The Trovun community
Trade thoughtfully.
Look out for each other.
Clear rules, practical safety advice and an explanation of how your information is used. Trovun is independent from the University of Waterloo.
Community rules
- Use your own verified Waterloo account. Do not impersonate anyone or manipulate ratings.
- Sell only items you own or are authorized to sell. Use current photos and disclose defects, repairs, missing parts and compatibility limits.
- State the real price in Canadian dollars. No bait pricing, duplicate spam or artificial urgency.
- No stolen or counterfeit goods, weapons, explosives, drugs, medication, cannabis, alcohol, tobacco or vaping products.
- No recalled or unsafe products, dangerous batteries, unauthorized medical products, opened consumables or homemade or unpackaged food.
- No accounts, passwords, access credentials, personal databases, academic cheating, financial schemes, animals, sexual services or exploitative content.
- This is an item marketplace. Housing deposits, sublets, jobs, tutoring and unrelated commercial services are not supported.
- Keep messages respectful. No harassment, threats, discrimination, malicious links, spam or requests for login codes, identification or banking credentials.
- Use a public meetup point. Never publish room numbers, access codes or private schedules.
- Mark completed listings sold. Rate only a seller with whom you completed a genuine transaction.
What you cannot sell or give away
These are Trovun marketplace rules, even where an item might be lawful elsewhere. They apply to sales, giveaways, swaps, wanted posts, bundles, listing photos and descriptions, and offers made through messages. Examples are not exhaustive. Do not list anything illegal, stolen, counterfeit, recalled, unsafe, exploitative, privacy-invasive, or requiring a licence, prescription or authorization that Trovun cannot verify. Disguising an offer, calling it a collectible, selling its packaging, or offering a prohibited item as a free extra does not create an exception.
Open a category for examples and any permitted exceptions. If you are unsure whether an item fits these rules, leave it unlisted and ask for a review. An item appearing on Trovun or receiving AI suggestions is not approval to sell it.
Sexual content, adult products and exploitation
No pornography or explicit sexual media, sexual services, escort or paid sexual arrangements, sex toys, fetish products, used underwear or intimate garments, or bodily items marketed for sexual purposes. No non-consensual intimate content, sexual deepfakes, trafficking, or any sexualized content involving minors. Ordinary non-explicit books, art, and clean everyday clothing are not prohibited merely because they discuss relationships or depict the human body.
Food and drinks
No homemade, unpackaged, opened, repackaged, expired, spoiled or recalled food or drinks; meal preparation, catering, leftovers, food samples, or products requiring refrigeration, freezing or other temperature control. Only shelf-stable food and non-alcoholic drinks in intact original manufacturer-sealed packaging, within the labelled date and with original ingredient and allergen labels, may be listed. Packaging does not make alcohol, drugs or other prohibited ingredients acceptable.
Alcohol, nicotine, drugs and drug equipment
No alcohol, tobacco, nicotine pouches, cigarettes, cigars, vaping devices, e-liquids, cannabis, edibles, controlled drugs, intoxicants, drug precursors, or equipment marketed for consuming or manufacturing drugs. This includes empty vape devices, drug samples, and substances described as research chemicals, herbal highs or legal alternatives.
Medication, supplements and medical products
No prescription or over-the-counter medication, vitamins, dietary or bodybuilding supplements, steroids, hormones, injectable products, diagnostic tests, contact lenses, used medical supplies, needles, or medical devices requiring professional fitting, prescription or authorization. No products promoted with unverified treatment or cure claims.
Cosmetics and personal hygiene
No homemade, opened, used, decanted, expired, recalled or unlabelled cosmetics, skincare, perfume or hygiene consumables. No used toothbrushes, razors, menstrual products or other intimate hygiene products. Factory-sealed, properly labelled, in-date ordinary cosmetics and hygiene products may be listed if they are not otherwise prohibited.
Weapons, explosives and offensive equipment
No firearms, ammunition, firearm parts or conversion kits, silencers, explosive devices, fireworks, stun guns, pepper spray, or weapons designed or marketed to injure people. No replica guns, airsoft guns, BB guns, pellet guns, crossbows or weapon-making kits. Ordinary kitchen knives and tools may be listed for their normal household use; disguised weapons and offers promoting violence are prohibited.
