【Brigitte Meyer】

Source：Charm Information Network Editor：Digital Culture Time：2025-06-26 18:27:06

The Brigitte Meyerinternet collectively went insane when Snapchat introduced its new Maps feature at the end of June.

The update lets you see where your friends are on a virtual map. It can also give you some indication of what they're doing, like sleeping or listening to music. So, naturally, everyone was all up in arms about this info being out there.

But have we all forgotten about a little app called Venmo?

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That's right: Venmo gives people way more access to your personal life than Snap Maps does. This is especially true considering a lot of people now keep their Snapchat account on Ghost Mode.

Let me break down exactly why Venmo is the true creeper's paradise.

It might seem like a friendly, harmless payment app on the surface. In reality, Venmo exposes your darkest secrets to the world.

...OK, it's not that bad, but you can find out some serious info if you decide to dig through your friends' Venmo transactions.

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The first thing I found a little suspicious when I downloaded the app a few years ago was how I suddenly knew who lived together (and sometimes where). I would see a bunch of rent transactions popping up for one person.

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Occasionally that person even paid their landlord on Venmo, so I knew exactly where their house was. The transaction would description would look like this: "Molly Sequin July Rent 432 W Dayton Street". So all of a sudden, everyone on your feed knows right where you're at.

But this was just the beginning of it all.

Sometimes people get shy about sharing details about a new person they might be seeing. Have a hunch? Confirm it on Venmo -- where there's no hiding. If you see your friend paying the same fellow over and over again for food and adventures, something might be up.

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You can do some deep diving here. Julia and Tim went out to dinner -- Mexican, specially -- three times this week. They saw a concert on Friday night. Julia paid Tim for a cab in the wee hours of the morning. (Yes, Venmo not only tells you what the transaction was, but how many minutes ago it went down.)

It's like a real life detective game, and all of your friends and acquaintances are the players. I've found out about new relationships, breakups, and reconciliations, all through Venmo creeping. And I know I'm not the only one.

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While the Snapchat community was worried that Maps would give people FOMO, Venmo users already know all about that. I don't know the number of times I've seen "best friend fee" used as the transaction description. And as annoying as that is, I've definitely used it myself.

Besides the fact that people are straight up declaring their friendship, you're also constantly seeing the fun things your friends are doing together while you're home alone, creeping through their Venmo feeds.

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Just like you can go on Ghost Mode to prevent people from creeping on you on Snapchat, there's also a way to hide your Venmo activities. When you're in the app, go to Settings > Privacy. From there, you can make all of your future transactions visible to participants only, everyone, or just yourself. You can do the same for past transactions.

Although this won't stop you from creeping on others, it'll make sure the whole world doesn't know the ins and outs of your life. So increase your privacy or leave your life up for grabs.

Just remember: Humans are creepy and someone's always watching you.

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Topics Apps & Software Cybersecurity Privacy Snapchat

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【Brigitte Meyer】

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