for me. But I found it another way here I Shared My Phone Number I Learned I Shouldn’t Have if anyone else is having the same issue. Pretty alarming how much info someone can get from a phone number.
As far as protection from spammers on Zazzle, I haven’t had an issue with it and if I ever should, I think my own common sense would provide me a good amount of protection. Give up a private cell phone number to ‘protect’ me from spammers on Zazzle but run the risk that it will get out in the wild to who knows who and for what purpose? It brings to mind the ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ expression!
I posted this in the other thread, but I also do not want to provide a phone number. I’ve now received two emails about waiting messages, but I can’t actually check them because when I hit “skip” to skip the phone number, it reroutes me back to the home page instead.
Is there a way to turn off the messaging entirely? I don’t want customers sending messages and never receiving a reply (and at my end, it’s annoying to receive a bunch of reminders from Zazzle about messages I can’t access!) Alternately, maybe they could put the full message in the body of the email, with an option to reply directly from there rather than through the messaging service?
I do not have a cell phone so I am trying to figure out how am I supposed to do this? Nor am I going to get into a close to $150 -$200 contract for a cell phone here in Canada just to verify my account. Can Zazzle please come up with an e-mail verification option os people can choose
OK, so now I have a customer sending a chat message which will never be answered.
How is that going to increase sales?
This coercion of designers to give up private information (and force them to buy a phone) is one thing, but also NOT informing customers who are wasting their time trying to reach a designer, is just a NO GO, @zazzle
it’s not securing anything (only putting designers at risk) and I agree with @rebeccaheartsny that there should be a way to turn off the messaging entirely (even regardless this “security” issue).
Thank you.
@Badeesie Thank you for explaining, however it doesn’t make sense to me.
This is getting worse. I checked again now, as apparently I got another message from an unsuspecting customer. And now it says we are going to be CHARGED on our phones for these chat messages ???!!!
Next, customers and spammers can CALL us?
The lack of communication from zazzle makes me more firm in refusing to give off my phone number.
Thus the option to chat needs to be removed OR the phone number scam needs to go.
To verify yourself for chat you need to receive a one-time text message from Zazzle with a numeric code in it. Depending on the cell phone plan you have, you may or may not incur a charge from your cell phone service provider for that text. Zazzle is not charging you, you’re not being CHARGED for chat messages, Z is not giving out your phone number to customers or scammers, it’s not a scam. The message you are seeing is just a common warning that receiving text messages might result in charges from your cell phone carrier.
I second this. I have a chat message from a customer that would be an easy fix. But I cannot interact with them. Unfortunately, they will be left frustrated and no sale will occur because I could not get back to them quickly and easily. Not only will they be frustrated, but I am as well.