Is Walmart Safe?

If you use or plan to use Walmart, you need to know: Is Walmart safe? 

Below, we explain whether Walmart is: 

• Safe to use. 
• Good for privacy. 

We also look at some steps you can take to improve both your safety and privacy when shopping at this store.

What Is Walmart?

Walmart is one of the biggest retail companies in the world, famous for its huge chain of discount department stores, hypermarkets, and grocery stores. 

Walmart operates in more than 20 countries. It has thousands of stores and an online presence. 

The company’s model is selling items at low prices, and it offers everything from food, gadgets, and clothes to home products and medicines. 

Is Walmart Safe?

Depends on your definition of “safe” – and where you shop. 

While many physical Walmart stores operate without major issues, it has been noted that Walmart is a frequent site for police calls compared to similar retailers, often due to petty crimes and, in some cases, violent incidents. 

In December 2024, it was reported that Walmart is testing body cameras on employees in Dallas-area stores as a safety measure to address rising crime and shoplifting. 

In its privacy policy, Walmart says it uses “reasonable information security measures, including physical, administrative, and technical safeguards” to keep visitor personal information safe at both their physical stores and online services. It does not go into detail about what these measures are specifically, but that is pretty standard. 

Walmart describes (some of) the cybersecurity measures it takes to protect against cyber threats in a (short) blog post. 

Walmart’s online security gets a score of 765 out of 950 from the security software company UpGuard, with the website noting that the service is vulnerable to MIME confusion attacks.

Walmart has experienced several data breaches in the past. 

As for its food safety – Walmart says it maintains clean facilities (e.g., through routine sanitation schedules), provides training that includes understanding food safety and quality among other things, and has proper product management procedures like quickly blocking recalled items from selling. 

Is Walmart Private?

Again, depends on your definition of “private.” 

Walmart has policies to protect customer information, but the company collects and uses a significant amount of personal data for business purposes. 

According to its privacy policy, Walmart collects basic personal identifiers, device and online identifiers, internet and other network activity information (e.g., browsing activity), commercial information (e.g., purchase history), communications, demographic information, financial information, biometric information, geolocation, sensory information (e.g., photographs and video recordings), background information, and inferences (e.g., insights drawn from shopping patterns). 

The company may share certain information with business partners and service providers for operational purposes, such as delivering products or offering targeted advertisements. 

According to one report, Walmart shares consumer data with 50+ third parties when you use Walmart’s websites or apps. 

In 2022, a lawsuit claiming that Walmart breached Illinois’ Biometric Privacy Act by unlawfully utilizing “cameras and advanced video surveillance systems,” along with facial recognition technology and databases supplied by Clearview AI, sought class-action status. 

Walmart’s privacy policy gets a “Grade E” from Terms of Service; Didn’t Read (ToS;DR), a project that rates internet services’ terms of service and privacy policies. This means, “The terms of service raise very serious concerns.”

ToS;DR notes that Walmart’s app requires broad device permissions, users must provide identifiable information, the service shares personal data with third parties that aren’t crucial to its operation, the service collects information about users’ health, and the service tracks users on other websites.

The Common Sense Privacy Program, which looks at services’ privacy policies from kids’ privacy perspective, gives Walmart a score of 43% out of 100%, which is a “Warning.” 

How to Improve Your Safety and Privacy At Walmart

Follow the below steps for a safer and more private experience while shopping at Walmart. 

• Limit the personal information you provide. Only provide the minimum necessary personal details when creating an account or making purchases at Walmart, both in-store and online. Avoid sharing extra information, such as phone numbers or email addresses, unless required. This will reduce the amount of data Walmart can collect about you.
• Opt-out of marketing communications. When creating an account or during checkout, opt out of receiving marketing emails, texts, and personalized advertisements from Walmart. This can help reduce the tracking of your browsing and purchase history for targeted ads.
• Use guest checkout for online purchases. Use the guest checkout option whenever possible rather than creating a full account on Walmart. 
• Turn off location tracking in the Walmart app. If you use the Walmart mobile app, go into the app’s settings and turn off location tracking. This will prevent the app from collecting data about your physical location, which can be used for marketing or personalized services.
• Avoid using Walmart Pay. Consider using alternative payment methods such as a credit card, PayPal, or cash for in-store purchases instead of Walmart Pay. Walmart Pay is linked to your account and stores your payment history, which can further contribute to your data profile.
• Review and adjust your privacy settings. Regularly check Walmart’s privacy settings in your online account and adjust your privacy preferences.
• Use a VPN when shopping online. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) can add an extra layer of privacy by masking your IP address when shopping on Walmart.com, making it harder for the company and third parties to track your browsing activity.