Square scores 4/5 for encryption, 3/5 for privacy, and 4/5 for track record. Overall safety score: 4/5.

What are the privacy concerns with Square?

Square security review covering POS encryption, PCI compliance, and merchant data safety. Is Square safe?

Has Square been hacked before?

See our detailed analysis of Square's past security incidents and track record at The Opt-Out Project.

Is Square Safe? Security Review

Name: Is Square Safe? Security Review
Item: Square
Rating: 4
Author: The Opt-Out Project

Category: Payment App Company: Block, Inc. Reviewed February 10, 2026

4/5

Overall Safety Score

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Verdict: Square provides strong payment security with end-to-end encryption and PCI compliance. Consumers can trust Square-powered transactions, though merchants share data within the Block ecosystem.

Square is a point-of-sale and payment processing platform owned by Block, Inc. Used by millions of small businesses, it handles card payments through hardware readers and online checkout.

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Security Ratings Breakdown

Category	Score	Rating
Encryption	4/5
Privacy	3/5
Track Record	4/5

Security Features

End-to-end encryption from card reader to server
PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance
Point-to-point encryption (P2PE) hardware
Tokenization of card data
Account takeover protection
Chargeback protection for merchants

Privacy Concerns

Transaction data shared within the Block ecosystem (Cash App, Afterpay)
Digital receipt emails can be used for marketing
Merchant data used for lending and business insights

Past Security Incidents

No major breaches of Square's payment processing infrastructure as of 2025
Parent company Block's Cash App breach in 2022 did not affect Square POS systems

How to Stay Safe Using Square

Decline digital receipt emails if you don't want marketing contact
Use contactless payment (Apple Pay/Google Pay) at Square terminals for extra security
Review charges from Square merchants promptly

Safer Alternatives

Stripe (online payments)
PayPal Zettle (alternative POS)
Clover (alternative POS hardware)

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Last updated: February 10, 2026