Plaid is generally considered a secure platform for connecting your bank account to financial apps. It acts as a secure intermediary between your bank and third-party apps, using advanced encryption standards (AES 256) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) to keep your data protected during transmission and storage. Plaid implements multiple layers of security measures including multi-factor authentication, read-only data access, 24/7 fraud monitoring, regular third-party security audits, and a bug bounty program to find and fix vulnerabilities. Plaid also provides a centralized dashboard called the Plaid Portal where users can see and control which apps have access to their financial data, with options to revoke access. Importantly, Plaid claims it does not sell or rent user personal data and shares information only with authorized services. However, Plaid is not 100% risk-free. It faced a class- action lawsuit in 2022 regarding transparency about data practices, which led to a $58 million settlement and improvements in privacy disclosures and user control over data. In summary, Plaid is widely used, trusted by thousands of financial institutions and apps, and uses robust security practices to protect user data, but users should still maintain good digital hygiene and review permissions regularly.