How to Verify Giveaway Entries (Email, SMS and Social Actions)

To verify giveaway entries, check three things: that the email is real (with a 4-digit email code), that the person is real (with an SMS code), and that the social actions really happened (automatically where the platform allows it, by hand for the winner where it doesn’t). Most giveaways need all three to some degree, and none of them has to slow down honest entrants much.

Here’s what each type of verification proves, what it doesn’t, and how to set it up in SweepWidget.

What can you actually verify?

• Is the email real and theirs? A 4-digit email code checks it automatically.
• Is the phone number real and theirs? A 4-digit SMS code checks it automatically.
• Did they join your Discord, follow you on Twitch or join your subreddit? The platform confirms it automatically after they sign in.
• Did they follow or like you on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok? No tool can check this automatically. Entrants confirm their username, and you check the winner.

The rest of this guide goes through each row.

How to verify entrants’ email addresses

Even before you turn on any verification, SweepWidget blocks disposable email addresses on every giveaway and every plan.

That stops throwaway inboxes. It can’t prove an address is real, or that it belongs to the person typing it. For that, require an email code:

1. Create or edit your giveaway and open Security Settings.
2. In the Email/Text verification section, select Require email verification code.
3. Edit the verification email if you like. Keep the [VERIFICATION_CODE] tag in it, or nobody gets their code.
4. Optional: add your logo to the email header.

Entrants now see a screen asking for the 4-digit code from their inbox. Their entry counts once they type it in. Email verification is on the Enterprise plan.

One tip: the email comes from SweepWidget, and some land in spam. The verification screen already reminds people to check their spam folder. Mention it in your promo posts too.

How to verify entrants with SMS

SMS verification proves there’s a real phone number behind each entry. Phone numbers are much harder to create in bulk than email addresses, so this is the strongest check you can add.

1. Open Security Settings and select Require text verification code.
2. Enter your Twilio Account SID, Auth Token and sending phone number.
3. Edit the text message if you like.

Entrants get a 4-digit code by text and type it in to confirm their entry. You also end up with a verified phone number for each entrant. SMS verification is on the Enterprise plan and needs your own Twilio account.

It adds a step, so use it when the prize is worth cheating for: cash, crypto, high-value products.

How to verify social actions

This is where most confusion comes from, because it depends on the platform, not on the giveaway tool.

Platforms SweepWidget verifies automatically

For Discord, Telegram, Twitch, Reddit and Bluesky, the entrant signs in with their account, and SweepWidget asks the platform whether the action happened. No action, no entry.

• Discord: checks they joined your server.
• Telegram: checks they joined your channel or group. You connect your own Telegram bot as a channel admin and tick “Use API validation”.
• Twitch: checks they follow or subscribe to your channel.
• Reddit: checks they joined your subreddit.
• Bluesky: checks they followed, liked, reposted or commented.

API-verified social entries need a paid plan.

Platforms no tool can verify automatically

Instagram, Facebook and TikTok don’t let any outside tool check whether someone followed or liked an account. Meta’s APIs have no way to check if one user follows another, and TikTok’s API doesn’t cover follows, likes or video views. This is true for every giveaway tool, not just SweepWidget. SweepWidget also takes YouTube subscribes, X, Pinterest and Spotify actions and LinkedIn follows on trust, the same way.

So for these platforms, the entrant does the action, comes back, and confirms the username they used. The entry is credited on that confirmation.

That sounds weak, but it works better than you’d expect. People who know winners get checked mostly do the action. And you only need to check the winner, not everyone.

How to check winners for actions that can’t be verified

1. Draw your winner at random as normal.
2. Look up their Instagram, Facebook or TikTok profile and check they did what your rules asked, for example that they follow you.
3. If they didn’t, disqualify them and draw again.

Want to spot-check before the draw? On the Manage Entries page, click View all entry types, then a method like Instagram Follow. You’ll see everyone who claimed that action, and can disqualify individual entries without removing the person entirely.

Combine checks for the best entries

You don’t have to pick one. A setup that works for most giveaways:

• Standard security level (the default) for device fingerprinting.
• Email verification if you’re building an email list and want every address to work.
• One API-verified action, like a Discord join or Twitch follow, next to your Instagram or TikTok actions.
• SMS verification only for prizes worth gaming.
• A hand check of every winner for Instagram, Facebook and TikTok actions.

You can also require social login, so people sign in with a social account before they enter, which adds another layer of verification. And if you run a store (Pro plan and up), Shopify or WooCommerce purchase entries are checked against real orders, synced regularly.

For the full picture of blocking bots, VPNs and fake referrals, read how SweepWidget blocks fake entries and bots. Or compare which verification options come with each plan.

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