Build vs. Buy: Or Blend? 3 Approaches for Trust and Safety

The “build vs. buy” dilemma is a common challenge for organizations when deciding on new software solutions. This question often arises when they need to improve capabilities, streamline processes, or introduce new features to stay competitive. The choice between building a custom solution in-house or buying an existing one can have pretty big implications for a company’s resources, timeline, and long-term strategy.

In my experience working with Trust and Safety leaders of user-generated content (UGC) platforms and businesses implementing generative AI applications in a safe and secure way, I’ve observed that this decision isn’t just about technology—it’s also about aligning with the company’s broader goals, risk tolerance, and operational needs.

Through these collaborations, I’ve identified three main approaches that organizations tend to follow when facing the build vs. buy decision. Each approach reflects different priorities, whether it’s the need for speed, the desire for complete control, or the value of leveraging external expertise.

In part one of this two-part Build vs. Buy series, we’ll go over the approaches that can help organizations make more informed decisions that not only address immediate needs, but also support their long-term objectives in maintaining a safe and secure online environment.

Approach #1 – Building Trust and Safety Tools

Larger platforms, like Facebook or Amazon, often build their own moderation solutions. These companies operate at a tremendous scale that presents unique challenges, managing billions of interactions and vast amounts of content across diverse user bases and regions.

These platforms have had the time and seemingly unlimited resources to test and build some of the most robust Trust and Safety systems in the world. For these companies, whose core business relies on content production and distribution, using off-the-shelf solutions might complicate their existing processes and systems.

Here are some reasons that platforms like these may prefer to build their own Trust and Safety tools:

Unique Needs, Tailored Solutions
Custom-built tools allow the world’s largest user-generated content (UGC) platforms to tailor their moderation systems to their specific needs, integrating seamlessly with existing infrastructure and workflows. This enables them to effectively manage vast amounts of diverse content while maintaining greater control over the moderation process. For these companies, ensuring that moderation aligns with their brand values and operational priorities is very important, as the trusted experience they offer is a key competitive advantage.

By retaining full control over their Trust and Safety tools, these platforms reinforce user trust, which sets them apart in a crowded market. However, this level of customization is often only feasible for the largest organizations. For most companies, developing and maintaining these systems in-house can be prohibitively expensive and resource-intensive, requiring significant costs, time, and ongoing effort.

Data Security and Privacy
For platforms handling sensitive user data, custom moderation tools offer full control over data processing and protection, which is important for companies like Amazon and Facebook, whose core business relies on their content, and where security and user privacy are top priorities. By keeping data processing in-house and avoiding sending sensitive data for processing by external vendors, in-house solutions reduce the risk of data breaches and enable a level of security that isn’t likely achieved when working with a vendor.

An In-House Mentality
Some companies simply prefer developing tools in-house rather than using external solutions. They think internally built tools are more reliable, customizable, and better suited to their needs. This helps give them control over their technology, data, and teams as they handle the unique challenges of their platform. However, this mindset can sometimes cause companies to overlook existing solutions that might be more cost-effective and time-efficient.

Approach #2 – Buying Trust and Safety Tools

One of the main reasons organizations choose to buy these tools instead of building them in-house is the huge cost and complexity involved in development. Creating these tools from scratch requires substantial investment in specialized expertise, including cybersecurity, data science, machine learning, and regulatory compliance.

Plus, maintaining a platform that needs constant updates—due to policy changes, evolving detection methods, and the dynamic nature of user-generated content—adds another layer of complexity. It’s not just about developing in-house expertise, it’s about building and maintaining a sophisticated piece of software that requires ongoing resources and attention. For many mid-size companies, hiring and sustaining a dedicated team to create and continuously update these systems is simply not feasible.

In contrast, buying ready-made solutions allows organizations to access top-tier protection quickly and efficiently without the upfront costs and ongoing maintenance associated with custom-built tools.

