Venmo Redesign Makes New Users' Posts Friends-Only by Default (theverge.com) 10
Venmo is testing a major redesign that will make new users' payment posts viewable by their friends by default instead of being public. The Verge reports: It's a notable update for a platform that has struggled with privacy in the past. In 2021, BuzzFeed News tracked down President Joe Biden's Venmo account and the accounts of people in his inner circle because Venmo, at the time, had no way to keep your Venmo contacts private. It fixed that soon after.
As part of the redesign, if you're a new user and you do want your posts to be public (or private just to you), you'll be able to set that as part of the new onboarding flow. You can also change your preference in settings after the fact; an updated screen for sending money will also show if that post is private, visible just to friends, or is visible publicly before you make the transaction.
As part of the redesign, if you're a new user and you do want your posts to be public (or private just to you), you'll be able to set that as part of the new onboarding flow. You can also change your preference in settings after the fact; an updated screen for sending money will also show if that post is private, visible just to friends, or is visible publicly before you make the transaction.
damn it (Score:1, Funny)
Why would you ever want that to be public? (Score:3)
I can't understand the thought process behind them making everything public by default. Why on earth would anyone want personal financial transactions public?
That's the first setting I changed when I installed the app. I don't use it much, but some people prefer to be paid that way.
Re: (Score:2)
Likely it was a "social" thing. They want you to use them for things you do in public - I sent you my share of the restaurant bill and that becomes part of the social media chain of events - you went to a restaurant, and then yo
What am I missing here? (Score:2)
... make new users' payment posts viewable by their friends by default instead of being public.
In the first place, why would anyone ever want their payments viewable by the general public? And in the second place, why would anyone even want their friends to know about their spending by default?
I know I'm an old fart, and I do my best to take that into account. Still, I have to wonder why the fuck anyone would want to routinely share this kind of information. And that's before I even consider the ways in which such data might be weaponized.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Apparently it was a marketing strategy. They expose your private transactions to the public, so other people feel more comfortable using it. And I guess people either didn't know or didn't care.
Hell, some people prefer it that way so they can show off I guess? Think of it as the equivalent of flashing your wad in a fancy restaurant, back when it was fashionable to carry fat wads of cash.
Re: (Score:2)
They wanted to cash in (no pun intended) on the social media aspect. I had to finally get a Venmo acct and I found the whole thing to be patently stupid. I'm not trying to use my sales/purchases as clout or whatever the fuck they envisioned. I don't want a payment social media account. I just want to be able to send/receive money with minimal fuckery/bullshit.
Who actually used this feature (Score:2)
It's awesome to let the whole world know you bought tacos at the local food truck, but why was this a feature in the first place.
Zelle (Score:2)