According to a U.S. Federal Trade Commission report, e-commerce shoppers are at greater risk of fraud, identity theft, and breach, than physical credit card detail theft. Fortunately, some platforms offer online anonymity and privacy with private virtual cards for e-shoppers, and Privacy.com is one such app.
But is Privacy.com the best virtual card provider? This post will dive into the best Privacy.com alternatives, reviewing other secure virtual card services that empower you to take control of your online shopping privacy and keep your transaction details safe.
Privacy.com is a fintech platform offering virtual card services to protect users' banking information from being compromised during online transactions. Each virtual card can be set up with spending limits and tied to a specific merchant to prevent unauthorized use elsewhere.
Privacy.com also allows users to create multiple virtual cards that can be paused, unpaused, and closed anytime.
However, Privacy.com links to users’ bank accounts to fund purchases made with the virtual cards which creates a direct connection between your bank account and your virtual spending, so users have to rely on Privacy.com's ability to protect that connection.
Privacy.com virtual cards support one-time use, so users can create a separate card for every purchase and cancel the card after the transaction. They can also set spending limits and expiration dates to make their virtual cards last for a particular period of time or freeze and unfreeze them to block payments.
Privacy.com offers two-factor authentication and biometric security features. Its dashboard lets users track their transactions and see notifications in real time.
According to independent user reviews from TrustPilot, here are some of the benefits of Privacy.com:
Other reviews from TrustPilot also reveal some of the downsides of using Privacy.com:
Privacy.com offers three plans:
Here are the best alternatives to Privacy.com:
Cloaked is a privacy-first platform designed to provide users with complete online invisibility and optimal security. It is also set to roll out “Cloaked Pay,” a feature that gives users an anonymous virtual card to use for shopping online safely so they never have to input their real credit card details on any e-commerce website again.
With the Cloaked virtual payment feature, users get a fund wallet to see their Cloaked Pay balance. They can also fund individual online identities on Cloaked Pay–which is very helpful for budgeting. For example, you can decide to transfer $300 to your Shopify identity on Cloaked to limit your Shopify spending for the period. The best part? You can do all of these without revealing your identity to the online world.
How does Cloaked offer complete privacy and anonymity? On Cloaked, users generate de-identified phone numbers, emails, usernames, passwords, and more that can shield and privacy-protect their real identities.
With Cloaked, [email protected] can be protected with the front-end real email address of [email protected], and you can use this email address just the same way you would a gmail email address, except it does not expose your personal identifiable information that could link its way back to you, for tracking, hacking, or other purposes.
Cloaked also supports batch-replacement of multiple identities simultaneously with secure email addresses, phone numbers, usernames, and passwords in the case of a security compromise or data breach.
Cloaked also allows users to store and share private information securely, so you never have to send sensitive information via plain text again. Cloaked is also a password manager that creates, stores, and auto-fills your passwords. Cloaked uses a zero-trust architecture and end-to-end encryption for everything stored on the app, so no one can access your information without your consent.
Features & Services:
Pros:
Cons:
Revolut is a FinTech company that offers digital banking services through an app. It provides prepaid debit cards, peer-to-peer transactions, foreign currency, and cryptocurrency exchange. Users manage every transaction through the app, which is enabled with 2FA to boost security.
Features & Services:
Pros:
Cons:
Capital One offers virtual credit card numbers from Eno, a virtual card security assistant. It allows users to lock and unlock their virtual cards via their app and also sends alerts on suspicious card activities like excessive tips or double charges.
Features & Services:
Pros:
Cons:
Ironvest (formerly Blur) is a password manager platform that creates and manages user passwords on different websites. It offers masked email addresses, private phone numbers, and masked single-use debit cards. It’s decentralized and offers 2FA authentication.
Read more on how Cloaked compares to Ironvest in this Complete Ironvest Review.
Features & Services:
Pros:
Cons:
American Express provides virtual cards that can be used for one-time or recurring payments. The virtual cards are issued on users' Amex credit lines, so holders of only Amex can have the virtual one. The virtual cards platform integrates with Google and is compatible with all Google-enabled devices.
It also works in partnership with Fyle — a software that tracks expenses and helps users manage numerous virtual cards on the platform.
Features & Services:
Pros:
Cons:
Wise Visa debit card supports multi-currency transactions. It offers users the option to create a virtual Mastercard or Visa card and send money to multiple countries. It also has a dashboard for users to track expenses on their virtual cards.
However, users can only create a maximum of three virtual cards, which is a limitation for users who want to use a single card for just one vendor.
Features & Services:
Pros:
Cons:
CitiBank is a banking platform that offers virtual cards that can be customized for single-use or multi-use. CitiBank virtual cards are tied to an existing Citi credit card, if the physical card gets deactivated, the virtual one gets deactivated also.
Features & Services:
Pros:
Cons:
Skrill allows users to purchase goods and pay online, send, receive, withdraw money, and keep money in a virtual wallet on the app. The Skrill virtual card functions as a prepaid MasterCard. That is, users must add funds to the card before using it for payment. Skrill also allows its users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on the platform.
Features & Services:
Pros:
Cons:
Here are the most commonly asked questions about Privacy.
No. Privacy.com only caters to US citizens or legal residents of the US.
The best anonymous virtual card is offered by Cloaked via Cloaked Pay. The Cloaked Pay virtual card is an anonymous card with unique card details. Users can easily create one on the Cloaked app or desktop dashboard.
With Cloaked’s anonymous virtual card, users can create a card to make purchases online and delete the card once they have no use for it.
The best Privacy.com alternative is Cloaked. Use Cloaked if you want a platform that offers complete privacy and functionality. Cloaked provides all the features and functionalities needed to transact online while remaining completely anonymous.
There are many alternatives to Privacy.com, but not all provide complete privacy. A good privacy app not only protects its users from data breaches and brushing scams but also secures their personal data.
In addition to offering virtual cards, Cloaked has extensive features for individual online security. It offers client-based encryption that shields its users' personal information and puts them in control of their data so that even Cloaked can not access it.
Cloaked not only stores and protects your passwords but also imports them from other password managers, supports multiple identity management, and uses multi-factor authentication for maximum security.
Cloaked is not just any other privacy app; it is your number one bus stop for complete anonymity.