Maria Diaz/ZDNET
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Data removal services began to appear around 15 years ago, after data brokers realized that data could become a new, valuable currency -- and one ripe for exploitation, given the lack of laws and little to no consumer data privacy protection written into legislation.
Incogni and DeleteMe, founded in 2021 as part of VPN provider Surfshark and in 2010 by Abine Privacy, respectively, are two of the most widely-known data removal services in the US. Both companies offer data removal services to consumers, which include requests sent to data brokers to remove your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from their systems, the deletion of your data from people finder websites, custom removal requests, and more.
As both services at their base levels are priced with a difference of only a few dollars a month -- $7.19/month on Incogni's annual plan (though at the time of this writing, Incogni is offering 55% off annual plans with code ZDNET), and $10.75/month if you sign up for 12 months with DeleteMe (alternatively, $8.71/month on a two-year contract), which do you choose?
Also: Best data removal services: Wipe away your digital footprint and leave no trace
To help you decide, I have researched and spoken with both organizations, broken down the key components of each business, listed what they offer consumers -- including their areas of specialization -- and found out what Incogni and DeleteMe have planned for the future. Here are my findings.
Key factors
Incogni DeleteMe Owner, headquarters Surfshark, Inc., Netherlands Abine, Inc., Massachusetts, US Data removal In-house team, proprietary systems, international In-house team, proprietary systems, international Revenue generation Subscription-only business Subscription-only business Consumer data encryption AES-256 AES-256 Audits? Deloitte Assurance, in the process of being audited for SOC 2 Third-party audit by a licensed CPA for SOC 2, in the process of ISO 27001 Mobile apps? Coming soon Yes Trustpilot rating 4.4/5 4.3/5 Price Starting from $7.19/month, 30-day money-back guarantee Starting from $8.71/month, 7-day money-back guarantee
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