The rise of payment apps has meant that the processing of instant payments has been put in the palm of our hands. Money expert Clark Howard has been vocal about the need for caution when using payment apps since it’s easy to get scammed using them. Of course, some have more issues than others.
With Venmo, which is owned by PayPal, people can see your transactions, which raises some privacy issues. The good news is that you can shield your Venmo transactions so that they’re inaccessible to others.
This article will show you how to make your Venmo transactions private inside the iOS/Android app as well as on the website.
How To Make Venmo Private
Venmo allows you to view your personal transactions feed on the Me tab inside the app. On Venmo.com, you can see your transactions when you toggle on the Me icon (see image below).
First, we’ll show you how to change your privacy settings in the Venmo app, then we’ll show you the steps to do it on the Venmo website.
Screenshot via venmo.com
You can change your Venmo privacy settings in two ways:
How To Change Your Privacy Settings in the Venmo App
Screenshot via Venmo app
- Open the Venmo app and tap on your profile picture labeled “Me” in the bottom right corner of your screen.
- Tap the gearbox icon in the top right corner to open the settings menu (In the image above, the icon on the right).
- Tap on Privacy.
- Under Default Privacy Settings, tap on “Private.”
Screenshot via Venmo app
You’ll have to confirm your choice by tapping the “Change Anyway” link inside the pop-up box.
Screenshot via Venmo app
You can also make all previous transactions private by tapping “Past Transactions” under the “More” heading in the app.
How To Change Your Privacy Settings on Venmo.com
- Log into your account on the Venmo website.
- On the left side of the screen, click on “Settings.”
- Click “Privacy.”
- Click Future Payments and select “Private.”
Screenshot via venmo.com
You can also make all previous transactions private on the site by selecting “Change to Private” under “Past Payments” on a desktop.
Bonus: Hide Your Friends List
Another privacy issue is that the Venmo app makes your list of friends public by default. To fix this, go to the Privacy tab inside your Settings, under “More” you’ll see Friends List. Tap on it and select “Private.”
Screenshot via Venmo app
Final Thoughts
So, you may be wondering why Venmo made its transactions public in the first place.
The company has said that it considers its platform one-part payment app, one-part social networking app, so the public transactions offer a way to see what your friends are doing. But if you want to keep people out of your wallet, you’re going to say “no thanks” to that.
Want more ways to protect your privacy? Read our guide on how to control what Google knows about you.
