Is Klarna Safe?

In Swedish, “klarna” means to clear up or become better. As in, the skies are now rainy, but if the weather clears up, we can hit the beach. That explains the name of the buy-now-pay-later behemoth Klarna. It’s now ubiquitous with online shopping — you’ll see Klarna at checkout whether you’re buying a new laptop from Microsoft or a pair of Nikes you probably shouldn’t buy. But thanks to Klarna, you can break up the purchase into more affordable payments. Brighter times ahead, indeed.

As more people use Klarna to spread out payments, however, there are some important digital safety questions to ask. For our purposes, one looming question is whether Klarna is safe. Can you trust the platform to keep payment and contact information secure?

As digital security experts, we know security is a high priority, so we took a closer look. Below you’ll find all the details on what we discovered about Klarna.

Facts About Klarna

Is Klarna Safe?

We’re happy to report that Klarna is generally safe to use. It boasts features such as 24/7 monitoring and data protection to keep your account safe and secure, but throughout this article we’ll offer tips to boost your protection even more.

Klarna’s privacy policy emphasizes the importance of keeping your data safe and making sure you can be in control of the data you share. “After all, your data belongs to you,” Klarna says on its website. The company also gives you the option to decline providing personally identifiable information, but you won’t be able to use Klarna Services if you choose to do so.

>> Also See: Is Credit Karma Safe?

Once you download and boot up Klarna, it’s good to keep in mind best practices while using the app. That includes keeping an eye out for phishing scams and their brilliantly named twins: vishing (voice scams) and smishing (SMS scams). But you won’t find many platforms safer than Klarna.

How Does Klarna Keep You Safe?

There are several ways Klarna keeps you and your information safe. The platform uses a number of measures to stop unauthorized access and disclosure of data.

• All payment information is processed securely. No details are transferred to or held by the store. The entry of your online bank details occurs entirely in the secure Klarna payment form and the merchant has no access to your bank information.
• Klarna also maintains other physical, technical, administrative, and procedural safeguards to protect personal information.
• All transactions take place through secure connections following strict security protocols.
• You can remove your linked bank account or card at any time.

An Overview of Klarna’s Privacy Policy

Klarna has an extensive privacy policy that clearly shares how the company collects data and what data it collects.

It begins by sharing what kind of data Klarna collects. That can be broken up into two categories: personally identifiable information (PII) and non-personally identifiable information.

Klarna also may collect personally identifiable information about you from third parties such as data vendors, as well as non-personally identifiable information including demographic information and general location information.

The company collects the following information:

• Data users provided by the platform
• Usage data
• Customer-support communications
• Other communication with Klarna
• Data from third parties
• Website and mobile usage data provided by cookies

Keep an eye out for Klarna’s browser extensions when using Chrome, Firefox, or another browser of your choice. That’s another way it collects website and mobile usage data.

Keeping Safe While Using Klarna

You’re already gearing up for your first buy-now-pay-later purchase, but before you click “Pay,” here are a few steps to keep you safe.

• Keep your password safe. It’s your Fort Knox. When you use Klarna, protect yourself against unauthorized access by signing out after using a shared computer. Choose a strong password that nobody else knows or can easily guess, and keep your login information and password private. It’s important to do that because Klarna states that it’s not responsible for any lost, stolen, or compromised passwords or for any activity on your account via unauthorized password activity.

>> Related Reading: Best Password Managers of 2024

• Beware of spoof or phishing emails. These kinds of emails and text messages will appear to be from Klarna, but they’re not. They’re sent with the goal of accessing sensitive information such as passwords. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from Klarna, don’t open it.
• Use a VPN. Ah, VPNs. VPN stands for virtual private network. They provide an extra layer of protection when you’re online, encrypting your online activity and assigning your device an anonymous IP address so you can’t be tracked. When you use a VPN, no one else will know what you’re doing online.

• Watch out for malware. It’s always a good idea to invest in a good antivirus program to keep yourself safe from malware. Failing to do so is one way your device could become exposed, leaving your data and passwords vulnerable. To help protect against that threat, scan file attachments using one of the best antivirus services.

Bottom Line: Should You Use Klarna?

Klarna has exploded in popularity. In 2017, it became a fully licensed bank. Its app launched a year later. Over 2 million purchases are made on the platform each day, which is why we did a deep dive into the platform’s security.

Based on our extensive security experience, Klarna definitely holds up — bolstered by features such as strong encryption, 24/7 monitoring, and data protection. Klarna works hard to keep your account safe and secure. Another thing we liked about Klarna is what it does if you decide to delete the platform. Klarna promises to delete your personal data (although it may retain certain data even after your deletion request).

To top it off, Klarna employs dedicated data-protection officers, who you can contact for any data-protection issues. The service is available by chat through Klarna’s website or app. Klarna also has a 24/7 phone hotline for those issues. You can access it on Klarna’s contact page.

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