Incogni Review 2026: Is Incogni a Scam? Is it Legit?

In our digital world, your private information is public information. Data brokers collect an enormous amount of data about you, ranging from your home address to your internet shopping behavior, usually without you giving consent. This can result in spam calls, targeted advertisements based on your “likes” that you did not ask for, and identity theft.

This is where Incogni comes in—a data removal service that will remove your information from these shady broker companies. But does Incogni work? Is it worth the cost? Is Incogni a scam? We’ll review all things Incogni, features, pricing, effectiveness, etc. It will be up to you to decide if Incogni is the right tool for you.

Incogni Review: What is Incogni?

Incogni is a data removal service created by Surfshark, which is best known for cybersecurity products (in particular VPNs). Their affiliation with a recognized and reputable cybersecurity company gives Incogni credence from the start. The tool is fighting against data brokers. These are companies whose business is to collect, organize, and then sell people’s data.

The data brokers are collecting a lot of data, and often very personal data. Data brokers typically aggregate information about people, and keep identifiers such as name, age, current and previous addresses, and phone numbers, but they also can keep some very private information such as email addresses, birth dates, family relationships, employment history, education history, social media usage, marital status, and even home sale prices.

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They aggregate data from a lot of identifiable, public-facing records, government data records, self-reported data from people, and social media. The data broker sells this aggregated data to a variety of partners, including marketing companies (to advertise to you), insurance companies (for risk), and, in the less-welcome circumstances of selling it to malicious actors (such as identity theft, targeted harassment, etc.).

The complex and often opaque ecosystem of data exploitation means that once personal information becomes public, it can be used in unforeseen and potentially harmful ways, highlighting the critical need for a service that can effectively intervene. Incogni’s role is to automate the often-complex legal process of requesting the removal of this sensitive information from these various data broker databases.

Pros

• Automated Hands-Off Removal of Data: Incogni does the tedious, time-consuming, heavy lifting of sending removal requests for you to over 270 data brokers and people search sites. Users don’t get to manually opt out from all of these services, and spending hundreds of hours removing your data individually can turn into a waste of time.
• Legal Hoops All Around: Incogni leveraged all the relevant laws, including GDPR, the CCPA, and PIPEDA, to send legally effective and reasoned removal requests.
• Monitored for Progress and Easily Available: Incogni gives you an easy-to-read dashboard with your status updates on your removal requests in clear terms and in real time. Delivering an experience that will allow users to feel trust while viewing their accomplishments.
• Automated Post Removal Monitoring and Resubmission: Incogni knows these actors are acting on the black market, and that there is some probability of your PII getting posted or sold again. For that reason, they will automatically resubmit if their algorithm suspects that your information has appeared again to protect you from further risk of recirculation of your PII.
• Cost Effective for Extensive Coverage: Especially on their annual plans, Incogni provides a cost-effective service for extensive coverage across data brokers, especially when considering the time it would take to individually remove or compare it to some of the competitors’ pricing.
• Effective Protection from Key Dangers: It is an effective tool for anyone worried about the real-world consequences of having this very personal information leaked publicly and put on websites, such as too much SPAM, robocalls, identity theft, and doxxing.

Cons

• Limited Capability: This service, Incogni, is a data removal service only; it does not block ads and trackers, nor does it remove your data from the dark web (presumably, the data is beyond dispute once it is in the dark web).
• No Live Chat Support: Incogni has email support only; their response times are 24-48 hours, which will not benefit those who want to get in touch with someone instantly.
• Public Records Can’t Be Removed: The service does not remove public records such as court documents and property records, which require asking a government contact to remove the record.
• Not as Effective in Some Territories: Although Incogni is available worldwide, the legal effect of Incogni is stronger in territories with specific statutes regarding our data (GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA); other territories may showcase varying degrees of effectiveness.
• Not a Magic Bulb: Incogni is a valuable tool, but it’s not a magic bullet for your privacy problems; you need to use other great online hygiene practices included with the service to get maximum results.

How Does Incogni Work?

Incogni’s efficiency in operations derives from its smart use of an algorithm and data privacy laws from all over the world. The service takes personal information provided by a user and uses an algorithm to compare it to data brokers in its database, which comprises both known data brokers as well as “unknown” brokers. This allows the smart comparison to extract which brokers have a user’s transmission information and where a user has been exposed on the Internet.

Once a user’s exposure has been identified, Incogni can approach the relevant data brokers with the option to remove the data by rendering and sending legally required opt-out requests to the proper data brokers. At this point, Incogni’s familiarity with global data privacy laws becomes highly relevant. Incogni utilizes laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States, and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) in Canada.

