On the one hand I sort of understand why they may need the SSN, but on the other hand I have also opted to not use any of these free services because it seems to me that I am just adding my SSN and maybe other info to one more database that will eventually get hacked by someone.

I’d be curious to know what actual benefits anyone has derived from these services. That my email was exposed by Panera isn’t particularly exciting - my email (for accounts like Panera) isn’t confidential information, and what would I actually do with that notification other than to be annoyed by Panera?