DomBazaar Blog
Why DomBazaar keeps contact details private until a viewing request is accepted
The product decision behind DomBazaar's contact gate, what each side sees, and why registered agencies are the deliberate exception.
Reviewed by Farruh
Published
Updated
A familiar classifieds pattern is to put a phone number beside the photos and price. It makes contact immediate, but it also turns a private person's number into part of a public advertisement. Anyone who opens the page can copy it, pass it on, or call without giving the listing contact any context.
We decided that DomBazaar should work differently. Browsing should lead to a viewing request and a conversation first. A private mobile number is for coordinating an accepted request, not for casual browsing. That decision shaped the listing page, Messages, and the way both sides move from interest to a viewing.
The contact gate in practice
A person looking for a place can open an available listing and review its asking price, photos, location, availability, description, and key property details. If the listing looks relevant, they can sign in, choose or write a message, and send a viewing request.
The listing contact receives the request and its message. They can accept it if they are willing to continue, or decline it if the timing or property is no longer a match. While the request is pending, the listing contact's saved mobile number remains private. A declined request closes without revealing it.
After acceptance, the person who sent that request can reveal the saved mobile number inside the accepted conversation in Messages. The reveal is tied to the signed-in requester and that accepted request. If the listing has been deleted or is no longer available, the number is not returned for viewing coordination.
The number is not merely hidden on the page
A privacy gate should be more than a visual effect. DomBazaar does not send a private number to the public listing page and then blur it with styling. The page can explain that contact becomes available later, but the real digits stay on the server side until a reveal is allowed.
When the requester chooses to reveal the number, the server checks the signed-in account, confirms that the request belongs to that person, confirms that its status is accepted, and confirms that the listing is still available. Only then does it return the saved contact number. That keeps the rule in the data path as well as the interface.
What each person sees
Looking for a place
- The public listing and the information needed to compare it.
- A viewing-request form with editable message suggestions.
- The request status and conversation in Messages.
- The saved mobile number only after that request is accepted.
Managing the listing
- The viewing request and the message sent with it.
- Controls to accept or decline the request.
- The conversation and its current status in Messages.
- No requirement to publish a private number on the listing page.
Why agencies are different
Registered agencies are the deliberate exception. An agency can publish its business phone, email, office address, and opening hours on its public agency page. These are business contact details supplied for public enquiries, not a private individual's number taken from a listing account.
Keeping that distinction matters. A public agency profile should make an agency reachable. A private listing contact should choose who moves from a viewing request to direct coordination. Treating both cases the same would make one of those experiences misleading.
A boundary, not a guarantee
This contact gate is a privacy and communication boundary. It does not verify ownership, identity, legal title, property condition, payment safety, or the legitimacy of a transaction. Acceptance means that the listing contact is willing to continue the conversation. It does not mean DomBazaar has verified either person or the property.
We still think the boundary is useful because it gives each action a clear meaning. Opening a listing means browsing. Sending a viewing request means introducing yourself and asking to continue. Accepting means opening the path to direct coordination. The private number appears only at that last stage, for the person whose request was accepted.