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These laws allow users to direct and request the removal or stop processing of their data, and so Incogni acts on behalf of the user as an agent and initiates removal requests along the lines of its representation. One major value Incogni brings to data removal is its know-how and understanding of the legal variations in the formats of different data brokers. You personally would not want to send requests to hundreds of brokers on your own, especially given that most brokers will expect a different format and specific legal terminology, and will implement different types of verification processes. 

This is not only time-consuming—Incogni estimates that the average user would spend 800 hours a year on data removal—but it’s also prone to user error, as well as overlooked or rejected requests. Incogni approaches data removal with sufficient legal expertise to ensure the inquiries are formatted appropriately and legal jargon is included, and therefore improves the likelihood of brokers complying with the removal request. They typically have to respond to these removal requests within 30 to 45 days. Overall, automation combined with reliable legal knowledge from Incogni is a handy tool for data removal.

How Incogni Keeps Your Data Private

Have you ever felt uncomfortable knowing that personal information—your name, address, or even your phone number—is on sites that sell it to anyone with a credit card? Creepy, right? That’s why we created Incogni—a personal data cleaning service to remove your personal information from unethical data broker websites. Here is a casual, step-by-step explanation of how Incogni works to protect your privacy.

Step 1: Signing Up and Getting Started

To start, you’ll want to go to Incogni’s website (incogni.com) and set up an account. There are a few plans, so you’ll want to choose one that fits your needs and budget. You’ll also need to provide Incogni a few basic details about yourself – your name, current address, and any previous addresses – so Incogni can try to figure out where your information is being stored online.

Once you’ve put in your details, you’ll sign a short authorization form. In short, it authorizes Incogni to be your data lawyer and to reach out to the data brokers to demand they remove any information about you. Signing this form is really the only thing you have to do in order for Incogni to do its thing.

Step 2: Scanning the Internet for Your Data

Once you are fully set up, your profile and incidental choices have been made, Incogni’s system gets underway; since your identity has been validated, Incogni is now connected to a large network of more than 270 brokers and people search sites who are collecting, retaining, or selling your information. The tool’s system uses an algorithm that is developed to assess the vendors Incogni works with, just as a detective would scour the internet for your data. Incogni’s technology is efficient and exhaustive in its time and search, as it searches every possible location where your name or address may have been exposed.

Step 3: Sending Removal Requests

When Incogni finds your information on one of those websites, it doesn’t just rest on its laurels; it immediately starts sending automated removal requests to those companies. The requests involve more than a friendly email. They’re legally binding requests based on compliance with privacy legislation, such as GDPR (in Europe), CCPA (California), or PIPEDA (Canada). This means the data brokers have 30-45 days to remove your data.

The best thing is that you don’t have to go through the legal process and explain to the company how to contact each broker. Incogni does all that for you, and it happens in weeks—not months—while eliminating significant amounts of time and mental anguish.

Step 4: Progress Tracking Using a Dashboard

Wondering how things are going? Incogni has a dashboard, which is straightforward to use to show you the current status of every removal request. Incogni has a dashboard that is simple itself to give you the status of a removal request. This is Incogni’s privacy control room. The dashboard indicates the status as follows:

• Indicates that the request is completed—your data was removed, OR they didn’t have the data in the first place.
• Indicates that the request is in progress—the broker is still processing the request (usually 30-45 days to respond).
• Indicates that the request has been rejected—the broker rejected the request (this is rare but can happen).
• Indicates that the request has not started—the request has not yet been sent.

Having the real-time status keeps you informed without checking emails or calling anyone. It is that simple, and you will stay informed with No More Data Broker! – Privacy Data Removal Checklist and Guide.

Step 5: Constant Protection for Peace of Mind

This is where Incogni stands apart. Data brokers can be sneaky—they may start collecting your information again after a certain time, sometimes as soon as 90 days after its removal. Incogni will not just do this once. Incogni continues to monitor those 270+ sites and will submit another request to remove your information if it comes up again.

In addition, when Incogni reaches out to the data brokers, it also contacts these firms to get your name added to “suppression lists.” Think of suppression lists as a “do not disturb” request for your information, so the brokers will not collect any information on you in the future. This means, not only are you not protected once, but you are protected for the future.

Incogni in Action: Features and Performance

As someone who has used Incogni for several months, I can say with confidence that it is a legitimate service that delivers on its promises. Incogni offers a money-back guarantee for 30 days, which shows that they are confident in their service and stand behind it.

Pricing and Subscription

Incogni offers subscription plans depending on the needs of the users, as well as options for individuals and for families. The price points are quite reasonable overall, and also when you consider the extent of its automated services and the multitude of data brokers it can get to work for you.

