At OfferUp, we are committed to providing a secure and reliable marketplace experience. Our comprehensive trust and safety measures are designed to ensure a worry-free experience for OfferUp marketplace users. These measures include robust partnerships with law enforcement agencies, TruYou, our in-house reputation system, and continuous monitoring for potential threats.
As with many forms of interactions, individuals using our marketplace have varying perspectives on fairness, politeness, appropriateness, and humor. When we identify patterns of behavior that violate our rules, policies, or community guidelines, we take steps to improve future interactions, including but not limited to blocking users. Although it is impossible to completely eliminate bad behavior, we encourage all users to protect themselves just as they would in their day-to-day lives. If an interaction seems suspicious or uncomfortable for any reason, users are empowered to end the communication and seek out other items or users that better suit their needs.
Local Law Enforcement Collaboration and Community MeetUp Spots
Our long-standing collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies forms the backbone of our safety initiatives. OfferUp’s Investigations team maintains relationships with agencies in every U.S. state, creating a strong network and peace of mind for our users.
A key initiative in our safety efforts is the Community MeetUp Spots program, which provides safe locations for in-person transactions and is sharable via messaging in the OfferUp app. With 1,960 Community MeetUp Spots across the nation and more being added regularly, app users can easily find these secure transaction spots in their area or by accessing our Community MeetUp Spots Locator for a broader set of locations across the U.S.
OfferUp, in collaboration with communities and law enforcement, provides free signs to designate Community MeetUp Spots. For more details on how to establish an OfferUp Community MeetUp Spot in your area, please visit our support page. If users choose to meet at a location outside of these official spots, we recommend selecting a well-lit public place that has plenty of people around and is under camera surveillance. Popular choices include shopping malls, coffee shops, and grocery stores. We strongly advise against meeting at private residences.
Reputation System and Safety Tips
Trust is a cornerstone of our platform, exemplified by our TruYou membership program, launched in 2012. TruYou is designed to help us verify that users are real people (not bots) and to detect and prevent identity fraud on our platform. Additionally, we provide a diverse range of safety tips designed to instill our users with knowledge and confidence when meeting for in-person transactions.
Advanced Security Measures
OfferUp leverages cutting-edge machine learning, AI, and data analysis to proactively identify and reduce potential security threats. As a result of these efforts, we have achieved a record-low percentage of users exposed to scams or fraudulent activity over the past year. We also rely on our users to report suspicious behavior through our reporting functions. By utilizing these user-generated reports along with our full portfolio of detection capabilities, OfferUp was able to detect and remove nearly 1 million items and disable over 10,000 accounts that posed a risk of counterfeit and stolen goods.
Our dedicated team of investigators and trust and safety analysts work diligently to detect and prevent unwanted activity. Additionally, our secure chat feature allows users to communicate safely without sharing personal contact information.
By prioritizing trust and safety, OfferUp continues to build a marketplace where users can engage confidently and securely.
Additional Resources
Full list of safety tips
Find a Community MeetUp spot near you
Create a new Community MeetUp spot in your area
Resources for Law Enforcement Agencies