Venmo Finally Fixes Its Privacy Problem After Eight Years
If you’ve used Venmo for more than a few years, you probably know that every transaction you made was public by default. That meant anyone with your username could see who you paid, what you bought (via the description), and how much you sent. Security researchers and privacy advocates have called this out since the app launched in 2009. Now, eight years after the first major criticisms, Venmo is finally changing the default.
What Happened
On May 11, 2026, 9to5Mac reported that Venmo is rolling out a server-side update that makes all new transactions private by default. That means when you send or request money, the payment details will only be visible to the people involved, not to the public or to Venmo’s friend feed. The update does not require you to download a new version of the app; it’s a setting change applied on Venmo’s end.
According to the report, this change applies only to transactions made after the update. Any payments you made before the default switched over will remain as they were: public, unless you manually changed their privacy setting at the time. Venmo has not announced a bulk retroactive privacy option, though you can still go back and change old transactions one by one or use the “Past Transactions” setting to set them all to private at once.
If you prefer to keep your transactions public for some reason—say, for a business account or a group expense where you want everyone to see—you can still opt in. The new default just shifts the burden from you having to remember to set each transaction to private to you having to intentionally make a transaction public.
Why It Matters
Public transaction feeds can leak a surprising amount of personal information. Your payment descriptions (often “rent,” “dinner,” or “Uber”) can reveal your location, schedule, and social circle. Researchers have demonstrated that Venmo’s public feed can be scraped to build detailed profiles of users without their consent. This is especially concerning for people in sensitive professions or those who have experienced stalking or harassment.
Other payment apps—like Cash App and Zelle—have always set transactions to private by default. Venmo was the outlier. The company finally acknowledging this flaw is a meaningful step, but it’s worth noting that the fix comes years after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and several state attorneys general raised concerns. The change was likely accelerated by new data privacy regulations in some states and ongoing scrutiny from regulators.
For the millions of people who use Venmo regularly, this update means one less thing to worry about. But it also serves as a reminder that default settings often shape our privacy online. When a service defaults to public, most users never change it.
What Readers Can Do
Even though the new default is private, it’s a good idea to verify your settings—especially if you have old transactions you want to hide.
- Open the Venmo app and tap the three-line menu icon (or your profile icon in the top right).
- Go to Settings (gear icon), then Privacy.
- Under Default Privacy, confirm it shows Private. If it still says Public, change it to Private.
- To change past transactions: in the same Privacy screen, tap Past Transactions and select Change All to Private. This will switch every payment you’ve ever made to private. (If you have some you want to keep public, you’ll need to change them individually afterward.)
- For future transactions you want to make public (e.g., a payment to a friend that you intend to be visible), you can toggle the privacy icon next to the “Pay” or “Request” button before sending.
After you update these settings, consider checking your friend list as well. If you have connections you don’t recognize, remove them—they were likely added via the old public feed for no good reason.
Sources
The information in this article is based on reporting from 9to5Mac, published May 11, 2026: “Venmo privacy finally being fixed eight years after ‘alarming’ fails” (link). Additional context on Venmo’s privacy history comes from prior coverage by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.