• The Standard plan, which is open to all users, costs $15.98 per month, billed month on month. The cost will greatly decrease for subscribers billed annually, at $7.99 per month or $95.88 for the year.
• For users wanting the most amount of protection, the Unlimited plan is only available on annual subscriptions for $14.99 per month, or $179.88 when billed annually. This plan has all the benefits of the Standard pages in addition to custom removals from any people search site or other website that exposes your data, with unlimited custom removal requests available!
• Incogni also has dedicated plans for families, like the Family Standard plan, which allows the main user to include up to four additional family members (5 in total) at $191.88 or $15.99 per month.
• The Family Unlimited Plan is also an annual-only option, priced at $22.99 a month or $275.88 paid annually. This plan is inclusive of custom removal features for each family member while giving the greatest level of protection for households.     

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Incogni’s value proposition becomes especially evident when its pricing structure is compared to that of its competitors. Incogni is aimed at over 270 data brokers and people search sites, which makes it one of the least expensive plans for the coverage it provides. For example, DeleteMe, Incogni’s most prominent competitor, charges about $129 per year for a single person for coverage of fewer brokers than Incogni’s standard plan, which covers 270+. Other services, like Kanary and OneRep, also had different price points and broker coverage, as identified in the comparison table below.

The sizable discount associated with annual plans is not just a gimmick – it matches the recurrence of the data removal process. Since data can return on broker sites in as often as 90 days, with ongoing monthly monitoring and resubmission requests preserved, ongoing protection of privacy in the long term requires monitoring. An annual plan ensures ongoing and uninterrupted coverage of your privacy, which is a more thorough and effective way to protect your online privacy. There are also typically coupon codes online for further discounts that apply.

Plan Name	Monthly Price (if applicable)	Annual Price (billed annually)	Number of Users	Custom Removals	Broker Coverage (Automated)	Key Benefit
Standard	$15.98	$95.88 ($7.99/month)	1	No	270+	Hands-off automatic removal
Unlimited	N/A	$179.88 ($14.99/month)	1	Yes (Unlimited)	270+	The highest level of individual protection
Family Standard	N/A	$191.88 ($15.99/month)	Up to 5	No	270+	Cost-effective for households
Family Unlimited	N/A	$275.88 ($22.99/month)	Up to 5	Yes (Unlimited)	270+	Ultimate protection for the entire family

Customer Service

The customer service at Incogni is mainly through email support and is typically responded to within 24 to 48 hours. You may view this as a con, as there is no option for Incogni to be able to be contacted through live chat. This lack of availability to get immediate assistance for urgent issues may not be helpful. However, the help center is detailed and organized. There are numerous frequently asked questions (FAQs) under several different categories related to the requested service. Once again, it should be noted that customer service is only offered in English.

While Incogni does not offer any live chat options, its email support is generally acknowledged as responsive and rarely unhelpful. Reports of detailed and technical email replies indicate that Incogni’s support staff are knowledgeable regarding data removals and privacy regulations. Reassurance about their case has been offered via email on multiple occasions. All of this suggests a service philosophy that prioritizes getting a thorough, researched response instead of an immediate response that may or may not be detailed.

Given that so much ambiguity exists in data removals, specific guidance can prove more valuable than a quick, generic response. As a supportive service with mostly technical limitations (except for user obstructions), Incogni appears to have made an intentional choice regarding its support channels. Users should adjust their construction of support interactions and understand that Incogni is not defined by its immediacy but by the quality of its comprehensive supportive responses.

Incogni: Protecting Your Personal Information

Incogni is unique in its proactively and hands-on approach to protecting data. Unlike tools that only help block cookies or enforce HTTPS connections, Incogni works to take personal data away from where it lives, namely, the databases of data brokers and people search sites. Taking away the personal data will significantly decrease the online presence of a person and the opportunity for identity theft and other forms of privacy violations.

In removing data, the service will focus on sensitive personal identifiers, such as names, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, family member information, and work and education history. For this reason, the service is all about the most sensitive types of data to be used by brokers. A key part of Incogni’s process is to be transparent about the results of removal requests. While Incogni is very efficient, not every case of removal request is successful, so we allow for approximately 15-20% of denials in the removal process.

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When this happens, Incogni informs the user of the type of denial, which could be because the broker was exempted from specific regulations or because additional proof of identity was required. Even in these cases, Incogni never stops its efforts and will continue to monitor this situation and will submit another request if a change in privacy laws affects the user or if the new data broker acquires data that belonged to the user.

This is important because data that was removed, even successfully, can return to broker sites within 90 days. This shows that Incogni has a commitment to data protection over time, recognizing that data removal is an ongoing fight, not a one-time fix. The transparency in the reporting of results serves to set user expectations and demonstrate a level of credibility of the service by being upfront about the reality of some of the limits on removing data.

