How Afër protects buyers and sellers

How does the Afër chat protect you?

On Afër you contact a seller through the chat in the app, and every conversation is about one specific listing. You talk without swapping phone numbers or email addresses; the other person sees your name and the listing you're asking about. Everything you agree on stays in writing in one place.

To keep inboxes free of spam and scam attempts, the chat follows a few fixed rules:

• Confirmed accounts only. You can only write if you're signed in and have confirmed your email address. You also confirm that you're at least 18 and accept the current terms.
• No links in the first message. If your first message contains a link, the app turns it down and asks you to write about the item instead.
• One request, then wait. As a buyer, you send one message first. You can write again once the seller replies. So without a reply, a conversation stays at that one message.
• Limits on new conversations and messages. If you hit a limit, you see a notice and can try again later. That slows down mass messages to lots of people.
• The seller decides. When a new request comes in, the seller can reply to accept it, or report and block the sender.

You can't send photos in the Afër chat yet; the photo button says “Coming soon”. So take a close look at the item when you meet. If you move to WhatsApp, Viber or a phone call, Afër says it plainly: contact outside Afër isn't protected by our chat safeguards, and you should never pay in advance. Don't send ID photos, card details or codes there either, and keep your agreements in the Afër chat anyway.

Who can see your phone number?

Adding a phone number to your profile is optional. You can add a mobile number from Kosovo (+383) or Albania (+355), dealers also a landline for calls only, and choose under “Reachable via” whether people may call you or reach you on WhatsApp or Viber. Who sees the number depends on who's asking:

• Private sellers: the number stays masked until a signed-in user clicks “Show number”.
• Dealers: signed-in users see the business number in full, without a click.
• Guests: anyone who isn't signed in never sees a full number, only the masked hint or a prompt to sign in.

Showing a private seller's number is limited and logged. That's meant to stop anyone from collecting numbers in bulk. After a block, Afër no longer shows the number between the two of you, no matter who blocked whom.

Once the number is shown, you only get the buttons the seller allowed: “Call”, “WhatsApp” or “Viber”. Keep in mind that when you call or message someone there, they see your number too. It's still a good idea to note price and meeting point in the Afër chat.

When can someone leave a review?

On Afër, nobody can hand out stars just like that. A review is only possible once both people have confirmed the sale in their conversation. Here's how it works:

1. The seller marks the listing as sold and picks the person from their chats under “Select buyer”. They can only pick someone they've replied to in the chat.
2. The buyer sees “Confirm purchase” in the chat and taps “Yes, I bought it”.
3. From that confirmation on, both have 14 days to rate each other with one to five stars and, if they like, a short text. Each side reviews once.
4. Reviews appear once both have reviewed or the 14 days are over.

Until then, neither side sees the other's review, which makes simple tit-for-tat ratings harder. It also helps to know what a review isn't: a listing marked “sold” isn't proof of a verified transaction, and in a blocked conversation nobody can confirm or review. If a review looks abusive or false, you can report it on the profile with “Report review”. For the step-by-step version from the seller's side, see how to sell safely.

What does a profile tell you about the other person?

Tap the seller's card in a listing to open their profile. It doesn't give you a score; it shows signals you can judge for yourself:

• Name, municipality and “Member since” with the year the account was created.
• A “Business” badge if the seller set up their account as a business account, plus “About this business” with the address and, if given, website and opening hours.
• “Email verified” if the email address is confirmed. That proves access to the address, not identity or ownership of the item.
• Stars and the number of reviews, or “No ratings yet”, with the “Reviews from confirmed buyers” and their text below.
• “Replies within” with the typical reply time, which only appears once there are enough answered conversations.
• The seller's other active listings.

Afër deliberately shows no numeric trust score and has no identity verification badge. A new profile without reviews isn't a warning sign on its own. And as our safety page puts it, no profile signal guarantees a risk-free purchase. To spot scams early anyway, read how to buy used without scams.

How do you report or block someone?

You can report from several places, always with the word “Report”:

• A listing: on the listing page, with “Report”.
• A person: on their profile with “Report”, or in the chat via ⋮ (“More”) and then “Report”.
• A review: on the profile, below the review, with “Report review”.

You can't report a single message. If someone sends you something suspicious, report the person through the chat menu. You pick a reason, such as “Scam or fake price” or “Prohibited item”, and can add details; afterwards you see “Thanks, report submitted”. You need to be signed in to report.

You can block someone in the chat via ⋮ and “Block”. After that you can no longer message each other, nobody can confirm a sale or leave a review in that conversation, and Afër no longer shows the phone number between you.

The Afër team reviews reports. It can remove a listing or suspend an account, and every such decision needs a reason that the person concerned can see. A removed listing shows up for the seller in “My listings” under “Removed by moderation”. A suspended account sees “Your account is suspended”, can no longer post, write or contact anyone, and its listings are no longer visible. Anyone who thinks a decision is a mistake can get in touch with Afër. Afër doesn't promise any particular outcome for a report.

What do you need to do yourself to stay safe?

Afër brings buyers and sellers together but isn't part of the deal itself. There's no payment service, no escrow, no delivery, no buyer protection and no identity check. So a link to a supposed “Afër payment” is always fake. These rules help you; some of them are also in our safety tips:

• ✓Meet in a public place, ideally during the day and with someone you trust, and check the item before you pay.
• ✓Pay only at the handover, in cash or by a transfer the seller sees straight away, and never in advance.
• ✓Don't pay through links sent by people you don't know.
• ✓Don't share sign-in codes or links, passwords or card details in the chat, and don't send photos of your ID.
• ✓Keep price, condition and meeting point in the Afër chat so everything stays in writing.
• ✓Remember that “Email verified” doesn't confirm anyone's identity.
• ✓Report suspicious listings and people instead of just scrolling past.

In the Afër chat, only buyers and sellers write to each other; Afër itself doesn't send you messages there. If someone in the chat claims to be Afër and asks for your password, your card details or a code you received by SMS, give them nothing and report the person.

All the rules at a glance are in our safety tips. Buyers should also read how to buy used without scams, and sellers how to sell safely.