National security adviser Michael Waltz's recent embarrassment has highlighted the importance of keeping online financial transactions private. Waltz's publicly accessible Venmo account revealed the names of hundreds of his personal and professional associates, a mistake that can be easily avoided. As a popular and convenient way to transfer money to friends and vendors, Venmo requires attention to its privacy settings to ensure security and avoid unwanted exposure.

Venmo's default settings may not be as private as users think, which is why it's essential to review and adjust them. To keep your Venmo account secure, start by tapping on the Me icon at the bottom right of the page, then select the Settings gear at the top right and choose Privacy. Here, you'll find three settings: Public, Friends, and Private. Make sure to select Private to ensure that only the sender and recipient can see the transaction.

In addition to adjusting the default privacy setting, users should also consider hiding past transactions. To do this, go to Me > Settings > Privacy, then tap on Past Transactions and select Change All to Private. This will ensure that all your transactions are hidden from everyone except the sender and recipient.

Another crucial aspect of Venmo privacy is the friends list. To keep your contacts private, go to Me > Settings > Privacy, then tap on Friends List and select Private. This will make your friends list visible only to you. Additionally, toggle off Appear in other users' friends lists to prevent your name from showing up in their lists.

Further security measures include hiding your location from the app by going to Me > Settings > Privacy > Location and switching the app permissions. It's also important to note that when dealing with two accounts, Venmo will default to the more private setting. For example, if you send a payment and mark it Public, but the recipient has their default audience set to Private, that payment will still be private and only be visible to you and the recipient.

When installing Venmo, users are often asked if they want to sync the app with their contact list. Unless you plan to send money to a lot of your contacts, it's recommended to decline this option to maintain maximum privacy.

In conclusion, keeping your Venmo account private is a matter of reviewing and adjusting the app's settings. By following these simple steps, users can ensure that their financial transactions and contacts remain secure and out of public view.