Do you use virtual credit cards? (lm.paradisus.day)

submitted 1 year ago by rutrum@lm.paradisus.day to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

40 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I came across privacy.com, a service that generates virtual credit cards, like aliases for your real credit card that can be paused or discarded at any moment.

My own credit card company has this feature. But it requires a browser plugin that so obviously is there to track my spending habits, so I've not wanted to consider it. Privacy.com looks like a great alternative.

But is it even worth it? It may be a hastle, but I can also cancel my actual credit card at any moment and they will send me a new number immediately and a card a few days later. From a privacy prospective, how much can a company use my credit card credentials to track me? Maybe a third-party virtual card provider even masks my own purchases so not even my credit card company knows? Not sure about that one.

Please share if you use one, who its with, and if its worth it.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] highfiveconnoisseur@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I use Privacy on a rare basis. It doesn't require a browser plugin, you can just log into their site and copy/paste the information.

It is worth it for me as I use it to sign up for "free" trials that require credit cards and then I don't have to worry about getting charged.

A note about credit cards, if you have a history of payments with a company, that company can ask the issuer for an updated number after you get a new card number. If it works then they just store the updated number and keep up the subscription.

this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2023

97 points (98.0% liked)

Privacy

31912 readers

486 users here now

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

Posting a link to a website containing tracking isn't great, if contents of the website are behind a paywall maybe copy them into the post
Don't promote proprietary software
Try to keep things on topic
If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered
Reposts are fine, but should have at least a couple of weeks in between so that the post can reach a new audience
Be nice :)

Related communities

Chat rooms

[Matrix/Element]Dead
Discord

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS