Unverified phone number collection simply asks fans to enter their number without confirmation — it's faster but there's no guarantee the number is valid or belongs to that person. Verified phone number collection sends a confirmation code that fans must enter, confirming the number is real and active. The trade-off is additional friction at sign-up, but verified numbers enable automatic SMS prize delivery without requiring fans to re-enter their information when they win. If you're using SMS for prize fulfillment and want a seamless winner experience, verified numbers work best. For quick data capture where you'll follow up manually later (like emailing all winners on Monday), unverified collection reduces sign-up steps.