Transparency and Progress Tracking

Incogni prioritizes transparency with intuitive displays and dashboards that are simple to use, showing users the status of their data removal requests, so they know what is happening to their information and what Incogni is doing for them. Incogni provides the latest updates on these impressions, including the total number of data brokers it has contacted, as well as the status of the requests it made on behalf of users, confirming if removals have occurred.

All requests are categorized into “Completed” (which means the data has either been successfully removed, or never had by the data broker to begin with), “In Progress” (meaning the request has commenced), “Rejected” (the data broker has opted not to delete the data), or “Not Started” (meaning Incogni has not yet begun the request for that data broker). Incogni’s dashboard provides users with full access to the requests they have initiated with brokers, where removals are otherwise impossible to see.

Incogni doesn’t just provide real-time status updates, but also performance updates after every month. The performance updates provide one consolidated color-coded view of Incogni’s removal efforts and successes from that month. The performance update also contains a “rating of the brokers’ responsiveness” as a gauge for the user on how long a particular removal request might take, based on how responsive the broker has been to past requests.

This is a tool for providing the user with realistic expectations about how long the removal of their data will take. Observational testing shows Incogni’s success and speed, with one test conducted over a four-week time frame. For this test, the number of requests sent over a month of testing went from 3 to 49 in one week, with 32 of those requests being completed. After the first month, 40 of the 49 requests had been completed, with the remaining requests pending.

Remarkably, after sending broker requests to data brokers who were known for failing to remove data requests, Incogni eventually got them to a finished status on Censia, for example, to add them to a suppression list to avoid data from being uploaded again. The detailed and consistent reporting leads to a strong sense of trust and responsibility as users can see what the service is doing and achieving. The consistency of information flow is important for user trust, as it gives solid, visible evidence of a service’s successes in managing an abstract issue—the presence of their data on multiple databases.

Table: Incogni’s Data Removal Success Rates & Timelines (Based on 4-Week Test)

Metric	After 1 Week	After 4 Weeks	Notes
Requests Sent	49	49	Total requests initiated by Incogni.
Requests Completed	32	40	Data successfully removed or confirmed not held.
Suppression List Entries	N/A (began immediately)	18	Databases are prohibited from re-uploading information.
Average Broker Response Time	30-45 days	30-45 days	Legal timeframe for brokers to act on requests.
Data Resurfacing Cycle	N/A	Every 90 days	Data can legally reappear, necessitating continuous monitoring.
Observed Success Rate	~65% (32/49)	~82% (40/49)	High success rate within the legal timeframe.

Incogni’s Commitment to Legitimacy: Evidence and Trust Signals

Incogni is able to substantiate its claim of legitimacy and effectiveness with results and third-party validation, as it provides results. Instead of simply claiming to do something, they show proof they did it. For example, in a few tests that were observed, Incogni did indeed verify the removal of data from 32 data brokers in 45 days from the requests, including big names like BeenVerified and Intelius. That effectiveness was also verified by performing a manual search on people search sites to see if those details were able to be seen.

The strong evidentiary value of those distinct, verifiable outcomes provides strong proof that the service was effective. In addition to the individual experience, Incogni has a broad spectrum of reviews that work in its favor. Let’s look at Trustpilot for information; Incogni has an overall score of 4.4 out of 5 based on over 1,000 total reviews. This suggests that many happy users are contributing to the overall score. Such collective positive feedback from a relatively large user base adds to the credibility of their service. 

Additionally, Incogni provides a thirty-day money-back guarantee, which acts especially well as a trust signal since it indicates to users that Incogni feels confident in the service they provide and is willing to vouch for their service. A money-back guarantee makes it easier for potential users to use the service with lower financial risk, giving Incogni a fortuitous position when it comes to legitimacy. Finally, it should be emphasized that even in the privacy space, legitimacy is not just a promise; it is an accountability based on results that can be verified or disproven.

Who Benefits Most? Incogni’s Ideal Users and Real-World Scenarios

Who Should Use Incogni?

Incogni is not a perfect solution for all people, but it is especially applicable for a few distinct types of people who face particular digital privacy hurdles. Looking at this compatibility helps users assess if Incogni is the right fit for them.

• First, users of privacy and surveillance tools whose priority is anonymity and are actively trying to reduce their digital footprint will want to use Incogni. For these users, Incogni is a great tool for reiterating their commitment to privacy while online. 
• Second are victims of data breaches. Whenever personal information is compromised in a data breach, that information almost always ends up on data broker sites for anyone to exploit. Incogni helps expose that data, and then it will go through a process of getting rid of that data to minimize the risk of being further exploited. 
• Third, users who get more spam calls, robocalls, and suspicious emails than they can count are going to benefit greatly. Usually, spam calls and unsolicited emails come as a result of broker sites selling contact information to telemarketers and spammers. Incogni will stop receiving this information by getting rid of the removed data. 
• Fourth, public figures, as well as people who work in other high-visibility roles (like journalists, activists, streamers, or executives), and anyone with a privacy concern based on their profession, all get considerable value from Incogni. Because public profiles make people more susceptible to doxxing or being harassed, and Incogni is about minimizing your visibility on people-search sites, we are indeed able to provide considerable value. 
• Finally, if someone is concerned about doxxing or identity theft, Incogni is a vital layer of defense to have. Identifying those threats is exactly what Incogni does by limiting the ability of malicious actors to compile together a comprehensive profile based on available public records. 

