Is Mint a Safe Way To Track My Finances?

If you’re trying to get out of debt, one necessary step is to create a budget. One of our favorite budgeting tools here at Clark.com is the free budgeting app Mint.

On a recent episode of The Clark Howard Podcast, Clark was asked whether Mint keeps your financial data private.

Ask Clark: Is Mint Safe To Use?

Clark says it would be a mistake for Mint to sell the personal information of its users, who have stored much of their financial data in the app.

“It would be corporate suicide for them to violate that trust in people’s information if it was in fact being sold to the highest bidder,” Clark says.

Mint, which launched in 2007 and is now owned by Intuit, has helped millions of people keep their finances on track.

The app offers several features, including a bill payment tracker, alerts and credit score summaries, that help you keep a close watch on what you spend. And Clark says he has confidence in it.

“I’d say that the safest choice, in an area where there is some underlying risk always, is Mint.”

Does Mint Sell Your Data?

Mint says on its website that it doesn’t sell user data. The company makes money by putting credit card offers on its site.

But Clark notes that, even if a company has a policy of not selling user data, depending on the health of the business, that policy might change.

“You’ll have an organization that you’ll give your financial data or personal data to, and they’ll change ownership or the enterprise will go bust or whatever,” Clark says. “And suddenly the terms of service change or in the case of an organization that goes bankrupt, the bankruptcy court judge’s job is only to get as much value from the defunct enterprise as they can.

“Somebody will come along and say, ‘Hey, we’ll pay for all that very, very sensitive data this much money.’ The bankruptcy judge will say, ‘Sounds great to me!’ Clark adds.

Bottom Line

“So yes, there is a risk with any app that you use that has sensitive personal or financial information. Mint has so far stood the test of time. It has strong financial backing,” Clark says.

Read Team Clark’s full Mint review to learn more about how it works and decide if it’s right for you.