Selfie-based Seller Verification Tool For Facebook Marketplace Launches

“The system takes advantage of facial recognition technology to compare a registrant’s selfie against images from other social media, the user’s driver license, and other public records.”

Facebook has only just launched its online trading Marketplace, and a third-party seller verification tool has already emerged.

Called Trust Stamp, it’s designed to make sure that sellers are who they say they are, and that they can be trusted by buyers. The system takes advantage of facial recognition technology to compare a registrant’s selfie against images from other social media, the user’s driver license, and other public records. It also checks the registrant against criminal databases, and ultimately provides a color-coded trust score for all prospective buyers to see.

In a statement announcing the system, its eponymous developer added that it also “utilizes proprietary proof of liveness” in its biometric identification.

Trust Stamp is currently available as a web app, with free registration for buyers, while users who want to see a buyer’s trust score will need to pay $1.99 per transaction. iPhone and Android versions are currently planned for release next year.