About Privacy.com

Many websites now store users' credit card numbers. Even if the merchant itself has no bad intent, once the database is attacked, the real card number, expiration date, and CVV can still be exposed. Privacy's approach is to add a layer of virtual cards between the user and the merchant. Each Privacy Card has its own:

  • 16-digit card number;
  • expiration date;
  • CVV security code;
  • spending limits;
  • pause and close functions.

When shopping, merchants can only see the virtual card information generated by Privacy, and do not need access to the user's real bank debit card number. After the transaction is completed, Privacy then charges the user's linked Checking Account or debit card. Technically, Privacy Card is a Charge Card, and related banking services are provided by Patriot Bank. However, it works differently from a regular credit card:

  • It does not check your credit report;
  • It does not appear on your personal credit report;
  • It does not affect your credit score;
  • It does not charge credit card interest;
  • It cannot carry or roll over a balance for a long time;
  • Each transaction is charged to the linked funding source.

Therefore, although Privacy Card is shown as a Charge Card, it is closer to a virtual payment tool connected to a bank account, and is not a traditional credit card that can be used to build a credit history.

Sign-up and sign-up bonus

Sign up for Privacy.com now and receive a $5 credit that can be used automatically at any merchant.

Registration and use

Registration process

Using Privacy.com is still very simple. You just need to register, verify your identity, and link a bank debit card or bank account, and then you can add virtual cards on your own. After that, you can spend using the automatically provided card number.

  • First, verify your personal identity, including your address, phone number, name, and other information. Here you still need to enter real information...
  • After verification, you can add a bank card or debit card account. The backend is similar to many card-link programs; Privacy connects directly to the bank's backend for login and does not store passwords
  • Once linked, you can automatically receive the $5 signup bonus (Privacy credit), and the first card will be created automatically
  • You can change the card's cover image, modify its spending limit, set it as a single-use card, or delete the card
  • Copy the card number, expiration date, and CVV to make a purchase. Billing address and other information can be filled in freely. After the purchase, you will receive an email
  • Buy a $5.01 Amazon gift card to use up the account credit exactly. $0.01 is pending and will later be charged to your linked checking account or debit card

Eligibility

Privacy is currently available only to users who meet the following conditions:

  • At least 18 years old;
  • A U.S. citizen or legal resident of the United States;
  • A U.S. Checking Account;
  • A U.S. mobile phone number that can receive text messages;
  • An identification number, with most users using an SSN;
  • A U.S. physical residential address.

International students who hold the proper visa and legally reside in the United States can also sign up. U.S. citizens who are temporarily living overseas still need to provide a U.S. physical residential address. Privacy currently does not support ordinary international addresses.

How does Privacy.com protect your real card number?

Use a different card number for each merchant

A regular Privacy Merchant-Locked Card automatically becomes locked to that merchant after the first completed transaction. After that, even if the card number is stolen, transactions will be declined when other merchants try to use that card. For example, you can create separate virtual cards for Amazon, Netflix, mobile carriers, and internet services. If one website suffers a data breach, you do not need to change the payment method for other merchants.

Set spending limits

Each virtual card can be set with spending caps, including:

  • Per-transaction limit;
  • Daily limit;
  • Weekly limit;
  • Monthly limit;
  • Yearly limit;
  • Total cumulative spending limit.

For example, if an online subscription normally costs $10 per month, you can set the card's monthly limit to $10 or slightly higher. If the merchant later tries to charge more, any transaction over the limit will be automatically declined. Note that the card limit is not a balance loaded onto the card in advance. Only when an actual transaction occurs is the corresponding amount charged to the linked funding source.

Pause or close cards

If you are not planning to keep using a merchant, you can temporarily pause the virtual card or permanently close it. After closing, new charges are usually declined, even if the merchant still has the original virtual card number on file. However, closing a virtual card does not mean formally canceling your contract or subscription with the merchant. For services where you still have payment obligations, it is recommended that you also formally cancel through the merchant's process to avoid debt or account issues.

Privacy.com plans and pricing

Privacy currently offers four plans: Personal, Plus, Pro, and Premium. Paid plans add features such as category-locked cards, shared cards, Everywhere Card, 1% cash back, and no foreign transaction fees.

