When buying or selling items on peer-to-peer marketplaces like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, users often share their personal phone numbers to coordinate transactions. This exposes them to privacy risks, such as spam, scams, or harassment, with no easy way to revoke access after the deal is done. A temporary, revocable contact method could solve these problems while keeping communication convenient.

How It Could Work

One approach could be a system that generates temporary phone numbers or aliases, usable only for a set time or until a transaction is complete. For example:

• Time-bound access: The number expires after 24 hours or when the user marks the deal as finished.
• Revocable: Users could disable the number early if needed.
• Platform flexibility: Works across SMS, WhatsApp, or marketplace messaging systems.

This could be implemented as a phone feature (like a built-in temporary number generator), a third-party app, or integrated directly into marketplaces.

Why It Matters

This would benefit:

• Buyers and sellers: Avoid long-term exposure of personal numbers.
• Marketplaces: Reduce scams, increasing user trust and activity.
• Telecom providers: Could offer temporary numbers as a paid service.

Existing solutions like Burner or Google Voice provide disposable numbers, but they don’t automatically expire based on transactions. A system tied directly to peer-to-peer exchanges could offer better privacy with less effort.

Getting Started

A simple version could begin as an app that generates temporary numbers via VoIP services, routing calls and texts to the user’s real number. Later, it could expand by partnering with marketplaces to embed the feature directly into their platforms.

By giving users control over who can contact them and for how long, this idea could make peer-to-peer transactions safer without sacrificing convenience.