Hazardous materials and unsafe products
No poisons, pesticides, toxic or corrosive chemicals, fuels, compressed-gas cylinders, radioactive materials, biological cultures, infectious materials, asbestos, mercury, or hazardous waste. No swollen, leaking or damaged batteries; unsafe electrical products; goods with defeated safety protections; or products subject to a safety recall. Disclosing a defect does not permit selling an unsafe item. Safe non-working electronics may be listed for parts with clear disclosure and personal data removed.
Stolen, counterfeit and unauthorized property
No stolen or found property you are not authorized to sell, borrowed or rented goods, university or employer property without permission, counterfeit or replica branded goods, fake authenticity certificates, pirated media, unauthorized software copies, or goods with ownership locks or identifying serial numbers deliberately removed. Calling a counterfeit a replica does not make it acceptable.
Accounts, credentials and access
No social, gaming, email, banking or university accounts; passwords, login codes, API keys, software licence keys, subscriptions, SIM cards or eSIM access, access cards, copied keys, building codes, parking permits, university IDs, or other access rights. No activation-lock bypass services, account rentals or devices bundled with someone else’s logged-in account.
Personal data, surveillance and cyber abuse
No identity documents, student records, mailing lists, private photos, financial or health records, location data, or other personal information. No malware, phishing kits, stolen data, hacking services, signal jammers, covert surveillance devices, or trackers marketed for monitoring people without consent. Ordinary cameras and trackers may be listed for legitimate use after removing all previous-owner data and account links.
Academic misconduct and forged documents
No completed assignments for submission, exam answers, leaked assessments, impersonation, contract cheating, forged transcripts, diplomas, certificates, receipts, prescriptions or IDs. Legitimately owned textbooks and study materials may be listed only where sharing them is authorized and does not facilitate cheating or violate intellectual-property rights.
Money, financial products and gambling
No cash or currency exchange, cryptocurrency, securities, investments, loans, credit, debt collection, bank accounts, payment instruments, gift cards, store credit, coupons, lottery tickets, betting, raffles, pyramid schemes or get-rich-quick offers. No requests for donations, fundraising, deposits for speculative offers, or money-transfer services.
Animals, wildlife and restricted natural materials
No live animals, pets, insects, animal adoption or breeding, animal remains, taxidermy, ivory, wildlife parts, or products from protected species. No invasive or restricted plants, seeds, organisms or illegally collected natural materials. Ordinary lawful houseplants and clean pet accessories may be listed if safe and otherwise permitted.
Human remains and biological materials
No human remains, bones, organs, tissue, blood, bodily fluids, breast milk, eggs, sperm, biological samples, used specimen containers, or human waste. No medical or research specimens, or offers to collect or supply them. Clean commercially manufactured wigs and hair extensions are permitted; personal bodily materials are not.
Hate, violence and abusive content
No items or content promoting hate, terrorism, violent extremism, self-harm, abuse or exploitation; threats; targeted harassment; or graphic depictions of real abuse. No merchandise celebrating perpetrators or organizations responsible for such acts. Contextual educational or historical material must not promote those harms.
Housing, jobs, services and non-physical offers
No property sales, rentals, sublets, housing deposits, jobs, internships, tutoring, paid companionship, professional or commercial services, transport or delivery services, digital downloads, NFTs, or advertising-only listings. No tickets, reservations, memberships or transferable booking rights. Trovun is for eligible physical items, not brokering these arrangements.
Vehicles and safety-critical equipment
No cars, motorcycles, other registered motor vehicles, vehicle titles or registration plates. No used child car seats, used protective helmets, used climbing safety equipment, or safety equipment with unknown history, expired certification, missing essential parts or damage. Ordinary bicycles and compliant personal mobility devices may be listed only if safe, owned by the seller and free of dangerous battery defects.
Unhygienic, concealed and deceptive offers
No pest-infested, mouldy, contaminated or unsanitary items; used intimate garments; mystery boxes or undisclosed bundles; empty packaging presented as the product; nonexistent stock; deceptive preorder or dropshipping offers; fake reviews; or listings created to collect payments or personal information. Clean used furniture, bedding and ordinary clothing may be listed with honest condition details. Every item in a bundle must independently follow these rules.
