Incogni and DeleteMe are two of the best-known knowledge removing companies. Incogni was launched in 2022 by Surfshark, the corporate finest recognized for its eponymous digital personal community (VPN) app. Logically, as a VPN supplier, Surfshark is inquisitive about serving to customers maximize their on-line privateness, and Incogni represented one other step in direction of this aim.
With a month-to-month or annual subscription, Incogni customers can scan the net for his or her private knowledge and ship automated removing requests to knowledge brokers. After the preliminary scan, Incogni ceaselessly rescans for a similar private knowledge and sends recent removing requests, notably to new knowledge brokers that seemingly don’t stop to emerge.
Based in 2010, DeleteMe affords the same knowledge removing service. Customers can submit their private info and run a deep scan to seek out this info wherever it seems throughout the net. Then, DeleteMe will ship removing requests to knowledge brokers to clean this info. It’ll additionally run frequent re-scans and ship new knowledge removing requests to make sure your private info stays off the net.
We’ve coated the floor of those two knowledge removing companies, however there’s way more beneath. This information compares Incogni and DeleteMe throughout key areas — dealer protection, pricing, options, ease of use, and buyer assist — that can assist you select the best choice on your wants.
Dealer protection
Incogni covers roughly 420 knowledge brokers, whereas DeleteMe covers 750+ knowledge brokers. Nonetheless, these figures don’t inform the entire story. These numbers symbolize the variety of brokers the place each platforms can ship automated removing requests. Nonetheless, customers can ship customized removing requests to different websites. A customized request entails Incogni or DeleteMe’s workforce contacting the positioning in your behalf to request the deletion of your private info.
Incogni helps you to ship customized removing requests to 1,000 websites. Notably, customized requests aren’t out there on the Normal plan, however require subscribing to the Limitless plan at the next price. DeleteMe additionally helps customized requests, however solely 40 per 12 months on the Normal plan and 60 on the Premium plan.
Based mostly on the variety of brokers to which you’ll be able to ship automated and handbook removing requests, Incogni is a greater choice than DeleteMe.
Knowledge insights
Each Incogni and DeleteMe present intuitive dashboards to trace your knowledge removing requests and their standing. Nonetheless, in my expertise, DeleteMe affords extra detailed, labeled experiences, whereas Incogni affords generalized experiences tailor-made to the dangers related to my knowledge.
On Incogni, I obtained common e-mail updates on knowledge removing requests, together with once they had been formally submitted and when the request was profitable. I may additionally observe the progress of my removing requests on the Incogni dashboard, together with the estimated timeline for every pending request.
On DeleteMe, I additionally obtained frequent e-mail updates about removing requests from begin to end. Likewise, I may all the time observe the progress of every request from my DeleteMe dashboard.
Nonetheless, DeleteMe stood out with its PDF experiences itemizing every website the place my private info was discovered, when removing requests had been despatched to every website, and the progress of every request. Its experiences had been extra personalised than Incogni’s.
DeleteMe sends customers their first detailed PDF report one week after signing up. Afterwards, detailed knowledge removing experiences are despatched to customers subscribed to the Normal plan each three months, or to customers on the Premium plan each two months.
DeleteMe affords essentially the most complete statistical experiences, whereas Incogni affords easier, generalized insights. Understandably, not everyone seems to be within the minute particulars DeleteMe supplies, but it surely’s the best choice if you wish to perceive each nook and cranny of your private knowledge removing.
Further options
Together with their core options, knowledge removing companies typically present some additional functionalities to assist customers enhance their on-line privateness. From my expertise testing Incogni and DeleteMe, the latter is the clear winner on this criterion.
DeleteMe affords a complementary Cyber platform with invaluable options. For one, you may search the darkish internet to see in case your e-mail handle was compromised in any knowledge leak. Should you detect your e-mail credentials on any web site leak, it’s a sign to vary passwords for the affected web site instantly.
For web site house owners, DeleteMe additionally affords a service to scan your area title and detect whether or not delicate knowledge linked to it’s current on the darkish internet. A number of different complementary options exist, however these are essentially the most notable I can level out.
However, Incogni doesn’t provide complementary options like DeleteMe. It focuses solely on knowledge removing and excels at that, however don’t count on additional safety features such as you’ll discover with DeleteMe. This lack of complementary options is what makes DeleteMe the clear winner on this class.
