Locanto

The Locanto Classifieds sites are operated by the German startup company Yalwa located in Wiesbaden, Germany. Locanto was launched in July 2006 with a local classifieds site for New York City. One month later, on August 21, 2006, the service was extended to the U.S. cities of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. As of 2007, every major U.S. city has its own accessible site for the Locanto classifieds service.

Locanto was created by the German start-up company, Yalwa.{{cite web |url=https://www.yalwa.info/ |title=About Yalwa |work=Yalwa |accessdate=October 21, 2018}} Klaus P. Gapp, CEO and founder of Yalwa, previously founded and operated OpusForum.org, a local classifieds site for the German speaking market. OpusForum.org was bought by eBay in 2005 and merged with its classifieds site Kijiji one year later.[http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/marketing-conference/00842-ebays-kijiji-acquires-german-classifieds-web-site-opusforu.html eBay's Kijiji acquires German Classified website OpusForum] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080423020624/http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/marketing-conference/00842-ebays-kijiji-acquires-german-classifieds-web-site-opusforu.html |date=2008-04-23 }}

In regards to internet safety, Locanto has established an independent blog on [http://www.locanto.info/safer_trading/blog/ Safer Trading] in which safety tips for online trading are shared with users.[http://www.locanto.info/safer_trading/blog/ Locanto Safer Trading Blog]

Since February 2010, the Locanto classifieds sites have also been available in [http://m.locanto.com/ mobile] version for mobile web users.[http://www1.propertyportalwatch.com/2010/03/three-more-mobile-offerings/ Locanto Mobile Beta] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315154705/http://www1.propertyportalwatch.com/2010/03/three-more-mobile-offerings/ |date=2010-03-15 }} Browsing and searching classified ads as well as posting a free ad is enabled in the mobile version.

[http://worldbookandnews.com/entertainment/onlineweb-sites/20052-Locanto-Classifieds-Launches-Beta-Version-Mobile-Sites.html World Book and News (worldbookandnews.com)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326120407/http://worldbookandnews.com/entertainment/onlineweb-sites/20052-Locanto-Classifieds-Launches-Beta-Version-Mobile-Sites.html |date=2010-03-26 }}

[https://web.archive.org/web/20170310224737/http://www.adsdistrict.in/ Adsdistrict.in] mobile site has been blamed for copying Locanto mobile site.{{cite web |url=http://www.jpkumar.com/2012/05/22/top-indian-classified-sites-for-mobile/ |title=Top Indian classified sites for mobile | JP KUMAR TECH |accessdate=2013-04-01 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124174714/http://www.jpkumar.com/2012/05/22/top-indian-classified-sites-for-mobile/ |archivedate=2013-01-24 }}

In 2012, the [https://web.archive.org/web/20120825215626/http://itunes.apple.com/en/app/locanto/id542638973 Locanto iPhone App] was launched and in 2014, the [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.locanto.app&hl=en Locanto Android App] was made available. In 2015, the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150609165627/https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/locanto-classifieds-2.0/id975153544?mt=8 Locanto Classifieds 2.0] iPhone app was released.

In January 2010, several Indian media channels reported a story about Kannada actress Sanchita Padukone's pictures having been misused in a personals services ad on Locanto India, naming Locanto a "porn site".[http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=1&contentid=20100108201001080209425192d6a43b4 Bangalore Mirror: "Porn site misuses Kannada star’s picture"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723225109/http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=1&contentid=20100108201001080209425192d6a43b4 |date=2011-07-23 }}{{Cite web |url=http://news.in.msn.com/crimefile/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3529283 |title=MSN India: "Crime: Kannada actress' picture figures on porn site" |access-date=2011-01-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111081317/http://news.in.msn.com/crimefile/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3529283 |archive-date=2010-01-11 |url-status=dead }}

While there is a dedicated version of this site for the Indian market[http://www.locanto.in Locanto India website] over 60% of the traffic of the American version of the site comes from India.{{Cite web |url=http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/locanto.com |title=Alexa traffic analysis for Locanto.com |access-date=2011-02-01 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304223143/http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/locanto.com |url-status=dead }}

In 2023 the Irish state broadcaster RTÉ investigated claims that accommodation was being sold in exchange for sex or sexual acts{{cn|date=August 2023}}

• [http://mashable.com/2008/12/16/find-jobs/ Mashable: 100 Places to Find Jobs]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080423020624/http://www.internetretailer.com/internet/marketing-conference/00842-ebays-kijiji-acquires-german-classifieds-web-site-opusforu.html eBay's Kijiji acquires German Classified website Opus Forum]
• [http://www.killerstartups.com/Site-Reviews/locanto-com-us-and-world-free-classified-service Interview with CEO Klaus Gapp on Killerstartups]
• [http://www.locanto.info/classifieds/2009/10/locanto-teams-up-with-the-weatherman.html Locanto announces launch of weather pages]
• [http://www.locanto.info/safer_trading/blog/ Locanto Safer Trading Blog]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100315154705/http://www1.propertyportalwatch.com/2010/03/three-more-mobile-offerings/ Locanto Mobile Beta]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100306011927/http://www1.propertyportalwatch.com/2010/02/locanto-adds-ten-countries/ Property Portal Watch reports about expansion of Locanto]
• [http://www.locanto.info/classifieds/2014/02/locanto-goes-android.html]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100111081317/http://news.in.msn.com/crimefile/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3529283 MSN India: "Crime: Kannada actress’ picture figures on porn site"]

• [http://www.locanto.com/ Locanto homepage]
• [http://www.locanto.info/classifieds/blog/ Locanto Blog]
• [http://www.killerstartups.com/Site-Reviews/locanto-com-us-and-world-free-classified-service Locanto on Killerstartups]
• [http://www.gruenderszene.de/interviews/interview-klaus-gapp-ehm-opusforum/ Interview with founder Klaus P. Gapp (in German)]

Category:Online advertising services and affiliate networks

Category:Companies based in Wiesbaden