Why do both sides of my hotshoe have a cover?

Maybe this is a dumb question, but I've shot Canon forever and Canon hotshoes and the mating bit on the Canon flashes arrive bare.

My Sony A7rIII came with a little plastic bit snapped into the shoe, and the Flashpoint flash I bought for the camera also arrived with a little plastic clip on the foot. What are these for? Am I really supposed to not lose them, because I have a feeling I will lose them. It's bad enough figuring out which pocket I stuffed the lens cap in when I started shooting, these little plastic caps are going to be really easy to lose.

So, what are they for?

Thanks!

I'm not sure, 40+ years of shooting SLR type cameras and I never had one until I purchased a Fuji camera. I have never had a problem with them being uncovered but on my Fuji it does make for a sleeker look with the cover in place.

I would suggest because the Sony multi-function contacts are on the edge and are quite fragile compared to the Canikon version.

Rustynail wrote in post #18560325
I would suggest because the Sony multi-function contacts are on the edge and are quite fragile compared to the Canikon version.

I think you are right. I looked at the flash more closely and it has some super thin little wires that wrap around the edge of the mount. This seems like a poor design. My Canon flashes have just a handful of much more robust pins that protrude from the base of the foot.

I'm not saying the Sony is fragile for sure, but the fact that they ship everything with protectors and the way it seems to be pretty fragile is not encouraging.

Sony stuff is interesting. Very innovative in some ways, but very lacking in others.