Last time I checked, both Citi and BofA give me virtual card numbers via a Flash plugin. I really have no desire to run Flash any more. Has that changed?

It hasn't changed for either one, sadly. [1] [2]

[1]: https://www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/accounts-cards/shopsaf...

[2]: http://www.citibank.com/transactionservices/home/card_soluti...

virtual card #s is a great system, why did it rot?

I assume it's because the whole industry prefers data-brokering your purchase history, joined on credit-card # to establish identity.

That's one good reason, another is probably pushback from merchants. Having these virtual cards completely shuts down the "free-trial-we-hope-you'll-forget-and-let-us-ding-you-for-a-month-or-two" business model that's so popular for online services.

Not sure you need merchant pushback there - if it leads to unexpected charges then it's more likely to lead to inability to pay, or short payment, which gives the credit card companies their chance to feed off the client.

Also usability, most people just don't care enough. (which is reasonable often)

Wouldn't the bank still know your full purchase history (since they know what numbers are tied to you)? So they'd in fact get a leg up on the competition, who get a more distorted view?

But they don’t get the invoices of what you bought, just the total payment amount.

Unless they work with an analytics system that mastercard, visa & amex participate in to link card numbers to invoices for better advertising & affiliate data.

I know FB & Google purchase something like that from one or two credit card companies, so I wouldn't be surprised if merchants were in to it too.

Nope it hasn’t changed. It’s the same FIA Card Services Flash app from 2005.

Capital One gives virtual card numbers via a Firefox or Chrome extension, which you use on the check out page of the site where you want to use the virtual card. It is quite convenient.

The virtual cards don't have separate spending limits, though, so it is not quite as good as BofA or Citi for use with questionable sites.

The 80 cents didn’t go through. I got a warning instead. And my regular cards don’t offer the level of control privacy.com Does.

the real feature of privacy.com is the ability to use any address. who cares if your CC is compromised? get one just for recurring balances and another for everything else.

Outside of the top ten SFW subscription services, they are all prone to being hacked.

I don't follow your argument. Yes, any merchant is going to get hacked. My argument is, I don't care a whit about my CC being stolen. My liability is zero and I can just get a new card. The only thing I care about is the hassle of setting up a new card for recurring balances. Hence, why I need at least 2 cards.

OTOH I do care about my name, address, and other PII being stolen. That is where privacy.com is a help. But not because it protects me from CC loss.