Top-rated DeleteMe alternatives for privacy protection

What does DeleteMe do? 

DeleteMe removes personal information from data brokers, a crucial step to securing your online privacy. But it’s not the only data removal service out there, so you might want to explore the best DeleteMe alternatives before deciding which one to invest in.

For proper evaluation, learn key aspects of DeleteMe first:

• DeleteMe covers more than 750 data brokers, but our research reveals that its Standard plan only includes around 100 sites. You can upgrade to get coverage for around 30 more, but the rest of the sites – nearly 650 – are only available via custom requests. Standard plan users get 40 of those per year (ten each quarter).
• From what we can tell, DeleteMe combines automation with manual work, providing manual assistance when needed (performed by a privacy advisor assigned to each user).
• Removal progress is displayed on DeleteMe’s dashboard. You can find such information as the number of data brokers searched, how many have your personal data, and what type of data they have. The dashboard also includes charts depicting the number of listings reviewed and removed each month. 
• DeleteMe issues a privacy report seven days after sign-up, then quarterly reports after that. The reports show in more detail which sites they found your personal information on and the current data removal status (in progress or complete). You can download your privacy report from the dashboard.
• Additional features include built-in Google search to see how you display in search results, free email address masking, and optional phone number masking for a fee.

Is DeleteMe effective? 

DeleteMe is effective at removing personal information from data broker sites. However, the service isn’t without its limitations:

• Most sites on DeleteMe’s removal list are available only via custom requests. This means you find profiles on data brokers yourself but submit them to DeleteMe so they handle the removal.
• The dashboard doesn’t link to data broker pages where your info is exposed, nor does it provide a removal status for each broker site separately. Quarterly reports do include some links but not to all broker sites, making it more difficult to track what is found and removed.
• DeleteMe’s Standard plan doesn’t include some of the biggest people-search sites, including PeekYou and Radaris (though several are available via custom requests).
• The service shares email addresses and phone numbers with data brokers during the data removal process. Unscrupulous sites could use that information to populate their databases instead of removing it.

Pros & cons of DeleteMe

What to pay attention to in data removal services

There are many DeleteMe alternatives and they all have their advantages and limitations. Before you decide which data removal service to go with, be sure to evaluate:

• The number and types of data brokers covered: More sites covered doesn’t necessarily mean greater protection – the key is the type of brokers covered. We believe that people-search sites are the most critical type because they make your information easily available to anyone who wants to pry into your life. Marketing, risk mitigation, recruitment, and other B2B data brokers are less dangerous because their databases typically aren’t available to the public. 
• Whether a service sends your info to data brokers: Some privacy services simply send your personal information to data brokers during the opt-out process instead of checking what details are exposed in the first place. Notably, such practices are often used with non-public data brokers – since the sites don’t have publicly available catalogs, there’s no way to scan them for your info. Though most data brokers are ethical and will use your information to find and remove your profiles, some unethical players could populate their databases instead, leading to even greater exposure.
• How transparent a service is about its scanning, removal, and verification processes:
  • Some services scan data brokers for your profiles before sending opt-out requests, others just send your information over asking to remove it. The latter can be potentially problematic as such practices could expose your data to sites that didn’t have it.
  • Some services rely on data brokers to confirm removal. Others mark a profile as removed right after sending a request – without any verification. Then there are services that re-scan data brokers to check if your profile has disappeared. The latter is the most reliable way to check if your information is truly removed.
• If there’s ongoing monitoring: Ongoing monitoring – even after profiles are removed – ensures your personal information stays off data brokers even if it reappears.

To help you make the best decision, we’ve taken a deep dive into 10 DeleteMe alternatives.

Top 10 DeleteMe alternatives

1. Onerep

Onerep removes personal information from 212 people-search sites. Focusing on this data broker type allows Onerep to scan the sites and actually find your profiles instead of blindly sending opt-out requests to every broker on its list. Additionally, people-search websites are the only broker type that makes loads of your personal details easily found online, putting you at risk of stalking, blackmail, phishing, financial fraud, and identity theft. By removing your information, Onerep protects you from all these threats and safeguards your privacy.

Onerep’s advanced technology:

• Scans data brokers to find pages containing your information
• Automatically submits opt-out requests for discovered profiles
• Rescans the sites to verify the profiles are removed
• Continually monitors to ensure your information isn’t republished; if it is, the data removal process is repeated 

Onerep’s detailed dashboard allows you to check on your removal progress at any time – you can view overall statistics as well as the current removal status for each site. Onerep also provides links to pages that share your information so you can see what data is out there and make sure it’s been removed for yourself. 

All Onerep plans cover unlimited aliases, email addresses, phone numbers, and past addresses, which is crucial to finding all your profiles, even outdated ones. However, no extra detail is ever shared with data brokers – if it’s necessary to submit your data for removal, the service only shares the details a broker already has. 

All plans also include a free 5-day trial.

