People search sites are intrusive at best, and in some cases, could even put you in real world danger. That’s because they automatically share your personal information unless you specifically opt out. With a simple search, they reveal your full name, address, and phone number to anyone willing to spend a few dollars. Worse still, opting out is a time-consuming process because you have to submit individual takedown requests to every site.

That’s where data-deletion services come in. Tools like Incogni and DeleteMe send out hundreds of requests on your behalf, forcing data brokers to take your information down and letting you get on with your life. Every service is different, though, and what’s best for one person might not be best for another. To help you make a decision, our experts performed hands-on testing of both Incogni and DeleteMe, and created an easy-to-understand guide explaining everything they offer.

Before we dive into specifics, here’s a brief overview of our team’s findings:

Summary: Incogni vs DeleteMe

Pricing comparison

The first major difference between these services is that only Incogni offers a monthly plan. This costs $12.99 USD, with slightly different pricing depending on where you are in the world. You can effectively cut this price in half by signing up for a year, and if you’re a student, graduate, teacher, first responder, healthcare or military employee, then you can get an extra five percent off.

DeleteMe only has long-term plans. It’s a little more expensive than Incogni for a single user, but if you’re looking to delete multiple peoples’ information, it’s cheaper. For instance, a two-year subscription covering four users comes out to $20.79 per month.

Incogni users can sign up, try the service for 30 days, and cancel for a full refund. Crucially, this won’t undo any completed requests, it’ll just prevent new or ongoing ones from being completed. DeleteMe doesn’t have a specific money-back guarantee as such, although it does allow you to get a refund if you cancel before your first privacy report has been generated (usually around a week after signing up).

Regional availability

DeleteMe is primarily focused on the United States, but has recently introduced support for another 11 countries including the UK, Italy, Canada, France, and Germany. That’s great news, since historically, most data-removal services have only operated in one country.

Incogni goes even further, though. At the time of writing, it accepts users from dozens of countries. These include every European Union member, the US, the UK, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.

Supported data brokers

The main purpose of these services is to remove your information from the internet. There are two ways to achieve this: either request that individual websites delete your data, or ask data brokers (companies that make money by selling this information to third parties) to stop sharing it. The best approach is usually a blend of both, taking your info down at the source and taking proactive action to stop it from showing up on people search sites in the meantime.

Incogni automatically sends takedown requests to 170+ data brokers and websites, and is continuously changing and updating its list for the most comprehensive protection.

DeleteMe supports over 750+, but many of these only operate in the US, making them less valuable to international customers. On the other hand, it supports a wider range of commercial and education sites, so may be better if you’re a professional or public figure trying to keep a low profile.

Both services support some sites that the other does not. For instance, Incogni can scrub your info from Intelius, Pipl, and Comscore, while DeleteMe works with Zillow, WebMD, and Findlaw.

Advanced functionality

Part of the appeal of these tools is that they’re extremely easy to use. Incogni and DeleteMe both send requests and check back regularly to make sure your data hasn’t been reacquired. To its credit, Incogni can automatically chase up unresponsive contacts and escalate complaints to regulatory bodies if your requests are ignored or wrongfully refused.

DeleteMe doesn’t do this, but provides a little more information about its process. It sends out periodic emails explaining which sites have been added since your last report, and what information each broker holds about you. Incogni, meanwhile, simply lets you know the progress of sent requests, and doesn’t confirm whether the broker actually had your info in the first place.

Setup and interface

Incogni has a sleek, streamlined signup process. You just have to enter your name, address, and email address, then allow the company to process requests on your behalf. This is easy enough, and you can sign the form digitally, which really speeds things up.

Once you login, you’ll see your user dashboard. This simply shows how many requests have been sent, how many brokers have deleted your data, and how many have suppressed it (meaning it’s not deleted but is no longer shared).

The Detailed View tab provides a few more specifics. You can see average resolution time for each broker, as well as an overview of their organization and how risky it is for them to have your data. It’d be nice if there was a way to tell what each company knew about you, but that’s not a feature that Incogni currently offers.

DeleteMe asks for a little more info during the onboarding process, including any alternative names you might have had, or common misspellings. Much of this is optional, so you can skip right past it if it doesn’t apply or if you’re not comfortable answering.

On logging in, you’ll see a brief overview of your current situation. This includes how many supported brokers have your information, what data is exposed, and how much time DeleteMe has saved you by contacting them. You can also view your most recent report here, which lets you know which broker has the most info on you, and how many listings were removed since the last report.

Customer support

Once you’ve signed up for these services, there’s really nothing left to do. However, if you have any questions or concerns, there are plenty of ways to contact support. Incogni, for instance, has a searchable knowledge base, frequently asked questions, and a ticket system to help you find answers.

DeleteMe goes even further. In addition to its website’s FAQs and knowledge base, it offers a ticket system, dedicated email address for support enquiries, and live chat system. These are staffed from 09:00 until 20:00 ET, Monday to Friday. If you find your info on a site that’s not covered, you can let staff know and they’ll try to have it removed anyway.

The winner: Incogni

Both services are fantastic for reducing your digital footprint. On this occasion, though, Incogni comes out on top. For starters, it’s available in a higher number of countries and doesn’t require a long-term commitment. We’re also big fans of how far it goes to keep brokers at an arm’s length – even if there are any issues with a takedown request, Incogni can deal with these on your behalf, allowing you to get on with more important things.

Methodology: How we compared these services

Our team performed extensive testing of both Incogni and DeleteMe so that they could provide the fairest-possible comparison. Here are a few of the most crucial areas we focused on:

• Availability: Some providers are only available in specific countries. Naturally, we prefer those that work in more locations, although we’re not opposed to region-exclusive services so long as they offer a high level of quality
• Supported brokers: We’d rather have a service that removes our data from a dozen major data brokers than 1,000 tiny websites nobody has ever used. Ideally, services would prioritize high-risk brokers and people search sites like Whitepages, plus a decent number of medium and low-threat sources.
• Ease of use: Most data-removal tools are pretty hands-off, but the simpler the service is, the better. We value automated dispute resolution features, periodic reports, and responsive customer support, as well as easily-readable breakdowns of how many requests are completed or ongoing.
• Pricing: We’ll never recommend services that aren’t fairly-priced. Our team also looks for money-back guarantees and long-term discounts so you pay as little as possible. More importantly, since you’re spending money on these services, they have to actually work as advertised.
• Privacy: Data-deletion services request a fair amount of personal information (and sometimes, limited power of attorney) upfront. That’s why they need to have easy-to-understand privacy policies, strong security, and explanations of exactly why they need each piece of data you provide.

Incogni vs DeleteMe: FAQs

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