How To Guard Your Transactions: Venmo Privacy Hacks.(Expert Guide)

Can people see my transaction if my Venmo is “Private”?

Why does Venmo make transactions “Public”? 

According to Venmo “Privacy is a big concern with Technology”. Notwithstanding, with Venmo, you’re in control of your privacy. You can choose your privacy option, either Public, Friends, or Private, It depends on your preference. 

Initially, the app was designed for transactions between mutual friends and family. Is more of a Social Network. 

Technically, all Venmo transactions are public by default, except for goods and services payments, made with the Venmo Mastercard Debit Card or Venmo Credit Card. For instance, if you buy McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets, or pay for your House Rent, anyone can see the payment history on Venmo. I guess not all Venmo users are aware of this. 

However, you’re in charge of your account. You can decide to change the privacy to “Private”. You can as well, change past transactions to private. 

You don’t like people spying on your spending on Venmo? This article is for you. 

In this post, you’ll learn how to make Venmo transactions private, or how to change them to your preference. 

What are the Privacy Settings on Venmo?

There are three types of privacy settings on Venmo. They are,

Public 

Friends Only 

Private. 

Public: This is the default privacy setting on Venmo. All your transactions are public by default. It simply means anyone can see your transaction history. 

Friends Only: Going with this option, your transactions are only visible to your Venmo friends, and other participant’s friends too. 

Private: If you choose this option, all your transactions will be private. Only you and the recipient can see the transaction history. You can see the transaction history in your transaction feeds, located under the “Me” icon. 

How to Make Your Venmo Payment Private by Default?

As I mentioned earlier, you can change your Venmo privacy setting to your preferred choice. 

You can do this either on the web or the app. 

To change your Venmo privacy setting to private using the web, follow these steps.

  • Open Venmo’s official website and log in to your account 
  • Locate and tap “Settings”
  • Choose “Privacy”
  • Choose from these options, “Public”, “Private”, or “Friends”. In this case, you’re going for private
  • Click on “Private” and you’re done.

To change your Venmo privacy setting to private using the app, follow these steps.

  • Open your Venmo app 
  • Click on the “Me” icon 
  • Click on the “Settings” gear tab, located at the top right corner 
  • Click on “Privacy”
  • Select your preferred privacy default under the “Default Privacy Settings”
  • Click on “Change Anyway” when asked, “Are you sure you want to change your default Privacy Settings”? And you’re done.

Note: Any privacy settings between you and the recipient will be respected when initiating a transaction. 

How to make Past Payments Private on Venmo?

When Venmo said “You’re in control of your privacy” this is what they meant. 

It’s not just to choose the privacy of preference for future transactions, this time, you can swing around past transactions from public to private on Venmo. That’s amazing. 

You can achieve this on the app or the web. 

To do it on the web 

  • Open your browser and log in to your account on Venmo’s official website 
  • Tap “Settings” 
  • Click on “Privacy” 
  • Under “Past Payments”, choose “Change to Friends” or “Change to Private”.

Note: if you go for “Private”, it will affect all your past transactions, and turn them into private. It will remain private, it’s a permanent setting. 

You’ve to be sure if it’s what you want. If it’s okay with you, you can go on and change it anyway. 

To do it on the app 

  • Open your Venmo app 
  • Locate the “Me” tab 
  • Click on the “Settings” gear, located at the top right corner 
  • Click on “Past Transactions”
  • Choose “Change to Friends” or “Change to Private”/

How to set Individual Payments to Private on Venmo?

Changing your past transactions to private will permanently make them private. It might not be what you want. 

However, you can decide to make a payment private while making a payment. 

This method does not affect past transactions, rather it makes current payments private. 

Here is how to do it while making a payment 

  • Click on the “Privacy” option located at the bottom right corner 
  • Click and select your preferred privacy for the transaction 
  • Once the payment is successful, the selected privacy setting will show.

What Information Is Shared If Your Venmo Privacy Is Private?

If your transaction is private by default, Venmo will show the two parties involved, the name of the sender and recipient, the payment note, the payment amount, and the timestamp. You and the recipient can see the payment history. 

However, there’s a restriction for the recipient. 

As a sender, you’re the only that has access to the payment method used. Such as Debit/Credit Card numbers, Bank accounts, and other relevant information. The recipient can’t see it. 

What Information Is Shared if My Venmo Privacy Is Public?

In this case, 

Your payment note, your name, the recipient’s name, and the timestamp of the transaction will be displayed on the public feed. 

Secondly, only you and the recipient can see the transaction amount 

Lastly, you’re the only one (Sender) that has access to the payment method used. 

How Does Sharing Payments Work on Venmo?

All payments on Venmo don’t reflect the same. There are different settings for payment. 

Here are some of the payments, and their default privacy

  1. Venmo Debit/Credit Card Payments: when you pay for goods and services using the Venmo Mastercard debit card or Venmo credit card, payment privacy is private by default. Nevertheless, it’s possible to change the privacy setting on your purchase payment. 
  2. All Venmo transactions are “Public” by default. But you can change your default privacy option to either, “Private” or “Friends Only”. Once done, any payment henceforth will automatically reflect the preferred privacy setting. However, you can still change the payment privacy when making a payment. 
  3. All transactions on Venmo are visible on your transaction feed, notwithstanding your privacy setting. Your transaction history is located under the “Me” icon.

FAQs 

Can People See My Transaction If My Venmo is Private? 

No, if your Venmo is private, only you and the recipient can see the transaction history. But you’re the only one that can see the payment method used. Such as the bank account, and the debit/credit card number. 

Why Does Venmo Make Transactions Public?

The reason your Venmo transaction is public is that the digital wallet (Venmo) also acts as a Social network, according to Venmo. But you can change the privacy setting, from “Public” to “Private” or “Friends Only”.

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Conclusion 

All transactions on Venmo are public by default, except for the Mastercard debit card and Venmo credit card payments for goods and services. Card payments are private by default on Venmo. 

But the good thing is, you can select either Public, Friends, or Private

How helpful was this post, let us know in the comment section. 

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