Remove asking for Phone Number Options to help secure your account

[Quietstorm75]

There really is no benefit as much as disadvantages

1. What guarantee will I get that by adding my phone number it won't be sold to some telemarketer telling me the benefits of taking advantage of the "financial stimulus package" or how I can get another great rate on my loans or credit cards? ToS agreements change and although you technically may not sell them to a third party, there's no guarantee that it won't be sold to a "partner". The Do Not Call list doesn't cover them.

2. If my data is stolen, I already have to be concerned about my name, birthdate, home address, bank account, credit card number, my dogs name, my mother's maiden name, my favorite hobby etc... being used for identity theft so how is adding my phone number suppose to help secure this information? I don't even have a legitimate facebook account, so why do I want even more personal information about myself posted?

3. So what happens when you got to get a new phone number? Or better yet, someone whose not authorized to use your account changes your phone number?

Asking for phone numbers is just as bad as an idea as asking for someones social security number or blood type. Please look for safer alternative solutions.

[Geomike]

LinkedIn just paid a $13 million fine for similar unwanted advertising.

This is a bad idea. Do not spam users with requests for personally identifiable information.

If a user does not want to share their phone number or other personal information with Steam, the prompt should disappear after they click "no thanks"

[«Gғм» Kid Of The Century]

About -1- I can tell you no one so far has ever complained about getting suspicious calls... what if Gabe turns evil and sells your cellphone number? Don't know, might as well worry about WW3 then.

About -2- ...really? Are you really asking how having a separated device with authentication can help to keep your account safe? Do you fear that someone could hack your cellphone -as easily as with your PC- in order to get to your Steam account? Only if the NSA is after it, I guess you've a reason...

On -3- I know that there are few steps to replace your authenticator... don't recall them, but there are on the FAQ.

[Zefar]

Originalmente postado por Quietstorm75:

There really is no benefit as much as disadvantages

1. What guarantee will I get that by adding my phone number it won't be sold to some telemarketer telling me the benefits of taking advantage of the "financial stimulus package" or how I can get another great rate on my loans or credit cards? ToS agreements change and although you technically may not sell them to a third party, there's no guarantee that it won't be sold to a "partner". The Do Not Call list doesn't cover them.

Valve selling the phone numbers? You gotta be joking man. Why would they ever put themselves in such a PR nightmare? What use could it ever give them? They are already own the biggest Digital game market in the world.

The "Do not call list" still counts because the companies that call you to advertise stuff have to follow it.

Originalmente postado por Quietstorm75:

2. If my data is stolen, I already have to be concerned about my name, birthdate, home address, bank account, credit card number, my dogs name, my mother's maiden name, my favorite hobby etc... being used for identity theft so how is adding my phone number suppose to help secure this information? I don't even have a legitimate facebook account, so why do I want even more personal information about myself posted?

Wanna feel not so special? You're one out of the 150 MILLION accounts out there. There are probably more accounts than that too.
No one will care about most of your stuff with maybe the exception, Steam username and Steam password. Then Creditcard number but you can lock that very easily by contacting your bank but they still wouldn't have the last 3 digits that are needed to make a purchase with the card. When password is changed I believe Creditcard information is wiped too in order to protect people.

Originalmente postado por Quietstorm75:

3. So what happens when you got to get a new phone number? Or better yet, someone whose not authorized to use your account changes your phone number?

Asking for phone numbers is just as bad as an idea as asking for someones social security number or blood type. Please look for safer alternative solutions.

When you get a new number you change it to the new one. If someone already has unauthorized access to your account you probably couldn't keep your stuff secure. But with a Phone number they would need the code that is sent to your phone in order to get into your account.

So MAYBE it isn't such a bad idea to add a phone number because it's much harder to steal that from you.

Also maybe you could tell them what a safer thing would be.
We already have SteamGuard, Smartphone App for security, the email is bound to have a security layer on it as well as mine do and now you have the ability to add a phone number.

You can not make it anymore secure than this.

[Satoru]

Originalmente postado por Quietstorm75:

There really is no benefit as much as disadvantages

Plenty of benefits. It allows you to recover your account or remove your mobile authenticator in the event that you cannot log in.

To claim it has 'no benefit' is patently false on all accounts.

[Geomike]

Benefit is ultimately subjective. I don't consider any service to be worth sharing a personal number, but it seems many if not most people disagree with me.

Bottom line, this service should be entirely optional, just like authenticator options.

[Start_Running]

Uhm you can just click the notification away.. i mean I did and I haven't seen it since.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originalmente postado por Geomike:

Bottom line, this service should be entirely optional, just like authenticator options.

It is optional. If it is repeatedly asking you, then that may be a bug that some are having and Valve will put out the fix as soon as they track down the issue and fix it.

[cinedine]

1 - Phone numbers and addresses are sold in batches of thousands for a dollar. Valve makes more than enough money through their own channels already as that they would risk any bad publicity for some spare change.
2 - As far as I remember I never had to input any such information on Steam. If you were really concerned about this, you would e.g. use pre-paid cards instead of your CC
3 - The point of it is that it will offer better protection against unauthorized changes. If you lose your number without changing it yourself prior, you'd obviously have to go through support.

...

And BTW: next to every single company you ever phoned could hold a record of your number which can be linked to your personal information.

[«Gғм» Kid Of The Century]

Originalmente postado por Geomike:

Benefit is ultimately subjective. I don't consider any service to be worth sharing a personal number, but it seems many if not most people disagree with me.

