Venmo has become one of the most popular payment apps, with over 60 million users as of 2022. Its social feed sets it apart from dull banking apps by displaying friend activity. However, this social nature can also make controlling privacy more difficult when unwanted contacts interact with your account.
Fortunately, I‘m here to show you how to gain back your peace of mind by blocking anyone on Venmo with a few simple steps. Whether an ex, scammer, or casual acquaintance has overstayed their welcome, this guide has you covered!
Overview: Blocking Contacts on Social Payment Apps
Venmo rose to fame not only by simplifying payments between friends, but specifically because of its social feed showing recent transfer activity. This lets you easily split bills, share payments, and interact with your network similar to social media platforms.
However, the public nature of Venmo can be a double-edged sword. Suppose someone persistent keeps requesting money when you owe them nothing. Or an abusive ex knows they can annoy you via constant payment notes. Even close friends can annoy you with too many notifications.
Blocking unwanted contacts on payment apps is crucial to regain control of your account. It puts a halt to things like:
- Unwanted money requests or payments
- Constant pestering about owing funds
- Abusive/threatening contact from unwanted individuals
- Preventing specifics around your purchases being visible
I‘ll provide step-by-step instructions to block these trouble users on Venmo‘s mobile and desktop interfaces. First, let‘s talk about what happens when you block someone on Venmo specifically.
What Blocking Means on Venmo
Blocking another user on Venmo is quite comprehensive compared to other platforms. Here is what happens when you block someone:
- They can no longer view your Venmo profile or activity feed
- All interactions are stopped – they cannot message request money, see friends etc.
- You essentially become invisible! They won‘t know you blocked them specifically
- Previous payments only show amount paid and date with usernames hidden
- The blocked user does not receive any notification that you blocked them
To summarize, blocking cuts all ties between you and the user across Venmo. They lose the ability to message you, view your profile, or even find your account in searches or the main feed.
Now let‘s get into the step-by-step guide to blocking people seamlessly on Venmo‘s app and desktop site.
Blocking on Venmo‘s Mobile App
The Venmo iOS and Android apps make it easy to find and block unwanted contacts with just a few taps:
Step 1: Navigate to the User‘s Profile Page
Tap on the profile icon on the bottom right of your Venmo app to reach your feed page. From here you have two options to access the profile of the user you wish to block:
- Scroll through payments in your feed and tap their name/icon when one of their transactions appears
- Use the search bar at the top to directly search their Venmo handle
Either method will open up the profile page for any user that you have previously interacted with on Venmo.
Tip: You can also access profiles from transaction notifications or if you tap a payment note they were involved in.
Step 2: Open the Action Menu
With the unwanted user‘s profile page open, tap the three-dot menu button in the top-right corner:
This expands a menu overlay with various options.
Step 3: Select "Block"
In the action menu, choose the option to block this user to halt any further interactions.
A confirmation popup will appear – select Block again to go through with blocking them.
Step 4: Log Out and Back In
Here‘s an important step to ensure blocking takes effect properly: log out entirely from your Venmo account after blocking the user.
Wait a minute or two and log back in. The block should now be active with no way for the user to view your profile or payments.
| Action | Time |
|---|---|
| Open Profile Page | 5 sec |
| Open Action Menu | 2 sec |
| Select Block | 2 sec |
| Log out & back in | 60 sec |
| Total | 69 sec |
And that‘s it! Less than a minute of effort avoids endless pestering. Pretty easy right? Now let‘s cover blocking via desktop browsers.
Blocking Unwanted Users on Venmo‘s Website
Need to optimize your blocking experience on a larger screen? Here is how to block contacts by accessing your Venmo account through their website:
Step 1: Click "Search" in Left Menu
Visit Venmo.com in your browser and log into your account. Once on your main Payment feed page, click the Search link in the left side menu.
A search page will load where you can lookup the profile of the person to be blocked.
Step 2: Enter the User‘s Name
In the search bar that appears, type the first or last name, or Venmo handle, of the user in question. Matching profiles will automatically populate below.
Step 3: Open Profile Page
Select the name of the user you wish to block from the search results. This will open up their public Venmo profile page.
Step 4: Click the Action Menu
Similar to mobile, click the vertical three dot menu in the top right corner of the profile page.
This expands an action menu overlay.
Step 5: Select "Block"
Choose the Block option from the menu to permanently block this user from interacting with your account or payments.
Step 6: Log Out Then Back In
One final vital step – fully log out of your account and log back in after a minute or two. This refreshes your block.
And that‘s it! On desktop it takes less than a minute as well:
| Action | Time |
|---|---|
| Search for Profile | 8 sec |
| Open User Profile | 4 sec |
| Open Action Menu | 2 sec |
| Choose Block | 2 sec |
| Log Out & In | 60 sec |
| Total | 76 sec |
No more unwanted money requests or payments from this user! Let‘s go over some final best practices around blocking.
Following Up After Blocking Someone on Venmo
Here are some tips to ensure blocking was successful and check if you have any other unwanted contacts:
-
After logging back in, verify the blocked user does not appear in your main payment feed or searches
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Check your privacy settings to see all users you currently have blocked under "Blocked"
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While in privacy settings, consider making payments "private" by default to only you
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Report the user to Venmo if they violated any terms around harassment or abuse
And that covers the A to Z guide on blocking people on Venmo smoothly! Let me know if you have any other questions.