Here’s why organizations buy their Trust and Safety solutions:

Cost Efficiency and Resource Allocation
Building in-house Trust and Safety tools is costly, especially for startups. The expenses can add up quickly due to the need for specialized talent, like cybersecurity experts and data scientists, along with infrastructure and ongoing maintenance. There’s also the extensive testing and iterations necessary to ensure regulatory compliance. By buying these tools, companies can better allocate resources toward core business activities while still ensuring user safety and compliance.

Speed to Start
Building a Trust and Safety tool, even with the best team, can take months—time that many organizations simply don’t have. Buying an off-the-shelf solution lets companies implement effective tools quickly. A faster deployment lets organizations focus on user safety and compliance without the lengthy development process, ensuring they can respond to challenges and risks in a timely manner.

Scalability
When there are only a few users, managing content manually is feasible. But with thousands of users worldwide, the need for improved language coverage and abuse handling increases. Investing in efficient content management systems is the best choice, as they can handle large volumes of content and ensure effective moderation.

Regular Updates
Trust and Safety is a constantly evolving field, with policies, legal requirements, company values, and user demands changing all the time. Many in-house systems aren’t flexible enough to adapt easily, which means companies often need to invest a lot of development resources to make updates. This complexity can make it costly and difficult to keep systems current and effective.

Access to Specialized Expertise
Combating harmful content requires expertise in machine learning, natural language processing, and specific abuse types. A successful Trust and Safety system also needs strong operations support, product management, and engineering collaboration. Many in-house teams may not have all these resources. By buying these services, platforms can access top expertise and technology without the heavy investment needed to build an in-house team, allowing for faster and more effective responses to harmful content.

Access to Global Best Practices
Trust and safety vendors work across industries and regions, bringing valuable insights into global trends and best practices. This access ensures that platforms are protected against both current and emerging threats worldwide.

Rapid Compliance with Regulations
New laws and guidelines are constantly emerging, making it tough for organizations to stay compliant. Buying moderation services provides a quick and effective way to meet regulatory requirements and maintain a safe online community without the internal burden.

Ultimately, buying Trust and Safety tools allows mid-size companies to focus on their core business functions. By outsourcing these complex tasks, they can dedicate their resources to growth-oriented activities like product development, marketing, and customer service, all while ensuring their platforms remain secure and compliant. This strategic approach enables smaller companies to compete more effectively in their markets.

Approach #3 – Choosing a Hybrid Model

Some organizations opt for a hybrid approach, combining off-the-shelf products with custom-built solutions. This strategy lets companies enjoy the best of both worlds— the immediate benefits of ready-made tools while customizing them to meet their specific needs.

Flexibility and Customization
Off-the-shelf products offer a robust foundation for Trust and Safety, but they may not always address every unique aspect of a company’s platform. By extending the functionality of these products with APIs or custom modules, organizations can enhance their capabilities to better fit their specific needs. For example, a company may buy a content moderation tool then develop a custom algorithm to manage content types unique to their platform.

Agility and Adaptability
A hybrid approach also offers the advantage of being able to innovate and stay agile in response to evolving online threats. With new risks constantly emerging, companies can quickly adapt by building custom features or adjustments on top of purchased tools. This flexibility is especially valuable in fast-moving industries where quick responses to new threats are essential.

Access to Specialized Expertise
Even in a hybrid model, organizations can benefit from third-party experts who optimize their purchased solutions. These experts bring knowledge and experience that may not be available in-house, providing advanced features without requiring a large, dedicated internal team.

Balance of Cost, Speed, Functionality
The hybrid approach can be an effective way to balance these factors. Off-the-shelf tools offer a quick, cost-effective way to implement essential Trust and Safety measures. Meanwhile, custom solutions can provide better performance for specific functions. By combining both strategies, companies can optimize their spending while achieving a high level of security and user trust.

So, by both building and buying, organizations can create a tailored, flexible, and scalable framework that leverages existing products while addressing unique operational needs. This approach provides an agile and well-protected solution for maintaining strong Trust and Safety measures.

But there is still much to consider! Next in our Build vs. Buy series, we look in-depth at the five considerations organizations should make when choosing between these three approaches to investing in Trust and Safety.