Venmo app update to nix social feed of strangers’ payments

Peer-to-peer payments app Venmo, which has been known for the “social feed” component of the app that features the payment behaviors of strangers, is getting rid of the feature in its latest app update.

Why should we care?
Venmo, which is owned by PayPal, says users will still be able to have a social feed in their app, but only people on their friends list who haven’t decided to keep those transactions private. Users also won’t be able to search and view payment activities of people who aren’t their Venmo friends, or see their contact lists. The change, which will become active in Venmo’s next app update, marks a maturing of a social payments app whose random social feed garnered mixed reviews. It’s also resulted in security scares for some prominent people: For example, in May, Buzzfeed reporters were easily able to find President Joe Biden’s Venmo account, along with his network of Venmo contacts. (The president, fortunately, opted to keep his transactions private). Needless to say, a publicly viewable contact list for the president was a security nightmare for the Oval Office. PayPal, a few years ago, had to settle a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over privacy disclosures. In particular, the FTC took issue with a default setting that made transactions public by default. A revamped Venmo app, which is expected to roll out over the next few weeks, will de-emphasize the social feed and add new functions, including support for new payment types and expanded purchase protections for commercial transactions, and more prominent placement of crypto offerings.