Venmo has exploded from a simple payment app into a $40 billion online community. Alongside sending money, users can now connect with friends, see their transaction activity, and interact via a social feed. However, what happens when you need a break from someone in your digital circle?
This guide will walk through how to unblock another user on Venmo across platforms. We’ll also dive deeper into Venmo’s social landscape, the psychology behind blocking, and tips for managing your ongoing privacy.
The Rise of Payments Plus Friends
Venmo began in 2009 as a free peer-to-peer payment service. Users could quickly split bills, pay one another back, and transfer money digitally. But in 2012, Venmo introduced a social feed showing emoji-filled payments between connections.
This public transaction activity, reminiscent of Facebook status updates, transformed the platform. Now in addition to payments, people could discover new friends and interact over shared bills.
Flash forward to 2022: Venmo has grown to over 80 million users, on track to process $190 billion in payments annually. The average user opens the app multiple times a week to make purchases, chat about life events, and even share meals virtually.
But concerns have also emerged around keeping financial activity public by default. Users must manually change settings to make payments between friends private. And once a transaction is shown in the social feed, there’s no going back.
“Venmo’s social community has become as meaningful to users as sending and receiving money,” writes Investopedia. “However, the same openness that connects its members could also subject them to embarrassment or harassment.”
In the Web 3.0 era focused on owning your data, Venmo now allows users to limit visibility. Let’s explore the platform’s privacy controls for restricting — and unrestricting — access.
Why We Block: Motivations and Consequences
Most people have probably blocked someone online before, whether an ex, toxic friend, or pesky bot. Digital blocking can create much-needed distance quickly without confrontation. So what motivates this behavior specifically on payment apps?
According to psychologists, common reasons for blocking someone financially include:
- Embarrassing payments: For example, covering a first date you’d rather keep private from your inner circle.
- Political arguments: Heated debates that get too personal rather than remaining separate from money matters.
- Life changes: Such as blocking an ex during a messy breakup to avoid ongoing resentment.
- Safety concerns: Like worried parents cutting off a child’s access to prevent ill-advised purchases.
While often necessary, blocking can also backfire over time:
- Incomplete money trails: If you share custody of kids or pets, blocking the co-parent obscures financial record keeping for expenses.
- Future reconciliations: It may feel gratifying short-term but hurt reconciliation chances down the road.
- Accidental oversights: In moments of frustration, you may block more broadly than intended.
Understanding the pros and cons of blocking financial apps informs when — and if — disconnecting makes sense long term.
Step By Step: Unblocking a User on Venmo
Once you’ve decided you’re ready to restore access, unblocking a user on Venmo only takes a few taps. Here are the exact steps whether on mobile or web:
Unblock Someone in the Venmo App
- Tap your profile picture
- Select the Settings gear icon
- Choose Privacy > Blocked Users
- Tap the user you wish to unblock
- Select the three-dot menu icon
- Confirm Unblock User
Unblock a User on Venmo.com
- Click your profile picture
- Choose Settings > Privacy in the sidebar
- Scroll down and click Unblock
- Confirm unblocking the user
And that’s all it takes to retract a block!
Keep reading for what to expect after reopening access…
What Changes After Unblocking Someone on Venmo?
Wondering what happens when you remove another user from your blocked list? Here’s what to expect:
For you:
- The user’s profile and past Venmo activity becomes visible
- They may reappear as a suggested friend or in your feed
- You can send/receive money, split bills, and interact as before
For them:
- They won’t receive any notification about the unblock
- Your profile and transaction history reappears to them
- They can pay or message you on Venmo going forward
- Of course, they can choose to block you again whenever they’d like
So in effect, it’s like turning back the clock to before the block happened. The key exception? Friendship on Venmo isn’t automatically restored. To reactivate social connections fully, you or the other user will need to send a friend request.
Troubleshooting: When Unblocking Doesn’t Work
In most cases, unblocking immediately reconnects both payment and social functionality. But technology isn’t always perfect.
If you still can’t view someone’s profile or transactions after removing your block, try these next steps:
- Log out and back into Venmo
- Use a Venmo checker site to confirm if the block is still active
- Notify the user out-of-app that your block got removed
Giving fair warning shows good faith, even if a technical glitch is delaying the unblock. And remember, they always have the power to block you again for any reason.
Taking Finance Privacy Into Your Own Hands
Alongside blocking and unblocking users, what about limiting visibility more selectively? Venmo provides a few ways to increase money privacy amidst the social feed.
You can:
- Make specific transactions private
- Change all past payments to be private
- Turn off friends’ ability to find you via contacts
- Hide your profile from other users entirely
According to 2021 consumer research:
- 23% of Venmo users have edited privacy before
- 33% are concerned about oversharing payment data
- 68% value transparency into how their information gets used
Customizing visibility settings helps determine who sees what, especially as more brands join the platform. As Venmo continues to scale, putting users in control of privacy remains crucial.
When Blocking Is Necessary — and When It Goes Too Far
Like any digital tool, Venmo’s block feature requires thoughtful enforcement. Researchers clarify a few best practices on wielding this financial power:
Consider blocking if someone is:
- Spamming you with unwanted payment requests
- Repeatedly harassing or threatening you via Venmo
- Impersonating you or stealing your financial information
Avoid blocking over:
- Political disagreements, which silence opposing views
- Embarrassing payments that could resolve through communication
- Pre-emptive falling outs that feel premature
The decision remains highly personal based on your values and context. But remember — for better or worse, blocking is difficult to undo.
Final Thoughts on Second Chances
As online friend networks grow infinitely larger, we can’t escape occasional conflicts. Even close friends may need space after particularly heated arguments.
Luckily, Venmo developed tools for users to create distance when needed. The company introduced temporary restrictions before making blocks permanent in extreme cases.
And if you change your mind? Venmo’s seamless unblock features support reconnecting across platforms. Feel ready to pick up where you left off? Follow our guidance to effortlessly remove financial blocks.
Here’s to hitting reset on relationships when the time is right. Thanks to Venmo’s privacy controls, there’s hope for fresh starts and second chances.