The Venmo app is turning out to be a popular money transfer application globally. Besides, it's a social network, Venmo is exceptional! The tricky part of transacting with a Venmo app is that your transaction history can be visible to a specific set of people. Thus, this can compromise your safety, especially when linking this app with your bank or debit card.
By exposing your transaction history, cybercriminals who know how to hack Venmo can steal your identity and wipe your account. Besides, who wants their transaction details to be in public? To safeguard your transaction details on Venmo, you need to learn how to delete the records or get alternative solutions to your privacy concerns. Read more about transacting on Venmo and how to do it safely.
Venmo is an excellent choice for anyone looking to transfer or pay money to a friend who uses Venmo. The service is also available for transferring funds to a bank account. While you can quickly delete your Venmo transaction details, here is what you need to know first;
You Cannot Erase Venmo Transactions Records Completely
Venmo allows you to delete your transaction data from your account but not from their servers. This means your transaction history is saved on their servers. At this point, you don't have to worry about the safety of your data. It is not open to the public feed, and the company uses the info to prevent fraud and generally improve transaction security. Visit Venmo's official website for more details on its privacy policy.
Make Your Venmo Transaction Records Private
Unfortunately, Venmo's default settings allow all transaction details to go to the public feed. Therefore, anyone with a Venmo developer's API can view your transaction history. The details will be viewable without your consent, nor do they have to be Venmo app users.
The feed does not reveal the amount that has been transacted. However it shows;
- Names and photos of the involved parties
- Date and time of the transaction
- Purpose of the transaction
- Any text message in the transaction
To safeguard such information from the public feed, you must edit Venmo default settings. You can hide the transaction history for past and future transactions by changing the default settings. Here is how to do it;
Step 1: Open the Venmo app and go to Settings, and tap Privacy
Step 2: Head to Default Privacy Settings and select Private from the options available.
Step 3: A confirmation prompt will pop up; tap Change Anyway.
Step 4: While on the Privacy page, navigate to under More and select Past Transactions.
Step 5: In the new Past Transaction tab, select Change All to Private and confirm your selection in the confirmation prompt.
After following all the steps above, all your previous transactions will no longer be available on the Public feed. Instead, you will only be able to view them under the Private tab. However, the transaction will still be viewable by the recipient of your funds or anyone who sent you money.
For future transactions, you can make them private individually for every transaction you will make. When making the payment, choose Private Settings for any transaction.
Opt to Close Your Venmo Account Permanently
If you still find it uncomfortable that Venmo servers hold your transaction details, you can delete your account.
To delete your Venmo account;
Step 1: Open the Venmo app, tap on your profile picture or initials and go to the Me tab.
Step 2: Before you proceed, check your account balance and transfer any balances to your bank account, e-wallet, or friend. You cannot delete your Venmo account if it has any balances.
Step 3: In the top right corner, tap on the Settings gear
Step 4: Under Preferences, select Account
Step 5: Scroll downwards to the bottom of the page and tap Close Venmo Account.
Step 6: Click Next to confirm your choice of closing the account. A new page will open where you can review your transactions. On this page, you will have a choice to download your latest statement.
When the deletion process is successful, you'll receive an email from Venmo notifying you your Venmo account has been deleted. The email will also show your last statement. Once you are done, tap Next to proceed to delete your Venmo account.
Note: Once you delete your Venmo account, you cannot recover it. And even after the successful deletions, Venmo will still hold part of your information for some days.
Delete Venmo Account from Your PC
If you cannot access your Venmo mobile app and you still need to delete your account, you can do it from a PC;
Step 1: Open your favorite browser, head to the Venmo home page, and log in to your account.
Step 2: Once logged in, your recent transactions will appear together with the main Venmo interface. In the right upper corner, click Settings.
Step 3: Navigate downwards and click on the Close my Venmo Account
Step 4: A pop-up message will appear asking you to review and download your latest statement prior to closing the account. You can choose to Cancel or click Next to proceed.
Step 5: Once you receive the statements, click Next.
Step 6: A warning message will pop up asking you to confirm your choice, click Close Account to finish the process or Cancel to exit the process.
When you no longer want to maintain your Venmo account, experts advise that you close it from a personal computer rather than other devices. Closing a Venmo account from a Mac or PC is the same.
When it comes to transacting online, privacy is vital. Venmo transaction history is not an exception! It is in your best interest to keep your online transaction information private.
Conclusion
The default settings on every transaction on Venmo are set to publish in the public feed. This can be uncomfortable for anyone who is concerned with their online safety. While you cannot permanently delete your Venmo transaction records from your account or Venmo servers, there are different ways to keep safe. You can choose to make your Venmo transaction records private, or you can opt to delete your account when it's worse.
