The payments app that killed, “Don’t worry, I got it next time,” announced a privacy-centric update yesterday. Venmo is getting rid of its public feed as part of a larger app redesign that’ll roll out over the next few weeks.
- Users can still post publicly, but without the feed available, they’ll need to head to people’s profiles to stalk view non-friends’ transactions.
The backstory: Venmo has historically billed itself as a social network, but showcasing a running list of everyone’s purchases may be one step too far for financial regulators. The FTC cited that feature, among others, in a complaint against Venmo that was settled back in 2018.
In addition to expanding privacy controls, the app redesign will emphasize two new sections:
- Cards, for people who own Venmo’s credit or debit cards
- Crypto, a space to view trends, then buy, sell, or hodl bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, and bitcoin cash
Bottom line: Venmo’s app redesign is a visual nudge to its users that it’s moving beyond social payments, as it diversifies its business model in the face of privacy concerns.