Plus, if you don’t have the time or necessary technical skills for the data to be useful, Incogni saves you time by handling a complicated and monotonous task that is expected to be overwhelming for most people.  The value being provided is to avoid vulnerabilities and provide a solution to address your privacy concerns.  

Real-World Use Cases

To further illustrate Incogni’s practical utility, consider these real-world scenarios:

Scenario 1: The Victim of a Data Breach in Need of Remediation.

Picture a user whose email, home address, or phone number appears as part of a data breach of a massive organization. After the breach occurs, they begin receiving a bewildering and dramatically increased amount of spam emails, robocalls, and suspicious text messages. This situation occurs because their compromised data is immediately purchased and traded among data brokers.

In this case, Incogni comes to the rescue by systematically removing this compromised data from hundreds of broker databases. The tool’s efforts directly reduce the ways that spammers and scammers can reach out to the user anyway, alleviating some of the immediate consequences of the data breach and preventing the ongoing opportunistic use of their information.

Scenario 2: The Individual Concerned About Personal Safety.

Next, consider someone who is worried that their home address and phone number are easily available online for estranged family members, previous acquaintances, or even possible stalkers to find with a few clicks. Manually searching and opting out of lists from countless people-search sites is a big job. Incogni does this for you automatically and significantly reduces the odds of even sensitive pieces of your personal information being visible on these public-facing websites. This creates a very important layer of personal security and peace of mind, as it makes it much more difficult for unwanted individuals to locate and contact them. 

Scenario 3: The Public-Facing Professional Managing Risk.

Whether they are a journalist, a content creator, or an executive, many people who have a significant public-facing role—namely, public digital footprints, on and off the job- are easily exposed to the risk of doxxing, online harassment, or even physical threats. In these cases, Incogni can help act as a first step in proactively reducing the amount of information accessible to the public. By removing their data from broker sites, it helps they can proactively manage their online presence and exposure to bad actors.

Scenario 4: The Busy Individual Who Values Convenience.

Many people will grasp the value of data privacy, but lack the time or inclination to go through the laborious process of opting out of hundreds of data brokers manually. To these busy professionals or parents, Incogni provides a “hands-off, automatic removal experience.” It assumes the responsibilities of ongoing monitoring and repeated removal requests so users can protect their privacy without investing countless hours in the process. These scenarios demonstrate how Incogni connects the abstract notion of “data privacy” with how it could have an effect on users’ daily lives and the practical role it could play in addressing everyday, pressing concerns.

Who Might Need Alternatives?

While Incogni does a superb job at doing what it’s designed to do, it is not a “magic pill” to fix all digital privacy problems. There is a range of cases where Incogni might not meet your needs, or where it should be considered in conjunction with other tools and practices. Understanding the limitations of Incogni is important for developing reasonable expectations and helping the user build a holistic privacy plan.

• Those who simply want to stop ads and trackers will find that Incogni will not help them. Incogni only focuses on the removal of data from brokers and does not do anything in real time to stop data collection from websites or advertisers. For these cases, you should consider a VPN (such as Surfshark VPN) or a browser extension (such as uBlock Origin).
• Incogni’s services do not include data removal from the dark web. If your personal information is published on the dark web, it is typically too late for the removal services to act, especially if it is being utilized by criminals.
• People needing live support via live chat in real-time may be limited by Incogni’s only email method of support (with a 24-48 hour before a response).
• Incogni does not remove public records such as court documents, property records, or other select government filings. Public records are maintained by a government body and will only be amended or removed by contacting the correct courthouse or clerk of court.
• Incogni’s usefulness may be uneven for users outside of the areas that have more robust data rights and rights to erase personal data against businesses, especially in cases of legal violations (e.g., GDPR (EU), CCPA (California), PIPEDA (Canada)). While Incogni is international in scope, there is limited legal clout in countries where there are no such data rights. Users in other markets may have different or less consistent results.

Understanding these boundaries prevents misattribution of Incogni’s capabilities and underscores the multi-layered nature of digital privacy. A comprehensive privacy strategy often requires a combination of tools and user actions, as data brokers represent only one piece of the larger privacy puzzle.