Plan Monthly fee Number of new cards you can create each month Main features
Personal $0 12 cards Merchant-Locked Card, Single-Use Card, spending limits, pause and close cards
Plus $5 24 cards Adds Category-Locked Card, card sharing, notes, and API
Pro $10 36 cards Adds Everywhere Card, 1% cash back, and no foreign transaction fees
Premium $25 60 cards Includes Pro features, offers a higher card creation limit, and is suitable for heavy users and small businesses

The free Personal plan is already enough for most everyday users. The 12 new cards per month refers to the number of cards that can be created each month, not that the account can only keep 12 cards at the same time. Plus is suitable for users who want to control budgets by spending category, share cards with family, or manage virtual cards through an API. Pro is suitable for users who want 1% cash back, use mobile wallets, or frequently spend with overseas merchants. Premium mainly increases the number of cards that can be created each month, making it more suitable for small businesses and high-frequency users.

Privacy.com virtual card types

Card type Available plan Primary use
Merchant-Locked Card All plans Locks to one merchant after the first use, ideal for long-term subscriptions and fixed websites
Single-Use Card All plans Automatically closes after the first transaction, ideal for one-time online purchases
Category-Locked Card Plus, Pro, Premium Locked to a specific spending category such as groceries, dining, or subscriptions
Everywhere Card Pro, Premium Can be used at multiple merchants and added to a mobile wallet for in-person contactless payments

Merchant-Locked Card is the most commonly used type. After a card is successfully used with a merchant for the first time, it becomes locked to that merchant and cannot be used at other merchants. This card is a good fit for:

  • long-term subscriptions such as Netflix and Disney+;
  • phone, internet, and software bills;
  • e-commerce sites you shop on often;
  • fixed vendors that you do not want to share your card number with other merchants.

Single-Use Card automatically closes after the first transaction is completed. Even if the merchant’s database is later breached, that card number cannot be used for new purchases. Single-use cards are a good fit for:

  • small websites where you only plan to make one purchase;
  • online merchants you are not familiar with;
  • one-time software or digital goods;
  • single orders that do not require later charges.

If a merchant may split the same order into multiple charges, or may need to add charges later, it is not recommended to use a single-use card, to avoid later authorization failures. Plus and higher-tier users can create a Category-Locked Card. The card can be locked to a specific category of merchants, for example:

  • groceries;
  • dining;
  • online subscriptions;
  • other supported merchant categories.

Compared with a Merchant-Locked Card that can only be locked to one merchant, a Category-Locked Card can be used at multiple merchants in the same category while rejecting purchases outside that category. Pro and Premium users can create an Everywhere Card. This type of card is not locked to a single merchant, can be used at multiple online merchants, and can also be added to:

  • Apple Pay;
  • Google Pay;
  • Samsung Pay.

After adding it to a mobile wallet, you can use it in physical stores that accept contactless payments. Each account can keep up to 3 active Everywhere Cards at the same time. Everywhere Card still supports pausing, closing, and spending limits. However, spending on this card type does not count toward the 1% cash back on Privacy Pro or Premium.

Pro and Premium 1% cash back

Pro and Premium users can earn 1% cash back on eligible transactions. Cash back is capped at $4,500 of qualifying spending per month, so the maximum monthly cash back is $45. Cash back first appears as Pending cash back and is automatically converted into usable Privacy Credit around the 10th of the following month. Privacy Credit can then automatically offset purchases made with a Privacy Card. The following transactions are usually not eligible for cash back:

  • Everywhere Card purchases;
  • international merchant purchases;
  • Money Transfer transactions;
  • some clothing and shoe merchants;
  • other transactions that do not meet the official terms.

So you cannot simply calculate all Privacy spending at 1%. Upgrading to Pro costs $10 per month, so if you are only chasing cash back, you would need to make about $1,000 in qualifying purchases each month just to offset the monthly fee with 1% cash back.

Other things to know

Foreign transaction fees

  • Personal: 3%, minimum $0.50 per transaction;
  • Plus: 3%, minimum $0.50 per transaction;
  • Pro: no foreign transaction fee;
  • Premium: no foreign transaction fee.

