Smart lock access for property viewings
Handing over a key or circulating a lockbox code gives away access with no expiry and no record of who used it. Per-booking credentials solve both problems.
Why keys and lockboxes do not scale
A physical key, once handed over, works forever and everywhere on that lock. A lockbox code has the same property: it is a single secret shared across everyone who needs access, it does not expire on its own, and it cannot distinguish between the people using it.
Neither produces a record. If four people entered a property over a weekend, a lockbox cannot tell you who they were, when each arrived, or how long they stayed. For a vendor asking who has been through their house, that is an unsatisfying answer.
The consequence is that access has to be rationed by supervision — someone must be there — which is exactly the constraint that limits viewings to a Saturday morning.
Credentials issued per booking
Walkthrough controls property access remotely through smart locks fitted during setup, and issues a time-limited PIN per booking rather than a shared code per property.
Because the credential is generated for a specific booking made by a specific verified person, it carries the constraints of that booking. It becomes valid for the window the buyer booked and expires afterwards, so access cannot silently carry over to another day or be passed to someone else for later use.
Access is delivered through Seam, a third-party smart device API provider, which is what connects Walkthrough to the locks installed on the property.
No credential without a verified identity
A time-limited code is only as good as the knowledge of who holds it. Walkthrough issues no access credential until the person requesting it has completed identity verification.
That check is run by Didit, a third-party identity verification provider, which inspects a government-issued identity document — a driver licence or passport — and returns the outcome along with limited details such as the name, document type, issuing country and expiry date. Only once the check passes does a PIN exist for that booking. Users must also be at least 18 years of age.
This is the difference between unaccompanied access and uncontrolled access. Nobody enters the property without the platform knowing, and having verified, who they are.
The record the vendor can rely on
Every entry generates an access log entry containing the timestamp, the identity of the person who entered, and the property address. Those logs are retained for a minimum of twelve months from the date of access.
For a vendor, that converts an anxious question into a matter of record: who has been in the house, and when. For an agency it means an unaccompanied viewing is more auditable than a supervised one ever was, because a supervised open home produces no comparable trail.
Cameras are installed alongside the locks during setup, so the physical and the digital record are established at the same time.
What the agency still decides
Per-booking credentials do not mean the property is generally open. Availability is set down to the day and hour, so bookings can only be made into windows the vendor has agreed to. Individual visits can be made supervised rather than self-guided. And one-off custom events can be created for a particular buyer, another agent, or an external contact such as a building inspector, without opening the property to everyone.
The locks remain under the agency’s direct control regardless of what is booked — they can be opened or closed remotely at any time.
Questions about this
The questions that come up most often on this topic.
How is a smart lock PIN different from a lockbox code?
A lockbox code is one shared secret with no expiry and no way to tell users apart. A Walkthrough PIN is issued per booking to one identity-verified buyer, is valid only for their booked window, expires afterwards, and produces an access log entry with a timestamp, the buyer’s identity and the property address.
What happens if a buyer arrives outside their booked window?
The PIN is scoped to the window the buyer booked and expires afterwards, so it will not open the property outside that window. Access is not a standing permission attached to the person; it is a credential attached to a specific booking.
Can an agency lock a property remotely?
Yes. Locks can be opened and closed remotely from any device at any time, independently of whatever bookings exist. Access is delivered through Seam, a third-party smart device API provider, which connects the platform to the smart locks installed on the property.
How long are property access logs kept?
Access logs generated by the platform — including timestamp, user identity and property address — are retained for a minimum of twelve months from the date of access, as set out in the Walkthrough privacy policy.