Incogni’s Place in the Market: A Competitive Landscape Analysis

The data removal service industry has evolved to accommodate the rising privacy concerns of users, with an initial group of impactful companies offering competitive services. As such, it is helpful to intimately compare Incogni to its main competitors: DeleteMe, Kanary, OneRep, and Optery.

In comparing these services, users are provided with a contextual market overview so that a user can determine which service best suits their particular use case is best, whether it be regarding pricing, the number of brokers covered, or features. Ultimately, the subjective user is going to determine what the “best” service is relative to their priorities.

Feature/Service	Incogni	DeleteMe	Kanary	OneRep	Optery
Monthly Price (Individual)	$15.98 (monthly) / $7.99 (annual)	$10.75 (annual) / $8.71 (bi-annual)	$16.99 (monthly) / $14.99 (annual)	$14.95 (monthly) / $8.33 (annual)	$3.99 (Core, monthly) / $3.25 (Core, annual)
Broker Coverage (Automated)	270+	~60 (Standard) / 750+ (many custom)	209 (out of 310 monitored)	214	365+ (Core) / 530+ (Extended) / 640+ (Ultimate)
Custom Removals	Yes (Unlimited on Unlimited plan)	Yes (many require user initiative)	Yes (templates for 101)	Yes	Yes (Unlimited on Ultimate plan after 30 days)
Live Chat Support	No (Email only)	Yes	Yes	No (Email/Knowledge Base)	No (Priority Email on Ultimate)
Family Plan	Yes (up to 5 users)	Yes (up to 4 users)	Yes (additional cost per user)	Yes (up to 6 users)	No
Money-back Guarantee	30 days	No	30 days	30 days	30 days
Focus	Global, marketing & people search	US & some international, marketing & people search	Global, people search & Google results	US people search sites	Global, people search & marketing

Broker Coverage: How Many Sites Does Incogni Target?

Incogni encompasses a robust network, currently more than 270 data brokers and people search sites worldwide. This includes both private and public data brokers, ensuring an intensive erasure of a person’s online footprint. The essence of this figure doesn’t just depend on its quantity, but on the automation and legal backing that Incogni provides for each removal request. Below are some alternatives to Incogni:

• DeleteMe claims to remove from more than 750 data brokers. However, many of these (approx 569) are found under the heading “custom requests,” meaning that they usually require user effort or a specific manual step and aren’t fully automated removal processes. It’s typical for DeleteMe to cover roughly 60 data brokers under their normal (1-person) plan. 
• Kanary monitors over 310 data brokers and actively sends removal requests on behalf of users to 209 of them, and provides templates and opt-out guides for the remaining 101. 
• OneRep targets only people-discovery websites, which they deemed the worst type of data broker. They cover 214 of these sites, primarily for US residents. 
• Optery revealed tiered coverage, from the Core plan covering 365+ sites, to their top-tier Ultimate plan covering over 640+ sites.

Incogni has done a great job with the Unlimited plan. The automated coverage is 270+, but the automated process doesn’t complete requests against banning to the user’s expectations. Incogni has the unlimited plan, which allows for unlimited custom removal requests. This allows a user to instruct Incogni’s privacy experts to assist with custom removal requests from any people search / or other site that exposes a user’s data — regardless of being automated or otherwise covered by Incogni.

This automatically provides remarkably broader coverage than the standard automated process, with Incogni’s removal requests expanding Incognito’s coverage to 580 or more other brokers or sites, making it a truly all-automated removal option for data. This model also illustrates an important distinction between brokers that just list a high number of “covered” brokers and the actual automated and truly comprehensive removal process, it’s not about “how many brokers” it is about how the company is fully automated in how it will remove data and the end-user that will report their efforts and experience. 

How to Remove Your Data From the Internet with Incogni

As someone who values their privacy, I understand the importance of removing personal data from various databases. Incogni provides a valuable service for those who want to remove their data from data brokers’ databases.

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Here’s how to remove your data from Incogni:

1. Sign up for Incogni’s data removal service. You can choose between a monthly or yearly subscription, and you can cancel at any time.
2. Provide Incogni with the personal data you want to remove. This information will be used to put in requests for removal from data brokers’ databases.
3. Incogni sends recurring personal data removal requests to ensure your data stays off the market. Data brokers have between 30 and 45 days to respond to these requests.
4. Check the status of your removal requests on Incogni’s website. You can see whether your requests have been completed or not.

It’s important to note that while Incogni’s data removal service is effective, it’s not a guarantee that all of your data will be removed from all databases. However, Incogni’s service is a step in the right direction for protecting your privacy. In addition to Incogni, there are other data removal services available, such as DeleteMe and Kanary. It’s important to research each service and choose the one that best fits your needs.

It’s also important to note that data removal laws vary by country and state. For example, in Canada, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) governs data removal. In the United States, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union provide guidelines for data removal. If you’re unsure about the legalities of data removal, it may be helpful to consult with a lawyer or obtain a power of attorney to act on your behalf.

