Our data is for sale — everything from our addresses and Social Security numbers to our browsing histories and employment records. Data brokers sell our personal details to other companies for marketing, credit reporting, debt collection and other purposes, including training large language models.
Your information can also fall into the hands of cybercriminals, who use it to commit identity theft.
Data removal services advertise that they can shrink your digital footprint by getting data brokers and people-search sites to delete your personal identifying information (PII). You can send data removal requests yourself, but sites like DeleteMe and Incogni are faster, more thorough and have more resources.
We’ve reviewed more than a dozen leading data removal services to find the best in a variety of categories, from price to comprehensiveness.
Check out our methodology to see how we made our choices.
Best data removal services
Best for in-depth removal: DeleteMe
Standout benefits: DeleteMe charges a single price for everything, with no features locked behind higher tiers. Users receive an initial privacy report within 24 hours, with additional reports generated every 3 months. Optional email and phone masking is available.
DeleteMe
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Product description
The original personal data removal service, Abine DeleteMe removes your info from data broker sites using both automation and human agents. Its streamlined process is ideal for hands-off users
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Reach
Opts users out of more than 750 data broker sites
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Pricing
$129.00/year for one person, $229.00/year for two people, $329/year for four-person family plan. Business plans available, as well. Full refund before your first privacy report, then pro-rated based on unused time on subscription.
Pros
- Instructions for free DIY removals
- Couples plans available
- Custom removal requests
- Uses automation and human agents to remove data
Cons
- Limited privacy tools
- Removes data from fewer sites than many competitors
- Reports are only generated quarterly
Best for affordability: EasyOptOuts
Standout benefits: The simple set-it-and-forget-it service opts you in without requiring a Social Security number or other sensitive information. You can see a list of all the covered data broker sites EasyOptOut covers, and its price is low enough to pair with another service.
EasyOptOuts
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Product description
Affordable service with four fully automated plans. Extensive exposure reports, unlimited past addresses and name variations allowed.
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Reach
Automated removals from more than 100 sites
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Pricing
Pros
- One of the most affordable options
- Speedy search and opt-out process
- Easy to use
Cons
- Single plan with no free tier
- Only supports 100+ sites
- Bare-bones interface
Best for simplicity: Incogni
Who’s this for? Incogni offers transparent pricing and an easy-to-use interface, with removal notices listed on the streamlined dashboard.
Standout benefits: Incogni is the rare service that indicates the severity of the threat posed by each broker for marketing, spam calls, data leaks, identity theft, and more. You can then buy a subscription to have Incogni issue requests or go through the effort of doing it yourself at no cost.
Incogni
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Product description
Incogni offers four affordable subscriptions, including two family plans with up to five members. Users can submit three addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
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Reach
Opts users out of more than 450 data broker sites. Advance plans add custom data removal of 2,000+ additional sites
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Pricing
$15.98/month ($86.29/year) for Standard plan, $29.98/month ($161.89/year) for Unlimited plan, $31.98/month ($172.69/year) for a Family plan, $45.98/month $248.29/year for Family Unlimited plan.
Pros
- Simple onboarding and easy-to-use interface
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Bills monthly or yearly
- Family plans available
Cons
- Covers fewer sites than competitors
- Doesn’t confirm removal
- No app
Best for identity protection: Aura
Who’s this for? If you want more than just data removal, Aura offers a suite of privacy features, including a VPN, a password manager and dark web monitoring.
Standout benefits: Aura also offers three-bureau credit monitoring, virus protection, identity theft insurance, title monitoring and financial transaction alerts.
Aura
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Cost
Plans from $10 to $32 per month, billed annually
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Standout features
Protects against identity theft, financial fraud, spam calls, online theft, scam websites, viruses and malware. Offers VPN, 3-credit bureau monitoring, password manager and instant credit lock.
Pros
- Family plan available for up to five adults and an unlimited number of kids
- 14-day free trial
- Discount if you buy an annual plan
- Offers couple and family plans
Cons
- Doesn’t monitor social media accounts.
- Annual plans can only be cancelled in the first 60 days
Best user experience: Optery
Who’s this for? Optery’s easy-to-navigate dashboard clearly displays where your data was located, which brokers were sent requests and the risk each poses.
