Have you ever used a payment app? There is no shortage of options. Whether you want to pay for goods from a small business or pay a friend back for lunch, there's an app for that. Paypal, Zelle, Facebook pay, Apple pay, Square cash, and others allow you to transfer funds. With a user's email address or phone number, you can essentially send money via text.

Payment apps are convenient, cash-free ways to avoid the hassle of splitting a check. Younger users are using the apps for larger purchases like their portion of shared rent. Zion market research recently published a report about the mobile-wallet market. They suggest that the worldwide mobile-wallet market is expected to be $3 billion by 2022. This increase is from nearly $600 million in 2016.

But are they safe? It depends on the app you choose. The popular P2P payment app Venmo has a "social feed". This can allow your personal purchase history to be viewed by other people. The harmless consequences of this happening might be a Christmas gift being spoiled. The higher-stakes consequences are identity thieves accessing your purchase history. Using that information, they can send targeted phishing emails. A common scam is to claim there is an issue with one of your recent orders or purchases. You click the link in the email to "correct the mistake". Then inadvertently give scammers your account credentials or credit card info. You don't question the email, because you recently made a purchase.

A good rule of thumb is to look over privacy settings and actually read terms and conditions. This will help you avoid sending money in an unsecured way.

Have another app or device you'd like help with? Email katie.lexchron@gmail.com