{"id":105184,"date":"2018-07-30T16:28:47","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T16:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=105184"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:14:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:14:01","slug":"alert-venmo-puts-your-financial-transactions-out-in-the-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/alert-venmo-puts-your-financial-transactions-out-in-the-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Alert: Venmo puts your financial transactions out in the open"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Venmo exchanges money between users, whether by connecting directly to a bank or acting as a temporary account for funds. Thanks to their excellent security, the ease of payment (if someone is in your phone&#8217;s contact list, you can quickly send or request money from them) makes Venmo an excellent way to settle small debts: pay your friend for a meal, buy a refrigerator, or send the security deposit for a house.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-card-program\">\r\n  <div class=\"sc-card-program__body\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row clearfix\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-logo\">\r\n        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__img\" alt=\"Venmo\" src=\"https:\/\/images.sftcdn.net\/images\/t_app-logo-l,f_auto,dpr_auto\/p\/20e058c6-e891-11e6-807c-048ee42d933c\/1404102754\/venmo-1-logo.jpg\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\">\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-title\">\r\n        <span class=\"sc-card-program__title\">Venmo<\/span>\r\n        <a class=\"sc-card-program__button sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/venmo-1.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">download free \u25ba<\/a>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-card-program__col-rating\">\r\n        <svg class=\"rating-score__content\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.1\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 50 50\" xml:space=\"preserve\"><path class=\"rating-score__background rating-score--good\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><path class=\"rating-score__value rating-score__value--70\" fill=\"none\" stroke-width=\"6\" stroke-dashoffset=\"70\" stroke-miterlimit=\"10\" d=\"M40 40c8.3-8.3 8.3-21.7 0-30s-21.7-8.3-30 0 -8.3 21.7 0 30\"><\/path><text class=\"rating-score__number\" content=\"7\" text-anchor=\"middle\" transform=\"matrix(1 0 0 1 25 31.0837)\" data-auto=\"app-user-score\">7<\/text><\/svg>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <span class=\"sc-card-program__description\"><\/span>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"sc-card-program__row\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sc-card-program__bigpic\" src=\"\" onerror=\"this.style.display='none'\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <a class=\"sc-card-program__link track-link sc-card-program-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/venmo-1.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>However, the app also contains an interesting feature: <strong>public transactions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-105588 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/unnamed2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"284\" height=\"615\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/unnamed2.jpg 284w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/unnamed2-139x300.jpg 139w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 284px) 100vw, 284px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When finalizing a transaction in Venmo, you&#8217;re given the option to make the purchase open to the Public, visible to Friends, or entirely Private. However, <strong>the default is set to Public:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-105490 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/07\/unnamed-11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"260\" height=\"125\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s no need to be concerned yet! As shown in the two pictures above, Venmo protects user privacy by only releasing <strong>four pieces of information<\/strong>: the profile picture of the transaction&#8217;s initiator, names of the people involved, how long ago the exchange occurred, and a short, user-created description of the purpose. Also, don&#8217;t forget that the privacy setting is up to the user&#8217;s choice.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the question is: <strong>why does Venmo put transactions in the open<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<p>Surprisingly, Venmo says little about this issue, which can be seen by visiting the <a href=\"https:\/\/help.venmo.com\/hc\/en-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Venmo Help Center<\/a>. Their <a href=\"https:\/\/help.venmo.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/221011388-What-is-Venmo-\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">self-description<\/a>\u00a0simply notes the app is, &#8220;a social way to pay your friends when you owe them money and don&#8217;t want to deal with cash&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>For some, this may be too much. It&#8217;s understandable that public transactions come dangerously close to releasing financial information.<\/p>\n<p>For others, this may be seen as a sign of changing times: while the idea of protecting personal information won&#8217;t disappear, the age of technology and digital information encourages people to put their information in the open. Why shouldn&#8217;t financial transactions be next?<\/p>\n<p>Of course, it&#8217;s your choice to decide! If you&#8217;re connected to people who use Venmo regularly but you don&#8217;t want anything open to the public, go into menu, choose <strong>&#8220;Settings,&#8221;\u00a0<\/strong>and head to<strong> &#8220;Privacy.&#8221;<\/strong> From there, you can alter the default setting for transactions from public to friends or private. Not only that, but it&#8217;s possible to alter the setting for all past exchanges as well, and block certain users.<\/p>\n<p>While some people may be fine with Public transactions, we hope this better informs your personal decision!<\/p>\n<!-- Shortcode [playwire] does not match the conditions -->\n<div class=\"sc-related-articles-white\">\r\n<p class=\"sc-related-articles-white__title\">More from Softonic<\/p>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"How to learn about Bitcoin without actually investing in it \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/how-to-learn-about-bitcoin-without-actually-investing-in-it\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/05\/bitcoin-2007769_1920.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>How to learn about Bitcoin without actually investing in it \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"Everything you ever wanted to know about Bitcoin (but were afraid to ask) \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-bitcoin-but-were-afraid-to-ask\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/03\/Bitcoin_Primer_Image11.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>Everything you ever wanted to know about Bitcoin (but were afraid to ask) \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__row\">\r\n    <a title=\"The Best Bitcoin Apps \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/the-best-bitcoin-apps\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/08\/bitcoin.gif)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>The Best Bitcoin Apps \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    <a title=\"An extensive guide to cryptocurrency trading \u25ba\" href=\"https:\/\/en.softonic.com\/articles\/an-extensive-guide-to-cryptocurrency-trading\">\r\n    <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__article\">\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__image\">\r\n        <div style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/imgpsh_fullsize.jpg)\"><\/div>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n      <div class=\"sc-related-articles-white__text\">\r\n        <p>An extensive guide to cryptocurrency trading \u25ba<\/p>\r\n      <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Venmo exchanges money between users, whether by connecting directly to a bank or acting as a temporary account for funds. Thanks to their excellent security, the ease of payment (if someone is in your phone&#8217;s contact list, you can quickly send or request money from them) makes Venmo an excellent way to settle small debts: &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/alert-venmo-puts-your-financial-transactions-out-in-the-open\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Alert: Venmo puts your financial transactions out in the open&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9152,"featured_media":105377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[1015],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-105184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105184"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":327605,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105184\/revisions\/327605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105184"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=105184"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=105184"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=105184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}