Standout benefits: Optery shares before-and-after screenshots proving your data was taken down. The free tier includes detailed DIY removal steps, including links to data broker sites where your details were found.
Optery
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Product description
Optery offers four affordable plans with extensive exposure reports and DIY instructions. Users can search unlimited past addresses and name variations.
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Reach
Automated removals from more than 645 sites
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Pricing
Basic plan is free, $3.99/month for Core plan, $14.99/month for Extended plan, $24.99/month for Ultimate plan. 30-day money-back guarantee
Pros
- Free plan available
- Sends screenshots of findings
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Custom removals with premium plan
- Detailed verification of broker compliance
Cons
- Only upper tiers reach all sites
- Limited international reach
- Focuses on public data brokers
How do data removal services work?
Data removal services collect your PII, then scour data brokers and people-finding sites using a combination of human agents and automation. If a service finds your details, they’ll send a removal request.
Depending on the company, they may reach out to hundreds or even thousands of sites.
If a broker doesn’t comply, a service can escalate its efforts by contacting regulatory bodies and legal authorities. Their efforts don’t erase you completely or permanently; however, since data brokers are only required to honor a removal request for a limited period. Most data removal sites have monthly or annual subscriptions to enable them to continue checking for your info every several months.
How to choose a data removal service
It’s easy to zero in on cost, but the features and number of data brokers a removal service will reach out to can vary greatly. EasyOptOuts, for example, is just $20 a year, but it only scans 100+ sites. DeleteMe reviews 750+ data brokers, but runs nearly $130 per year.
When shopping for a data removal service, consider one that provides before-and-after screenshots proving the request has been fulfilled. Many top sites also provide DIY removal instructions with a list of where your PII has appeared, which can save you a lot of money.
Others have additional privacy features, including anti-tracking browser extensions, email and phone number masking and the ability to blur your house on Apple and Google maps.
Are data removal services worth it?
The more of your data that’s out there, the more likely you are to be targeted by advertisers or scammers. While a data removal service isn’t a perfect solution, it can be quite effective at limiting how much of your information is floating around.
Data removal is especially worthwhile if you receive numerous robocalls or phishing emails or if you’re worried about being doxxed or harassed.
For a deeper sense of security, you’ll still need other tools, like a password manager, VPN and credit monitoring service.
Data removal services pros and cons
Pros
- Removes personal details from data brokers and people search sites.
- Can reach out to regulatory and legal authorities if the broker is non-compliant
- Additional identity protection features are available, including VPNs and credit monitoring.
Cons
- Requires users to give personal data to another company
- Opt-out requests must be sent repeatedly to prevent data from reappearing
- Can’t remove your data from social media, public records or newspaper articles
Data removal services FAQ
How much do data removal services cost?
Data removal services usually offer tiered pricing. Individual plans can cost $8 to $15 per month, while family plans that cover up to 4 people can cost $32 per month. Some providers, like Optery, have free plans with limited offerings.
Is data removal permanent?
No, data removal is not permanent. Whether you’re using a data removal service or not, you’ll need to continuously send opt-out requests every few months. Otherwise, data brokers will begin to collect and sell your data once again.
They will remove certain pieces of personal identifying information (PII) from specific sites on the internet. They will not delete your social media profiles or criminal records, among other things. They help to limit the data that’s out there, but they will not completely erase you.
Can I send take-down notices to data brokers myself?
Yes, you can request that data brokers and people-finder sites remove your information, but you’d need to track down the sites that have your details and manually send each an opt-out request (and confirm they complied). It takes considerably longer than using a data removal service, which can also contact regulatory and legal authorities if a broker fails to comply.
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Our methodology
We chose the best data removal services based on factors including:
Cost: We considered how a service’s price compared to its features, and whether it had a free tier.
Ease of use: We reviewed onboarding processes, how easy the dashboards were to navigate and how much users have to interact with the service.
Clear and helpful information: Services with privacy reports were given more weight, as were those that provided proof that data had been taken down.
Additional identity protection features: We gave more weight to services with added features like pasword generators, VPNs and dark web monitoring.
Based on that criteria, the best data removal services are:
- Best for in-depth removal: DeleteMe
- Best for affordability: EasyOptOuts
- Best for simplicity: Incogni
- Best for identity protection: Aura
- Best for user experience: Optery
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
