Leboncoin, France’s leading classifieds marketplace, is central to how people in France buy, sell, rent, and connect. Before turning to DataDome, the platform was facing rampant scraping used to steal user ads and data, posting them to third‑party sites without permission. Building sufficient in‑house defenses would have been a massive, expensive effort. By partnering with DataDome, Leboncoin was able to deploy bot and scraping protection across its website and mobile apps in a matter of days, not weeks. The company now blocks millions of malicious requests daily, saving significant time, thanks to AI-driven protection that evolves as quickly as attackers.

The challenge: Unauthorized scraping of user listings across web & mobile

Leboncoin reaches nearly half of France and occupies a dominant position in real estate and mobility listings. This leadership has made it a prime target for scraping. Listings posted by users were copied and republished on third-party websites and apps without their consent.

“We were basically naked on the internet,” explains Guillaume Blairon, Director of Engineering for Infrastructure, Data, and Developer Experience at Leboncoin. “People would post their ads on our service, and suddenly they would appear on a third-party website or app. They hadn’t signed up for that, and neither had we.” 

This malicious practice posed a risk to the brand’s reputation, which has a duty to protect its customers’ data. In addition, Leboncoin would have to spend time and money taking legal action against the scrapers. “At some point, we got tired of having to sue companies that were stealing our data,” Guillaume explains. The company needed a technical solution that would stop the theft at its source.

It was difficult to quantify the problem: like many marketplaces, Leboncoin did not know the true extent of unauthorized scraping. But once the protection was in place, it became clear. “DataDome made us realize that millions of malicious requests hit our sites every day,” he says.

The solution: Plug-and-play bot protection to block unwanted scrapers

Leboncoin began working with DataDome over seven years ago, when the bot and cyberfraud protection platform was still in its infancy. “It’s been a two-way partnership,” explains Guillaume. “We helped them develop their product, and we were always happy with their services.”

They were looking for a comprehensive tool to automatically detect and block scraping bots in real time across their website and mobile apps.

Integration remained seamless. “It’s been very easy to use DataDome, integrate it into our infrastructure,” he remembers. “We immediately received APIs that were straightforward, as well as SDKs for Android and iOS applications. It was simple, and protection was activated in a matter of minutes.“

As threats evolve, accelerated by AI-assisted tools, Leboncoin can count on DataDome’s continuous adaptation. “The good thing with DataDome is that you don’t have to worry. Their teams work day and night, and use the best of artificial intelligence to circumvent the new techniques that appear every day on the Internet.”

The results: User trust, brand protection, & peace of mind

Today, Leboncoin stops an average of 9.5 million malicious requests every day—peaking at 30 million on the busiest day last year—and 90% of those attempts are scraping. DataDome now covers 30 sensitive endpoints across its website and mobile app. And thanks to DataDome’s detection accuracy, the user experience remains smooth, with a false‑positive rate of just 0.0018%.

The commercial impact for the company translates into reduced risk and time savings. “We quantify the return on investment by not having to sue other companies and no longer having to worry about bots scraping our website,” Guillaume explains. Instead of lawsuits, Leboncoin enjoys peace of mind knowing its user data and listings are protected. 

For users, the added value lies in trust. “People know that when they enter their personal information on our website, it will stay there. It won’t be stolen or reused elsewhere,” Guillaume points out. 

For him and his team, the partnership has been a remarkable benefit. “It was the best decision we could have made,” says Guillaume. “The dialogue with DataDome’s team is easy, as soon as you have a problem, you can call them; they are there for you and adapt to your needs.”

Without DataDome? Guillaume doesn’t hesitate. “We would be exposed on the Internet, and you don’t want that to happen to your business. Our users’ data would be at risk, which would be bad for the company,” he says. “Bot protection is not optional in today’s landscape. DataDome is one of the easiest solutions: you just plug it in and start to use it. It’s a matter of days, if not hours.”  

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