Ease of use
Incogni and DeleteMe are typically simple to make use of, however with key variations. Incogni takes a extra automated, hands-off method, whereas DeleteMe depends extra on handbook enter.
When testing each, I appreciated Incogni’s “set and neglect” method, the place I uploaded my knowledge, initiated a scan, and let Incogni ship automated removing requests on my behalf. However, DeleteMe required me to add extra private info and relied extra on me manually deciding on websites to ship removing requests to.
That’s to not say Incogni or DeleteMe is wholly higher than the opposite relating to user-friendliness. Somewhat, it will depend on your most popular utilization mode. If you’d like a extra automated, hassle-free consumer expertise, Incogni is a greater match. Nonetheless, if you need better management over knowledge removing requests and to get extra detailed experiences, DeleteMe is your finest guess.
DeleteMe felt slower to make use of, as handbook removing requests take longer to course of—it depends on DeleteMe’s workers crafting particular requests for every website. Incogni provided a sooner, smoother expertise throughout my check as a result of it depends on automated requests, that are naturally sooner to course of.
Buyer assist
Incogni affords considerable assist sources, starting with its self-help FAQs, manuals and consumer guides. I discovered these self-help sources invaluable when navigating Incogni for the primary time.
When Incogni’s self-help sources weren’t appropriate, I shortly submitted a assist request and obtained linked to a assist workers member by way of dwell chat. Nonetheless, typically, dwell chat wasn’t out there, so I needed to await an e-mail response, which got here inside 24 hours. Phone assist is on the market, however just for customers subscribed to the Limitless or Household Limitless plan.
DeleteMe additionally affords ample assist sources to assist customers resolve issues. These embrace self-help sources that supplied nice assist once I wanted to resolve mundane issues. When self-help sources weren’t sufficient, I may contact DeleteMe’s assist workforce by way of e-mail, dwell chat, and phone.
Although they provide related assist sources, I think about Incogni higher for constant availability. It affords 24/7 dwell assist, whereas DeleteMe’s is restricted to enterprise hours. I noticeably waited much less for e-mail responses from Incogni than from DeleteMe.
Plans and pricing
Incogni affords 4 pricing plans: Normal, Limitless, Household, and Household Limitless. For $16 per thirty days, the Normal plan helps automated knowledge removing requests from over 420 knowledge dealer websites. The Limitless plan prices $30 per thirty days and helps handbook knowledge removing requests from 1,000+ knowledge dealer websites, along with the automated removing requests of the Normal plan.
The Incogni Household plan, which prices $32 per thirty days, affords the identical options because the Normal plan, however covers as much as 5 customers below a single subscription. The Household Limitless plan prices $46 per thirty days and affords the identical performance because the Limitless plan, notably handbook knowledge removing requests from 1,000+ websites, with 5 members coated.
Incogni affords a steep 50% low cost in the event you pay yearly moderately than month-to-month– for instance, you’ll pay $96 yearly for the Normal plan, which breaks all the way down to $8 month-to-month as an alternative of the standard $16. Incogni doesn’t provide a free trial, but it surely does provide a 30-day money-back assure.
DeleteMe has easy subscription-based pricing plans. A person subscription prices $129 for one 12 months, whereas a two-person plan prices $229 yearly. The Household plan prices $329 yearly for 4 folks. Should you’re subscribing on behalf of a enterprise with many workers, you may contact DeleteMe’s gross sales workforce to barter a customized deal.
When contemplating out there pricing reductions, Incogni affords a lower cost entry level than DeleteMe and extra bang on your buck. But, DeleteMe’s plans are additionally fairly priced, notably for household and enterprise customers.
Which is finest?
Incogni and DeleteMe have their respective strengths. Incogni is your best option if you need a extra inexpensive, easy-to-use knowledge removing service that handles many of the work in your behalf. It’s a set-and-forget service that helps preserve your info out of knowledge dealer websites.
DeleteMe is your best option if you need a hands-on method the place you dictate which websites to take away your knowledge from. It’s superb in the event you already know the websites your knowledge is current on and wish to ship handbook removing requests, whereas Incogni is extra of a paid companion that finds and removes private info from the net in your behalf.