Listings that violate these rules may be removed. Report suspected violations using the listing’s report link. You can request review of a removal through the reports and appeals form. These restrictions also cover attempts to arrange prohibited exchanges off-platform through Trovun.
Before you exchange
Meet in a familiar, well-lit public place. Tell a friend. Inspect and test the item before paying. Confirm payment in your own banking app; screenshots and emails can be forged. Trovun does not process payments, provide escrow, insure items or guarantee refunds. Call 911 for immediate danger.
Check the model, included accessories, defects, recalls and proof of ownership where appropriate. Confirm return terms before buying. Email verification proves control of an address; it does not guarantee identity, enrolment, item quality or trustworthiness.
Your information
Trovun uses account and verification details to secure access; profile and listing details to run the marketplace; and messages, read receipts, ratings and notification preferences to support exchanges. Reports and moderation records help us investigate concerns. Infrastructure providers may process technical logs, IP addresses and device information.
Other eligible users can see your marketplace display name, selected study details, account age, optional avatar, seller ratings and published listings. Account email and private residence information are not shown as marketplace contact details. Messages are shared with their participants. Reports are available to authorized moderators. Avoid putting sensitive information into listings, messages or reports.
Supabase provides database, authentication and storage services. Resend supports message reminder emails; these link to the conversation without including message text. You can disable message emails in your profile. Essential account and security emails are separate. Required cookies keep your session secure; inactive web sessions expire after approximately three days.
Records may remain for account operation, security, moderation, backups and legal needs. Chat context can remain after a listing is removed; ratings currently depend on their linked listing and conversation. Deletion requests require review and may be subject to lawful exceptions. Providers may process data outside Canada. Trovun does not sell personal information for money. No system can promise absolute security.
You can request access, correction or deletion, or raise a privacy concern through the request form below. Identity may need to be verified before information is released. A request must not expose another person’s private information.
AI assistance & listing checks
Choosing an AI button sends the listing title, description, stated price and condition, your item question, or your search request to OpenAI. For listing drafts, you can also choose to include your first three uploaded photos. Autofill fills the title, short description and suggested category when you request it. Price suggestions are rough CAD asking-price estimates from general knowledge, not live market research or verified comparable sales. You choose whether to use or edit a suggested price. AI can also suggest missing details, questions or search filters. Private conversations, profile details and meetup fields are not included. Obvious email addresses, links and phone numbers are filtered, but free text may still contain personal information. Remove it before requesting help.
When you publish or change a listing, its title, description and uploaded photos may also be checked by OpenAI in the background for potential rule violations. Private flags include a reason and evidence for human moderators; AI does not ban users or remove, approve or hide listings. Checks can miss issues or flag permitted items. Reports and private messages are not automatically sent to AI.
Suggestions do not publish listings, send messages or make moderation decisions. Check every suggested fact. AI cannot verify ownership, authenticity, product safety, recalls or a fair price. Normal marketplace features work without AI.
Trovun requests no stored Responses API history and does not save prompts or suggestions in its AI usage counters. OpenAI may retain data under its own security and abuse-monitoring policies; this is not a zero-retention guarantee. Daily usage counters contain account IDs, request counts and timestamps, with older counters removed during subsequent use. OpenAI data controls
Moderation flags and check status are stored privately with the listing for human review. They are replaced when checked content changes and removed when the listing leaves published status or is deleted. Photos sent for analysis may contain personal information; text filtering does not redact images. Use item-only photos without faces, documents, addresses or identifying details.
Reports, requests & appeals
Report suspected fraud, unsafe or prohibited items, harassment, privacy concerns or rating manipulation. Include the relevant listing or conversation and explain what happened. Moderators review reports and may remove listings under the community rules. A report is not a finding of wrongdoing. You may request review of a moderation decision with supporting context.
Reports and privacy requests are handled by people, not AI. Support is not an emergency service and response times are not guaranteed. Call 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
Report or request helpUpdated September 23, 2026. These are community rules and current feature disclosures. Formal legal terms and operator contact information will be added after confirmation.
