For some reason a year ago I was really paranoid and decided to make a privacy.com account underneath a fake name and DOB a year ago just to see what it was like (I know it was stupid). I signed back into it this year to actually use it and added my debit card to it. Only after I did that I realized that I was using a fake name and closed the account to make one under my real name. I opened a new one under a simplelogin alias (idk if this, using a VPN, my ssn, or my debit card triggered the further ID verification), and now it is asking for me to confirm my identity through biometrics using onfido. I am fine with privacy.com knowing who I am so I can have privacy from other websites, but I don’t know if I can trust this third party with my biometrics and ID. As far as I can tell the identity verification of SSN and debit card alone should be enough for most people to create a privacy.com account, right? Am I overreacting and should do it since my threat model is just trying to defend myself against the selling of my personal info by companies? Should I try starting over and making a new account with a less suspicious email and without a VPN or would I be digging myself further into a hole and make myself look more suspicious? I would prefer to use privacy.com since I’m a student and really would not like to have to pay for another service, but if cheap enough I could try to use something else if necessary.
Website: Protect yourself and your private data from breaches and fraud.
Also website: Hey give us all your info 
Yeah I thought my whole SSN and debit card info should be enough for them but apparently not 
If you have crypto or the ability to get crypto I recommend getting a virtual visa card from
- CakePay
- Bitrefill
You can’t use VPN/Proxy to register the card but besides that no other info is “verified”.
They require KYC for everyone. I failed their KYC checks so they wanted further proof of life and photo and ID upload. However, when reading through the third party provider terms, I found a clause I could not agree with (at least the first of many). They use a UK company, Onfido, which is an etrust company. Under Section 4 “Data Sharing”, they share your biometrics and ID data (previously defined as personal information, amongst other data), with third parties, etc, etc, but most notably, “Under the instruction of clients and as permitted by applicable
law, Onfido currently shares identity documents with the UK
Metropolitan Police as part of their Amberhill Database for such
purposes;” (emphasis mine) The link is https://onfido.com/privacy/ and still valid as of the time of this post.
Further, they (both privacy dot com and onfido) hotlink to a bunch of other policies and terms which are all subject to change without notice. Linked lists all the way down.
Even if I physically appeared in the NY offices of privacy dot com, they would simply take the picture and use Onfido to verify that the person standing in front of them is actually me.
I gave up and used my local state privacy law to have my account and any related/provided data deleted.
Thank you, yeah that sounds very invasive, I don’t want to use a service like that. What did you decide to use instead?
@ihateKYC, thank you for the suggestions, I don’t currently have crypto but I’ll try those out when I get some.
I just keep using prepaid gift cards bought with cash. These don’t work online, obviously. I’ll continue to buy local and keep looking for another solution.
edit: let me clear that up. prepaid cards for amazon, apple, google, etc work on the respective sites, but do not work cross-site or cross-functional. I can’t use an apple prepaid card in place of “apple pay”, for example. And prepaid visa/amex/mc/etc cards require KYC to work for online transactions.
And prepaid visa/amex/mc/etc cards require KYC to work for online transactions.
I have never ran into this issue with virtual visa paid with crypto. Are you referring to 3DS requirements or them actually verifying your info?
I’m referring to the prepaid gift cards and such one can buy at local stores with cash. When trying to use them online, they all fail. When going to the site to check a balance or something, it requires kyc compliance to use the card online.
Greetings all here at Privacy Guides!
Here is the ongoing issue and metal debate I have been having with myself:
I am wanting the card aliasing services and privacy in terms of purchasing that privacy.com gives (yes I am aware that KYC is a thing but I am speaking in terms of purchasing from merchants). I went to go sign up for privacy.com and went though the KYC of SSN and Government ID as well as bank connection. I was then prompted to do a facial ID scan (biometric) via Persona (at least to my memory it was them). I have read else where that its Onfido but I can’t recall fully. If I don’t do this access to an account is NOT available. I have contacted support and asked for a manual review of submitted ID and was met with the statement that as of now this is the only way to verify and manual review is NOT allowed.
The debate is do I do the scan and have my biometrics out there as an attack vector or look for an alternative to privacy.com that does NOT do the face ID. I do NOT want to give any sort of biometric ID if possible but if I must I must.
Here are some alternatives I have been debating on using:
- ironvest.com (formerly Blur) [I have read many mixed reviews about them]
- My Sudo [I enjoy the premise of this but the features are lacking and use case is not well suited to what I want. as well as some cases where they close the account due to geographic location bothers me]
- cloaked.com (although their aliasing is invite only as of making this post)
- Halocard [recently learned about and from what I seen in features and privacy policy they seem best suited for what I am after. Yes I saw the post here on the forums from the founder]]
- Revolout [I like the worldwide accepted aspect but they seem to “megacorp” for me to feel comfortable]
Do any of you have experiences with any of the alternatives listed? What are some of the downfalls you have found? What are some upsides to the alternatives? Are there any I haven’t listed you recommend?
Some context: I am using Graphene OS and Linux OS’s. I am after the ability to use any name alias and billing address with the virtual cards (like what privacy.com does). I wish to segment purchases as much as possible (this will likely require roughly 30+ cards a month from my estimates). If tap to pay is an option I wish to use that (hopefully avoiding google pay and apple pay if possible) for in store purchases. I want the convenience of NOT using prepaid cards if possible.
If I missed any information or context please let me know! I will do my best to monitor the forum post and reply as best I can.
Thank you so much in advance!
I’m not American and don’t live in the US, so I do not qualify to open an account with Privacy.com. However, it was previously my understanding that the way they verify your ID is through SSN, and some kind of document from your bank confirming your name, DOB, etc. I don’t remember them requiring biometrics or a copy of your ID.
My understanding was that you had to have some ties to the United States through residency or citizenship and a US bank account. I have American friends and family who have never lived in the US, and therefore, because they don’t have a US bank account, could not qualify for a privacy.com account despite being citizens.
But there are Americans like Josh Summers from the YouTube channel All Things Secured, who have been living in Asia for a long time, but were still able to open an account with Privacy.com because they still have a US bank account and all kinds of concrete ties to the country.
If I were in your shoes, I would not attempt to create a third account. I would contact support and inquire about your situation. I am doubtful that creating a third account would work. And if I did consider doing that I would delete my current accounts first.
This would be a good opportunity to see how Privacy.com’s data retention policy works. My guess is, even if you delete your account, they keep some info for a while, if not forever.
But again, don’t create a third account. Contact support first. Not sure if I would admit to creating an anonymous account. That could risk you getting permanently blacklisted.
Iirc someone mentioned that with Apple card you can change the card number repeatedly.
I would use Monero and giftcards w/CakePay when you can and then you could use the credit card services on XmrBazaar.
That would get you significantly more payment privacy than privacy.com, but it might be less convenient.
If you prefer to avoid biometric verification entirely, you might consider the crypto-based virtual card alternatives suggested by other users or simply use your local state privacy laws to request data deletion as one commenter did.
Try giving them a call and sharing your concern.
You can choose to either (a) keep your identity private or (b) make payments conveniently, but likely not both.
Avoid a facial scan with gift cards purchased with cash or crypto but they will be inconvenient — limited denominations, expiring cards.
Pay for things more conveniently with a Mastercard or Visa but you’ll need to give up your identity — only you can decide what’s more important.
I personally cannot use any of the US options you mention as I’m not a resident but I do use Halocard and it works as described.