Onerep specs

2. Incogni

Incogni is a DeleteMe alternative that covers around 190 data brokers, including recruitment, risk mitigation, and marketing brokers. The majority of them operate in business-to-business models and don’t have publicly open databases. Incogni also removes information from some people-search websites, though it misses a couple of the most popular ones such as Spokeo and MyLife. The company operates globally, so several sites on Incogni’s list are based overseas and aren’t relevant to U.S. citizens.

Rather than scan sites for your profiles, we’ve found that Incogni:

• Mostly predicts which sites have your personal information (though it does seem to check some people-search sites)
• Sends data broker opt-out requests (which include your personal info) to those it believes are likely to have your information, which means Incogni could expose your data to sites that didn’t have it
• Relies on data brokers to confirm removal rather than verifying it themselves

Additionally, Incogni doesn’t allow multiple aliases, email addresses, phone numbers, or past addresses, so they could miss profiles that have dated information about you. However, you can add multiple last names.

The dashboard is intuitive, easy to use, and simple to understand. Yet, it doesn’t list information they’ve found about you or link to pages where your data is exposed. 

Incogni emails weekly reports and offers support via email, web form, and a knowledge base. 

Incogni specs

3. Optery

Optery promises to remove your personal information from over 600 data broker databases – depending on your plan. The Free Basic plan is essentially a scan that reveals your online exposure but requires DIY data removal. Upgrade to the Core plan for automated removal from 90+ sites, the Extended plan for 240+ sites, Ultimate for 370+ sites, and Ultimate with Expanded Reach for the full range of 615+ websites. All plans cover people-search websites and various types of non-public data brokers.

Two major attributes differentiate Optery from DeleteMe:

• Optery’s patented search technology uses autogenerated links to predict pages where your info is exposed on data brokers
• If your data is found on those pages, Optery takes screenshots to show exposed profiles

However, Optery autogenerates links only for people-search websites. As for non-public data brokers, Optery can’t verify they have your information since there’s no open database. Instead, Optery simply sends your personal data over and asks to have it removed.

Extended and Ultimate plans allow unlimited name variations and addresses. However, you can only scan for one email and phone number at a time.

Optery’s dashboard is accessible 24/7 and features autogenerated profile links, screenshots (where available), current data removal progress, and activity history. Free members get new scans – or “Exposure Reports” – every three months, while paid members get new scans monthly.

Optery specs

4. BrandYourself

BrandYourself is an online reputation management service that:

• Removes negative content from Google’s search results
• Deletes unprofessional social media posts and images
• Helps build your personal brand
• Performs dark web scans for data breaches
• Removes your information from data brokers

This DeleteMe alternative claims to remove personal information from more than 50 major data brokers, but it doesn’t provide many details about how the service finds profiles, initiates opt-out requests, or verifies data removal.

You can start with a free risk scan, which gives you a reputation score based on factors such as “flagged” search results, social posts, images, and exposed personal information. With the free service, you can follow BrandYourself’s DIY guides to remove your personal information or sign up for its concierge services to have the company do it on your behalf.

Note that BrandYourself focuses on overall reputation management, primarily for career-focused individuals seeking to manicure their digital footprint for personal branding, so it’s a partial alternative to DeleteMe’s data removal service.

BrandYourself specs

5. ReputationDefender

As its name suggests, Norton’s ReputationDefender service is designed to improve your online reputation and help create a positive digital footprint. Data broker removal is only part of that service, which also includes:

• Negative Google search results management
• Business review management
• Dark web data breach scans

The Essentials plan covers around 100 broker sites for one person with two name variations, three addresses, and ten phone numbers and email addresses. The Select plan increases coverage to more than 900 sites for one person and includes unlimited name and contact variations, plus adds dark web data breach scans and custom removal requests. 

However, ReputationDefender’s website does not list the data nrokers it covers, and it doesn’t provide much info about how it finds your profiles or verifies data removal.

With pricing plans ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 per year, our take is that ReputationDefender is better suited for businesses and corporate executives who need extensive personal branding, as other online services can remove your information from data brokers for significantly less.

ReputationDefender specs

6. Kanary

Kanary monitors more than 320 sites and submits opt-out requests on your behalf, though its list of sites covered isn’t limited to data brokers. This DeleteMe alternative also monitors social media sites, search engines, and public records websites.

However, Kanary can’t remove your sensitive data from all the sites on its list. Many require users to take manual action to complete data removal, so Kanary provides templates and guides to help.

New scans are initiated monthly and removal requests for some sites are sent weekly. Kanary’s dashboard also displays screenshots of exposed information for some websites. However, some screenshots are faulty and Kanary admits their dashboard can sometimes report a profile was removed when it wasn’t.

Kanary offers a 14-day free trial that includes three automatic data broker removals. 

