Who they are
The identity behind the account, not the name typed into a box. A government ID matched to a live selfie, then the address confirmed by post.
Whose photos
Every image is searched against the rest of the web and against everything else posted here. Reusing somebody's photographs is the oldest trick there is.
Whether the price makes sense
Compared against what the same thing actually sold for near you in the last 90 days, not against what other people are asking for it.
How they write
The phrasing that comes before a loss: pay a deposit first, message me on another app, my shipper will collect, I am overseas right now.
What it actually found
Of 113 listings checked, 7 days: 113 cleared without a word, 0 carried a note, and 0 never went live.
A badge that is always on carries no information. That is why a routine pass is a quiet mark on the photo and only the exceptions get words: a card that says Worth a look, and a report underneath saying why.
When something is held
The seller is told exactly what tripped it and can fix it and try again. Nothing is rejected silently, and a person can ask for it to be looked at again. We would rather review a legitimate listing twice than let one bad one through.
What Shield is not
- It is not a guarantee. It reads what is in front of it, and a determined person can still lie.
- It does not read your private messages to decide anything about you. It flags the phrases that precede a loss, in the room, to you.
- It cannot be bought. A boost changes where a listing sits and never what a check says about it.
The other half of this is who the seller is: Trust levels explains how far each one has been checked.