Last week, a user in Bushwick flagged a listing that looked off. The photos were too polished, the price too low, the description too perfect. Our moderation team pulled it in under four minutes. Turned out to be a Zelle scam using AI-generated images.
That's what safety looks like when it's built into the foundation, not bolted on after something goes wrong.
We'll walk you through every layer of protection we've built.
Identity Verification
Location checks. At signup, we check that browser-reported coordinates are near a selected NYC address. Browser location is a signal, not a spoof-proof guarantee of presence or residency.
Selfie upload. Members provide a selfie during signup, which becomes their public profile photo. Uploading a photo does not prove legal identity or liveness.
Together, email, browser-location, and selfie checks add accountability on The NYC Classifieds. They do not prove legal identity, residency, or that a transaction is safe.
Automated Moderation
Pre-publication content screening. Every listing title, description, and Porch post is scanned before it goes live. Our moderation system blocks:
- Spam and repetitive content
- Prohibited items and services
- Negativity, harassment, and hate speech
- Known scam patterns and phishing language
- Contact information in public fields where it doesn't belong
This isn't after-the-fact cleanup. Content that violates our standards never gets published in the first place.
Community Flagging
Every post and listing has a flag button. When a user flags something, it goes into a review queue. Flagged content is evaluated and actioned quickly. The community is our first line of defense, and we take every flag seriously.
On-Platform Messaging
No exposed emails or phone numbers. When you respond to a listing or message someone on The Porch, the conversation happens entirely within The NYC Classifieds. Your personal contact information is never visible to other users unless you choose to share it.
This protects you from spam, phishing, and unwanted contact outside the platform.
Block and Report
Every user profile and every conversation includes block and report options. Blocking someone prevents them from seeing your posts or contacting you. Reporting triggers a review of their account and behavior.
Account Consequences
We enforce a clear escalation path for users who violate our guidelines:
- First offense: Warning with explanation of the violation
- Repeated offenses: Temporary suspension
- Serious or continued violations: Permanent ban
We don't issue empty warnings. Accounts that consistently break the rules get removed.
Privacy Protections
No behavioral tracking. We don't track your browsing habits, build advertising profiles, or sell your data to third parties.
HTTPS everywhere. All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS.
Hashed passwords. Your password is never stored in plain text. It's cryptographically hashed, meaning even we can't read it.
The Full Picture
Verification, automated moderation, community flagging, private messaging, blocking, account enforcement, and strong privacy protections. That's not one feature. That's an entire safety architecture, designed so you can buy, sell, and connect without looking over your shoulder.