Understanding Limitations: What Incogni Can’t Do

It is essential to note the scope of Incogni’s capabilities so that end users can have a realistic expectation and balanced understanding of online privacy. It functions as a removal service only, aimed at online data brokers, and does not claim to be an all-encompassing online privacy solution.

For instance, it does not restrict ads or online tracking. Ads and digital trackers can be blocked by VPNs, browser privacy extensions, or ad blockers. In addition, Incogni does not eradicate user data from the dark web once it is exposed there. Incogni can only attempt to keep data off the dark web by deleting it from data brokers, but immediately after a person’s details have been compromised on the dark web, it is not possible to delete them due to the illegal nature of that space.

Incogni also does not delete public records. Publicly available records include official documents involving the government, such as property deeds, court records, or marriage licenses. These records are kept by clerk’s offices or local courthouses or so if a user wanted to remove or change a public record, they would be working with the local courthouse or clerk’s office directly. This is not in Incogni’s capabilities.

Similarly, Incogni does not remove personal information from AI training models nor even change someone’s information collection preferences on their device, such as a smartphone or web browser. These are personal privacy hygiene routines, and these things are all that the person must do on their own. Lastly, Incogni cannot delete a person’s social media accounts or unsubscribe users from marketing lists; again, this must be performed by the person.

All of these explanations of what Incogni can and cannot add to this issue also demonstrate that digital privacy is a complicated and layered issue—one widget cannot account for every instance of online exposure. Knowing what Incogni can and cannot do will help individuals clarify the boundaries of Incogni, and they will be educated about taking an all-inclusive view to their privacy strategies, knowing that they must complement Incogni and not think of it as the only solution to digital privacy protection.

• Step 1: Remove Data from Search Engines. Start by looking for your name, nicknames, or any variations of your name in search engines such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo. If you discover personally identifying or sensitive information about yourself, be sure to write down the URLs of the pages and reach out to the webmaster to remove the information. Alternatively, you may be able to submit removal requests to search engines regarding removing outdated/sensitive information (Google Support).
• Step 2: Remove Public Records. Public records, such as property records and legal filings, are held by government agencies, which makes them more complicated to remove as compared to data brokers. Go to the courthouse to start your search. Contact the local court clerk’s office to explore what (if any) expungement processes are available and obtain forms (USA.gov – Courts).
• Step 3: Remove Unused Accounts. Find all of your inactive accounts and get rid of them. You should also unsubscribe from your monthly email marketing lists to reduce the number of emails you potentially don’t want to receive.
• Step 4: Limit the data that your devices can collect. Your Android/iOS devices have many privacy settings you can customize. Deny camera, microphone, or location access in apps that do not need it. Disable reporting of activities in apps when possible.
• Step 5: For AI Tools: If you’ve used any AI tools, including ChatGPT, Google Gemini, etc., look for those services’ privacy centers and request to have your activity and data deleted from their training data (OpenAI Privacy). 
• Step 6: Safeguard Your Address: Use only a P.O. box or Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA) for your address on all mail and services. Confirm with your online membership accounts that they do not list your home address, especially on e-commerce sites. If you can withhold your home address, don’t include it. 

With these steps, while it may require some manual effort, you’ll be able to expand your privacy in ways that could never be automated, such as through Incogni.

Legal Frameworks and Your Rights

The Power of Privacy Laws: GDPR, CCPA, and PIPEDA Explained

The structure of data removal service providers such as Incogni is buttressed by vast numbers of data privacy laws, both international and regional. Data privacy laws lay out the legal obligations for data brokers to delete your personal information upon request. This is only part of the information you will learn about with these primary laws, and to expose you to the legal terms that are mandatory requirements that Incogni relies upon.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

The implications of the GDPR extend over the globe over and the European Union is the trailblazer for data privacy legislation in the evolving area of data protection law. The GDPR is, likewise, the most sophisticated obligation of law related to data protection measures. One item of the GDPR is called the “Right to Erasure” or the “Right to be Forgotten.”

These rights arise from the need for individuals to be able to request deletion of their data when it is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected, or because it was processed unlawfully. The GDPR also imposed restrictions on data controllers (an organization) to take reasonable steps to notify other controllers that process the data (the data broker, for example) of obtaining an erasure request.

CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)

The CCPA is the first state-level law in the US, and it provides significant control for California residents over their data. Some of CCPA‘s key rights include the right to know what personal information a business has collected about them, the right to delete the personal information that a business collected from them (subject to certain exceptions), and the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of their data. The CCPA also expanded in 2023 to include rights to correct inaccurate information and limit the use/disclosure of sensitive personal data.

PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act)

PIPEDA is Canada’s federal private sector privacy statute that governs how private organizations collect, use, and disclose personal information in the course of commercial activities. Though PIPEDA does not have a direct analog to a “right to deletion” like the GDPR, PIPEDA does provide individuals the right to withdraw consent to the use/disclosure of their personal information.

Additionally, PIPEDA mandates that organizations set minimum and maximum retention periods for personal information and destroy, erase, or make the information anonymous to the extent that it is no longer required to satisfy the purpose(s) after the retention periods have lapsed. An organization can be heavily fined for not deleting personal information under a written request. As a whole, these laws now create the legal environment around deleting data and establish the responsibilities of data holders, and allow individuals to reclaim control of their online identity.

How These Laws Empower Data Removal

The strong data privacy laws in Canada and the United States do not just exist on a piece of paper. They provide a real enabling condition for data removal services, such as Incogni, to function effectively. More specifically, they create a legal requirement on data brokers that they must consider and comply with all legitimate removal requests. This means that when Incogni submits a request on behalf of a user in an authorized capacity, the data broker is legally obliged to respond, including deleting personal information related to the request, although many exceptions exist.

Privacy law frameworks in Canada and the United States grant consumers numerous rights, which Incogni facilitates that they have the ability to exercise. This includes the right to know or access their personal information, the right to rectify a mistake, and the right to ‘object’ to processing in several specific instances (e.g, marketing), but most importantly, the right to deletion. Incogni provides value by facilitating the exercise of consumers’ rights.

In a world without Incogni, consumers would need to understand how to apply the privacy laws, comply with the processes to submit legally compliant requests, and then potentially do hundreds of follow-ups with each and every data broker, with its own specified processes. As a legal proxy for the average user, Incogni converts these legal rights into specific, actionable, automated rights and processes.

Incogni makes sure that removal requests are legally valid and formatted properly, which ultimately makes them much more likely to be complied with by data brokers. It closes the operational gap between the legal rights granted to people and the substantive use of those rights in the complicated digital space. It allows users to access their privacy rights at a level that sometimes seems impossible with manual data removal processes, given that users likely have very limited legal resources and time.

Regional Nuances: What to Expect Outside Key Jurisdictions

Throughout the removal process, Incogni has to depend on key data privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, and PIPEDA) to help it remove your data, but levels of success will be influenced by geography. Digital privacy is not a universal issue; national laws and/or state laws govern data collection and data removal differently in every country and state. For users based in the European Union, California, or Canada, Incogni has the largest leverage for removals because users in those jurisdictions have defined rights under GDPR, CCPA, and PIPEDA.

This is important because the data brokers Incogni must follow the laws of GDPR, CCPA, and PIPEDA when dealing with personal data of individuals in those jurisdictions. While Incogni does have a broader international footprint than some of the US-based services it competes with, and despite the relatively higher privacy protections over, say, less regulated countries, privacy law in most countries fundamentally lacks the same level of legal recognition or may also prohibit a service such as Incogni from acting legally on behalf of the residents from those jurisdictions.

This means that a data broker active in a jurisdiction that employs a less stringent privacy regime might not be legally compelled to act on requests made to them directly by Incogni (or otherwise), or they might have an obligation to respond in a way that is less timely. Accordingly, individuals living outside certain well-regulated jurisdictions should temper their expectations of how much data will be removed and how quickly.

It is always good practice to familiarize oneself with local privacy law and seek the advice of a lawyer, if unsure, to get a better understanding of their legal rights and recourse in their particular country or state. Greater awareness of the global quiltwork of privacy regulations is useful for developing reasonable expectations and planning a better overall personal privacy plan. 

Review Verdict – Is Incogni Worth It?

If you are one of the many people who are battling the pervasive issue of data brokers, Incogni is a tremendous value. Its value goes beyond its cost, to saving you time and giving you peace of mind. Opting out of hundreds of data brokers manually can be daunting and time-consuming, and potentially take hundreds of hours each year. Incogni automates that process for you and acts like a privacy assistant.  

Its continuous monitoring and resubmitting function is critical, as personal data can reappear on broker sites only 90 days after removal. The cycle of so much data going in and out of circulation means that a one-off manual effort is rarely enough to protect you long-term. In contrast, Incogni’s subscription model allows for ongoing vigilance year-round. 

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Also, the amount of spam and robocalls received (along with the reduced risk of identity theft and doxxing) will sustainably improve your security and everyday quality of life. For individuals in well-regulated jurisdictions with generous privacy laws who want convenience and an automated long-term solution, Incogni is money well spent.

Our Recommendation: We recommend Incogni if your main concern is systematically deleting your details from online data brokers and people search websites without significant manual effort. Incogni is an ideal option due to its highly automated process and extensive broker coverage.

Review Summary