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The firm says that it will help increase the penetration of online classifieds across regions, age-groups, and categories. However, the most striking of the changes deal with security.
“With the intention of making the platform more secure, OLX has made it mandatory for all users — sellers and buyers — to register for accessing the platform,” it said. This is a marked change from current strategy in most classifieds sites. Users can register with either of the following: Facebook, Google+, and phone number. Social media logins will allow users to see mutual friends, apart from revealing the transaction history of other users, how long they have been using OLX, as well as their location.
“Mandatory log-ins will imply that there are no anonymous users on OLX anymore. It will increase the sense of familiarity amongst users,” said OLX, adding “Mandatory registration will especially help in bringing women users to OLX by providing a safer environment for them to transact in.” The other new feature, Chat First, Restrictions on Calling: have made it easier to protect user privacy.
"With our new App, we have made significant improvements on three fronts in particular. First, features such as 'Chat First' are bold, industry-first moves that along with mandatory registration enhance the trustworthiness of the platform, making our users more secure. Second, by allowing users to see products closest to them, we have tried to provide an authentic hyper-local classifieds experience based on ease and simplicity," said Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX India in a statement.
The new app also comes with "Snap and Post" feature that allows users to post an ad in as less as 10 seconds, and "Hyper Local Experience" feature that facilitates users to find great products in their vicinity, making transaction easier.
