Data privacy and sharing phone book

Hello monzo community.

I have been engaged in chat with the support team via the app as I have been recently unable to send money requests without allowing access to my phone book.

I removed access to my phone book ages ago when I saw I was matched with people I really didn’t want knowing my personal banking arrangements.

Now I have used requesting money via a link in the past with no issues. I know it was possible before. However the team are saying I have to enable phonebook.

Nope, not on for privacy purposes (imho).

But now they have sent me the attached. From what I can see, if anyone has my number, and also banks with Monzo, the app will confirm that I bank with monzo without me having given my permission for that information to be revealed.

This doesn’t feel right to me. It feels like I should be allowed to restrict that info if I wanted to.

Though interested to understand other people’s thoughts?

Thanks!

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I can see why people wouldn’t like it, but personally I couldn’t care less who knows who I bank with.

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I have no worries about people knowing that I bank with Monzo.

If they have my mobile number in their phone then it’s because I gave it to them; frankly I’m more careful about sharing that kind of info than the existence of a bank account and my preferred name.

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If you have no issue with it, fair enough!

I do though and feel I should have the choice of how my data is exposed.

Two examples why:

  • a bad break up where I want an ex to know nothing about my ongoing situation after changing banks. I have no way of making them delete my number but can block them from contacting me. With this, they could stumble upon it. They know pretty much everything about me… it opens up issues.

  • bank fraud usually happened with data gathering. With this, a frauster just has to gather a long list of mobile numbers harvested in some way (your number will be on a list somewhere - doesn’t matter you haven’t given it). They just upload this list to an iPhone, fraudulently open an account, and they have added extra info to that data list.

It’s just not for me. So I want the option to turn that off.

If KYC was that easy to circumvent we’d all be doing it.

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KYC isn’t foolproof. Fraud does happen despite the best efforts of account opening procedures and teams.

Hey drew,

I believe in settings if you turn off payments with friends then no one (new?) can see you’re on monzo, but if you just block the app accessing your contacts in your phone settings then people can still see.

But turning off payments with friends stops your monzo.me link working unfortunately.

Unfortunate not - if anyone has your number, and a monzo account, it will match it. From what the service team said, you can’t prevent it.

When my mate signed up for monzo I couldn’t send him money in monzo for ages, I thought it was a caching issue, but when he turned on payments with friends I could send money to him.

These were my observations a few months ago , it could have changed.

It seems strange as I have used the function in the past without having contacts turned on, so it cannot be required unless monzo need it to contain costs.

I think you just blocked the app from accessing your contacts , you need to turn off payments with friends in settings.

It’s not linked to our app at all.

If someone else has your number, no matter how they have it, and they sync contacts to monzo, the app will confirm our account - with no permission sought - and no ability to restrict it. Nothing to do with sharing our own phone books.

They would therefore have your bank provider, name, and potentially picture to attach to your telephone number.

It just feels wrong to me.

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Monzo employees have said on here before than in that specific case you can ask for them to be disabled by asking COps

If it was really that bad a break up then getting a new phone number would probably be a bigger worry than seeing they bank with Monzo

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That screenshot to me implies that only after monzo has permissions for contacts will it share your name and picture with anyone.

My personal experience backs this up.

I would hope turning off payments with friends disables the sharing of pictures etc.

You can ask them in chat for clarification and someone who knows for sure will get back to you.

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Why should I change my number, which is in SO many (private) places because my bank has a policy that shouldn’t in my opinion be there to compromise it?

If there is an option, it should be publically available.

It’s like having the ability to go ex directory. Just give me the option.

Genuinely not how I read that at all.

I have arranged a callback as their chat service is not good enough and they keep dodging the question.

I am confused now - you do not worry about an ex having the number, but that they can find out you bank with Monzo using it?

It is not my area of expertise by any stretch, but I cannot see a rescue shelter, for instance, advising you to keep the same number and so on (*in the case of hypothetical extremely bad breakup)

Well I think it will depend on the breakup.

If there is physical issues and shelters involved, yes agree - ditch the number.

I was thinking more of them trying to access money from your accounts - which has happened to me.

Yeah maybe I wouldn’t have read it like that if I didn’t know.

Chat are avoiding it because they don’t anything.

Let is know here what the staff say.

There’s no way they can share your picture with random people, there’s nothing about it in the privacy notice.

Allowing payments with friends is what gives them the permissions, and they have the disclaimer that anyone can now see it.

Disabling payments with friends should block at least new users seeing your picture.

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Sure - will let you know. Not what I think they have told me and why I want to speak to them.