- Make those Venmo Payments Private
- Venmo Payment Default is Public
- Directions to make your Venmo Transactions Private
- Venmo Information
Make those Venmo Payments Private
Don’t want your ex to know what you’re spending your money on?
You best make your Venmo payments private!
Anyone can track a Venmo user’s purchase history and see details of their profile – including their drug deals, eating habits and arguments – because the payment app lacks default privacy protections.
Want to see what your ex is up to? Check Venmo.
(you can also use
the Cash App — $5 here for you when you sign up).
The most recent scam targeting users: a flood of payment requests from strangers. We get it, it’s fun to decide on the right emoji when sending or requesting money from friends on Venmo. It shouldn’t be the most fun, but somehow, it is. (sidenote: if you’re not already using Venmo to quickly transfer funds with folks, get it here).
But find a new way to get three seconds of fun because you’re putting yourself in danger if you don’t have your Venmo account set to “private.”
We definitely recommend you making your Venmo payments private.
So how do I make my Venmo payment history private?
Related: Read How Venmo Makes Money
Venmo Payment Default is Public
There’s also a flip side, which is where someone you don’t know could actually send you the money you aren’t expecting.
They could send by mistake.
It all comes right down to one major issue: your Venmo transactions are set to “public,” for all to see.
If you think “That’s not me, I’m more careful than that,” go take a glance at your account
right now.
I bet yours are set to public.
Venmo makes “public” the default for each account, leaving it up to you to make your transactions private.
It’s not necessarily a huge deal, but if you don’t know it you might say something you’d prefer not to.
Here are the different types of transactions and what they mean according to Venmo.
- Public Transactions: it will be shared on the public feed and anyone on the internet can see it.
- Friends Transactions: it will only be shared with Venmo friends and with the other person’s Venmo friends.
- Private Transactions: will not be shared anywhere other than on “Your Stories” tab in the personal transactions feed. It will also be shared on the feed of the other person in the payment.
Related: Compare Venmo with Cash App and Zelle
Directions to make your Venmo Transactions Private
Please try this one thing and make your transactions private.
Venmo offers these instructions for doing so:
To update your
sharing settings within the app please ensure your app is updated to the most recent release.
Then, tap the “☰” icon within the upper left and tap – Settings.
From there you can select – Privacy.
Under – Default Privacy Setting you need to select your preferred default privacy setting as private.
Below is a video walking you through the process on a desktop.
//youtube.com/watch?v=XCX1Q_8Nu0A%3Ffeature%3Doembed
Venmo Information
Venmo notes that if you complete a transaction with a user with a greater privacy setting than you, the more restrictive of the two is going to be used.
You’ll also hide your past payments.
Because let’s face it, nobody else has to know you tipped your hairstylist on Venmo.
So make your Venmo payments private.
Per Venmo:
On the app, navigate to Settings –
Privacy and under Past Transactions select your preference.
This is permanent and can’t be undone.
You’ll still choose the right emoji for your Venmo transaction.
Just keep it between you and whomever you’re paying.
If you’re using Venmo, you must switch your Venmo account to private.
In conclusion, we love us some Venmo!
While we agree that Venmo is a quick and easy way to make payments, we definitely recommend that you make those payments private.
While on the topic of money, I’ve got a few other articles you might enjoy — especially how to make $1000 extra a month.