How to keep your Venmo account private

is a reviews editor who manages how-tos and various projects. She’s worked as an editor and writer (and occasional sci-fi author) for more years than she cares to admit to. She can be found on Threads as @barbarask. As if things weren’t embarrassing enough for national security adviser Michael Waltz, what with inviting a journalist into a private policy group chat and all, Wired discovered that his Venmo account was wide open, revealing the names of “hundreds of Waltz’s personal and professional associates.” Venmo is a popular and convenient way to transfer money to friends and vendors, but it’s a good idea to keep it as closed down as possible, as it is with any online banking institution. To keep your Venmo account as secure as you can, here are some ways to avoid exposing your contacts, and your account, to public scrutiny — or worse. Check and change your privacy settings Left: You can change your default settings to private. Right: It’s a good idea to keep your friends list ... Read full article.