Wait, no.

You can't deny that's unquestionably more safe. We can argue all you want that might be more inconvenient pulling out your authenticator everytime you must do certain operations, but not less safe. It's like arguing that a security door is less or as safe as a regular door. That's just not true.

Also nothing forbids you to get a cheap/old-but-not-too-much smartphone with a number you do not use and use it exclusively as an authenticator for various stuff, from Steam to a bank account. It doesn't have to be your personal number.

Originalmente postado por Geomike:

Bottom line, this service should be entirely optional, just like authenticator options.

It already is. I guess that now is more nagging to make sure that many users will acknowledge it and won't mindlessly click on an "don't ask me again" option (which might easily come in the future).

[cinedine]

Originalmente postado por «Gғм» Kid Of The Century:

Wait, no.

You can't deny that's unquestionably more safe. We can argue all you want that might be more inconvenient pulling out your authenticator everytime you must do certain operations, but not less safe. It's like arguing that a security door is less or as safe as a regular door. That's just not true.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the phone number and the tokenizer are two different things I thought. The number is pretty much just another way to prove ownership from what I read.

[Lilly]

I'd just like for the thing to work. When it first showed up, i was like "I like this feature!" And yet, it wouldn't accept my number, for some unforseen reason... kept giving me some error with it, yet kept sending me some SMS message with it...

I was like okay then.. Tried it three times, same thing. Gave it a little while, then it locks me out.

Gave it til this morning, it takes my number, but zero SMS message... I was like okay then the heck is going on? I figured a little while longer maybe?

Now i go and try and its telling me no such number exists.. Invalid number error. Well that's interesting to hear since I'm currently on the phone with my family. We are having a sarcastic laugh about this.

I don't know about anyone else but I'm starting to sit on the fence about this and head towards the "i'm not liking this idea anymore" group...

[Satoru]

Originalmente postado por «Gғм» Kid Of The Century:

On -3- I know that there are few steps to replace your authenticator... don't recall them, but there are on the FAQ.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=495405494

Either

1) You use your SMS phone number to get a code

2) You use the R-code you were supposed to write down when you register the authenticator

[sara_bear]

Originalmente postado por Zefar:

Originalmente postado por Quietstorm75:

There really is no benefit as much as disadvantages

1. What guarantee will I get that by adding my phone number it won't be sold to some telemarketer telling me the benefits of taking advantage of the "financial stimulus package" or how I can get another great rate on my loans or credit cards? ToS agreements change and although you technically may not sell them to a third party, there's no guarantee that it won't be sold to a "partner". The Do Not Call list doesn't cover them.

Valve selling the phone numbers? You gotta be joking man. Why would they ever put themselves in such a PR nightmare? What use could it ever give them? They are already own the biggest Digital game market in the world.

The "Do not call list" still counts because the companies that call you to advertise stuff have to follow it.

Originalmente postado por Quietstorm75:

2. If my data is stolen, I already have to be concerned about my name, birthdate, home address, bank account, credit card number, my dogs name, my mother's maiden name, my favorite hobby etc... being used for identity theft so how is adding my phone number suppose to help secure this information? I don't even have a legitimate facebook account, so why do I want even more personal information about myself posted?

Wanna feel not so special? You're one out of the 150 MILLION accounts out there. There are probably more accounts than that too.
No one will care about most of your stuff with maybe the exception, Steam username and Steam password. Then Creditcard number but you can lock that very easily by contacting your bank but they still wouldn't have the last 3 digits that are needed to make a purchase with the card. When password is changed I believe Creditcard information is wiped too in order to protect people.

Originalmente postado por Quietstorm75:

3. So what happens when you got to get a new phone number? Or better yet, someone whose not authorized to use your account changes your phone number?

Asking for phone numbers is just as bad as an idea as asking for someones social security number or blood type. Please look for safer alternative solutions.

When you get a new number you change it to the new one. If someone already has unauthorized access to your account you probably couldn't keep your stuff secure. But with a Phone number they would need the code that is sent to your phone in order to get into your account.

So MAYBE it isn't such a bad idea to add a phone number because it's much harder to steal that from you.

Also maybe you could tell them what a safer thing would be.
We already have SteamGuard, Smartphone App for security, the email is bound to have a security layer on it as well as mine do and now you have the ability to add a phone number.

You can not make it anymore secure than this.

Actually the Do NOT Call list law does not apply. Any merchant/service provider can legally message you up to 6 months after any service/sale.

So buy a game or even play your game logged in and you've activated the legality of Steam calling you.

BTW: you don't own your phone number, your phone provider does. That is why when you switch service providers theres a few steps to tranfer your number. Your old provider sells the number to your new one.

And personally knowing that the cell phone is easier to hack than any other device on the market makes me warry of adding my phone number. Easier to hack than you facebook, twitter, ect accounts. Easier to hack than if you click a bogus link. Phone hacks tech is cheep, idiot useable, and cheeply bought.

I don't link my bank account to my phone, my medical records, or my credit. Why on earth would I link my steam account?!

So I even though it's been mentioned that they'll stop asking me eventually. Steam STOP asking for my phone number. It's been over a week now and it's annoying.

[Start_Running]

Over a week. Weird.. that may be a bug in your client as opposed to steam;. Most of us that clicked the notice away have yet to see it again.

[profile name]

remove add phone number option

Every time i open steam i get that notification. I aint giving them my number.