Think your Venmo is private? You should double-check this setting
High-profile officials, including national security adviser Mike Waltz, have inadvertently exposed their networks through public Venmo accounts, according to WIRED. This serves as an important reminder for all Venmo users to review their privacy settings.
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If you haven’t checked your Venmo settings, your entire friends list and transaction history may be visible to the public. While it might seem harmless if someone sees that you sent a friend $10 for a shared pizza last month, your account could be revealing far more sensitive information than you realize.
What people can see on Venmo
By default, Venmo makes every payment and description public. The amount is hidden, but just by browsing through a few random friends’ accounts, I was able to see the location of their kids’ sports leagues, the name of a wedding venue for an upcoming ceremony, the name of a child’s classmate at elementary school, and even restaurants they frequent.
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Just as concerning is that your friends list is also public by default. Looking at my friends’ contact lists, it wasn’t hard to find their family members, coworkers, children’s teachers, daycare workers, and more. This information could be exploited by anyone — online trolls, stalkers, ex-spouses, law enforcement (in 2019, federal prosecutors used Venmo transactions as evidence in the case against a man involved in rapper Mac Miller’s death), or criminals.
A few years ago, BuzzFeed was able to find former President Joe Biden’s Venmo account. The issue wasn’t that the public could see he sent money to his grandchildren for their birthdays, but that it exposed an entire web of contacts, including family members and senior White House officials (and their networks).
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Now, WIRED has reported that the US’s national security adviser, along with other senior officials, left their Venmo accounts public, exposing their extensive network of personal and professional connections. Waltz’s account, for instance, displayed a list of 328 people, including figures like White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and several prominent media figures. This kind of exposure could be exploited by foreign intelligence services, posing a potential national security risk.
While researching for this article, I found several public profiles for local politicians, athletes from pro sports teams in my area, heads of local law enforcement organizations, local TV reporters, and more. By looking at each of their profiles, I got a clear picture of the people they interact with and the places they visit.
How to make your Venmo private
Making your Venmo private is easy. Keep in mind any changes you make will only apply to future payments. If you’d like to adjust the privacy of past transactions, simply go back to the Privacy section in settings and select “Past Transactions” to update those, too.
To begin, open the Venmo mobile app on iPhone or Android. Tap Me in the lower corner of your home screen to go to your profile page. From there, tap the settings corner in the top corner to access your account settings.
Once you’re in the Settings menu, scroll down to find the Privacy section. Here, you’ll be able to adjust who can see your transactions and friends list.
For maximum privacy, update the privacy setting for your whole account to “Private.” This will apply to all transactions moving forward.
If you’d like to change the privacy settings for past transactions, go back to the Privacy section and select Past Transactions. From there, you can adjust the visibility for previous payments as needed.
By default, everything on Venmo is public because the app was originally designed with a social aspect in mind. However, from a privacy perspective, this is clearly an issue. Exposing personal information and connections, even unintentionally, can lead to potential consequences, from identity theft to even national security risks. But, with a few simple taps, you can make sure that your Venmo account remains secure and your personal information stays private.
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