Behind the Trust Passport: How We Verify Every Provider
Trust isn’t a star rating. It’s built in layers. Six signals that show who a provider really is, long before you book.
On Sowo, those signals live on every provider profile as the Trust Passport. Each one is earned through real activity and checked by us. Never self-declared, never for sale.
What you can see
1. Verified identity
Every provider passes an identity check before their profile appears in browse. It’s more than an email confirmation: we verify there’s a real person behind the profile before anyone can book them.
2. Completed bookings
The booking count on a profile is platform truth, not marketing copy. It only increments when a booking is paid, delivered and confirmed complete.
3. Booking-anchored reviews
Only a user who actually booked and completed a job can review it. That single constraint shuts out fake reviews: you cannot review work that never happened.
4. Named vouches
A vouch is a public recommendation with a real name on it. Vouching for someone puts your own credibility on the line, which is exactly why it means something.
5. Repeat users
Anyone can win a first booking. Profiles showing repeat users tell you the second appointment was worth it, the strongest quality signal we know of.
6. Protected payments
Payments made through Sowo are protected, so providers get paid for completed work and users don’t lose deposits to no-shows.
“Trust is read relative to the person looking, which is why we show you the vouches and reviews from people most like you first.”
Sowo product principle
The Trust Passport keeps evolving: relatability ranking already weights reviews by how similar the reviewer is to you, and proximity matching is next on the roadmap. The goal stays the same: a marketplace where trust is earned and visible.