Privacy Card can be used with overseas online merchants that accept U.S. bank cards, but whether the payment is ultimately accepted still depends on the merchant itself. The $0.50 minimum fee on the free and Plus plans can have a big impact on small transactions. For example, a $5 overseas purchase works out to a 10% fee when calculated using the minimum charge. If you often use overseas subscriptions or international websites, you should use a traditional credit card with no foreign transaction fee, or consider the Pro plan.

How should you fill in Billing Name and Billing Address?

When paying with a Privacy Card, you can enter a name and billing address that you think fit the transaction; they do not have to match the information on your bank account exactly. However, if the order includes physical shipping, Privacy recommends using a Billing Address that is close to the Shipping Address to reduce the chance that the merchant’s address verification system will reject the order. In practice, it is not recommended to intentionally enter obviously false or completely unreasonable information. Some merchants combine:

  • Billing Address;
  • Shipping Address;
  • IP address;
  • phone number;
  • account history;
  • device information.

Even though Privacy allows flexible billing details, that does not mean you can bypass a merchant’s regional restrictions, purchase quantity limits, or risk controls.

What about refunds?

Even if you used a single-use card, or have already paused or closed the virtual card, refunds issued by the merchant can still be returned to the original funding source. Refunds usually appear within 1–3 business days after the merchant initiates them, depending on the bank. If a refund has not arrived for a long time, contact the merchant first to confirm the refund status, then contact Privacy support if needed.

Account and card spending limits

Users can set a spending limit for each virtual card, but the account itself also has an overall spending limit set by Privacy. The overall account limit is determined separately for each user and may be increased or decreased after automatic or manual review. You can check the following on the account page:

  • current account limit;
  • spending in the past 24 hours;
  • spending in the past 30 days;
  • remaining available limit.

Upgrading to a paid plan mainly increases the number of virtual cards and available features, and does not guarantee a higher account spending limit automatically. If you need a higher limit, you can contact Privacy and request a review.

What is Privacy.com good for?

Managing online subscriptions

You can create a separate Merchant-Locked Card for each subscription and set a limit slightly above the normal monthly fee. If a merchant suddenly raises prices or double-charges you, any charge above the limit will be declined. If you no longer need the service, you should still cancel the subscription properly; pausing or closing the virtual card is better as extra protection, not as a replacement for cancellation.

Shopping on small websites

If you need to enter payment information on a small website you are not familiar with, you can create a single-use card or a merchant-locked card. Even if the website later suffers a data breach, your real bank debit card information will still not be directly exposed to the merchant.

Controlling your budget

You can create separate virtual cards for different expenses, such as:

  • online subscriptions;
  • software services;
  • groceries and dining;
  • advertising expenses;
  • different projects or vendors.

Plus users can also use a Category-Locked Card to restrict merchant categories, or share specific virtual cards with family and friends.

Managing vendor spending for small businesses

Businesses can assign separate card numbers to different vendors or projects and set individual budgets. If a vendor is no longer needed, you only need to close the corresponding card; there’s no need to change the entire bank account or other vendors’ payment information. The free plan can also be used for business spending, but it can only create 12 new cards per month. Heavy users may want to consider the Premium plan, which allows up to 60 cards per month.

In-store payments with mobile wallets

Pro and Premium users can add the Everywhere Card to a mobile wallet and use it at physical merchants that support contactless payments, while still keeping features like pausing, closing, and spending limits.

Other interesting uses

  • Churning subscription promos: Some websites offer extra rewards for subscribing, such as certain reward promos on Swagbucks. But some sites make cancellation a hassle, so you can use this kind of one-time card, make the charge, and move on without having to cancel.
  • Placing multiple orders: Some sites limit how many orders you can place when there’s a promotion, and they usually verify things like the Billing Address. You can use this method to get around billing checks.
  • Spending on small websites: Sometimes you have to make purchases on certain small websites. Using a virtual card like this can reduce the risk of credit card theft and personal information leaks.
  • Contributed by reader Kuro: Another use is that, because the address on the generated card can be anywhere, it can be used to register a local PayPal account in a region-locked market and buy things like the Japanese Switch or PS4 store, letting you play Japanese games early.

Signup link