Kanary specs

7. Privacy Bee

Privacy Bee is a DeleteMe alternative that works a little differently than some of the other options on this list. The service:

• Lets you choose which companies you trust with your online data – for example, retailers and credit card issuers you do business with – and which you want your sensitive data deleted from
• Provides a browser extension to instantly mark sites as trusted or negative
• Offers 24/7 data breach monitoring

Privacy Bee offers a free “vulnerability scan” and promises to erase your personal data from over 300 data brokers, though the number varies on different Privacy Bee website pages and there’s no exact list. 

Notably, the service requires users to respond to emails sent by data brokers to confirm data deletion and “do not sell” requests.

Privacy Bee allows multiple aliases, physical addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. The dashboard shows your active exposures but marks some sites as “unscannable” with information “likely exposed.” This suggests that Privacy Bee is unable to verify your profile exists on every site they cover.

The dashboard also offers a private search feature to search the web without being tracked and a Gmail inbox scan that helps discover which sites have your email address.

Privacy Bee specs

8. Aura

Aura is an all-in-one data privacy suite that offers data broker removals in addition to:

• Identity protection services and identity theft insurance
• Financial fraud protection
• Credit monitoring
• Dark web monitoring
• A VPN
• Antivirus software
• A password manager
• Spam call protection
• Parental/safe gaming controls

However, as comprehensive as Aura is, it’s a bit light on data broker removal as the service only covers around 30 sites. 

Aura automates data broker removal and says you might receive emails from brokers during the opt-out process, which means it shares your email address with data broker websites. In fact, the service states it frequently submits your email, name, address, and phone number to data brokers and continually resubmits that information to prevent it from being republished. This makes us believe Aura simply sends user information to data brokers to request removal instead of scanning them and discovering actual exposures.

Though Aura has a robust suite of privacy features, including identity theft protection, its data removal service is minimal in comparison to other DeleteMe alternatives. 

Aura specs

9. PrivacyPros

PrivacyPros is another DeleteMe alternative that offers a suite of personal data removal services:

• Removal from more than 300 sites, including what it calls “common” data brokers, people-search sites, and genealogy sites
• Dark web monitoring
• Custom removal requests (which can incur additional fees for complex cases)
• Enterprise reputation management plans for professionals and businesses

On its website, PrivacyPros makes somewhat bold claims: the service claims to be able to remove information from “common” data brokers in 24 hours, people-search sites in 48 hours, and genealogy sites in 72 hours. However, data broker opt-out can take up to 30 days and even more, so it’s likely that PrivacyPros simply submits requests in the stated time frames rather than achieving full removal that quickly.

PrivacyPros isn’t clear about how it finds your profiles or verifies data removal, but it does continue monitoring to ensure your information isn’t republished. 

PrivacyPros specs

10. HelloPrivacy

HelloPrivacy offers two services in one:

• Data broker removal
• Dark web monitoring

The service covers over 115 sites and checks the dark web to see if your personal data was exposed in known data breaches.

Though there isn’t a free trial, HelloPrivacy offers a free scan that shows your exposure along with the types of information each site has on you.

The service automates personal data removal, and its dashboard is available 24/7, though it doesn’t explicitly state how often it scans, how it verifies removals, and if or when it generates reports. HelloPrivacy’s homepage says it can also scrub social media accounts and delete old online accounts, but we didn’t see how to do this in the dashboard.

Notably, HelloPrivacy is owned by the same team that operates BrandYourself, so social media clean-up could be managed by them.

HelloPrivacy specs

Key features to look for in online privacy services

Each online privacy service is unique with its own strengths and weaknesses. As you evaluate which data security option is best for you, be sure to consider:

Effectiveness of monitoring and data removal

• Does the site actually scan data broker sites to find your information and verify they have it? 
• Do they use algorithms to predict which sites have your information?
• Or do they simply send opt-out requests to every site on their list, potentially exposing your information to websites that didn’t have it in the first place?
• Do they provide links or screenshots to prove your sensitive data was found and removed?

User interface and ease of use

• Does the service feature a comprehensive user interface that clearly shows which sites have personal details on you?
• Is the dashboard easy to understand and use?
• Does the dashboard allow you to track removal progress and remaining exposure for each data broker?

Quality of customer support

• Does the company offer multiple customer support options, fast response times, and useful replies?

How to choose the right privacy service for you

Now that you have insights into the best DeleteMe alternatives, consider the following when deciding which data privacy service is right for you.

Personal privacy needs and concerns

If you’re mostly concerned about data security and having your sensitive information exposed to anyone who wants it – including random people, marketing firms, recruiters, and even scammers – then you should choose a data broker removal service that focuses on people-search sites. 

If you’re primarily worried about your professional profile for career advancement, you might be better served by a reputation management service.

Budget

Consider how much money you can allocate toward personal data removal services. Though data protection is certainly a worthwhile investment that could save you thousands of dollars by preventing scams and identity theft, there’s no reason to overpay when some of the more affordable services are also the most effective.

User feedback

Finally, consider user feedback to make an informed decision. Read reviews on trusted third-party sites to gain additional insights into the user experience, pros and cons, and what you can expect from the DeleteMe alternatives listed here.