Incogni Review (October 2024) – Is It really the best data removal sercice?

In my work as a digital nomad and content creator, I get to visit a lot of places. I take precautions to travel safely and the same goes for my digital life too. For example, I’ve been a VPN user for the last 10 years and send secure emails. Still, I figured we can’t be too careful about our data these days. So I aimed to increase my privacy and reduce my digital footprint, and what better way than with data removal services?

Most data removal services work the same way, but this particular post evaluates Incogni—a service provider that promises to help you “take back control of your data.” I’ve heard some good things about it and decided to give it a try. In this Incogni review, I’ll tell you what I like about it and what I don’t. And of course, we’ll see if they have the capability to deliver on their promise.

Incogni Rapid Rundown Rapid Rundown

Incogni is often touted as the best data removal service on the market. But I wanted to test whether that's actually true. So I set off to perform this full Incogni review. I was surprised by how fast and easy the whole process was. As soon as you subscribe, the process starts right away. I like how Incogni gets right down to business by contacting data brokers and people search sites immediately. Then, they file personal data removal requests on your behalf. You can keep track of the removal process through the Incogni Dashboard.  

I overall found Incogni very simple and easy to use. From pricing options to its user interface, Incognito was very straightforward to use. You don’t have to wrack your brain to figure out what to do. On the flip side, that also means Incognito isn’t packed with features. For instance, I’ve tried DeleteMe and they offer reports, email masking, and custom requests. 

Pros and Cons

I will soon give you the full Incogni review. But before that, here’s a snapshot of the advantages and disadvantages of getting an Incogni subscription.

The Full Review

It’s finally time to dive into the meat of this Incogni review. You’re about to learn everything you need to know about this ultra-minimalistic data removal provider. Ready? Let’s start with pricing. How much does Incogni cost?

Incogni Pricing Pricing

Incogni only offers two subscription plans. There’s an Annual plan and a Monthly plan. That’s it! Like I said earlier, straightforward. The monthly plan costs $12.99 per month, while the annual plan translates to $6.49/month. When I choose an online service, I generally prefer those that allow me to pay monthly, so points to them for having this option. A monthly plan gives me the option to cancel after the first month or so if I don’t like the service. 

Bear in mind though, the data removal process can sometimes take multiple months. So many data brokers are slow to act and hence require follow ups. For me, this justifies the annual plan, which is also substantially cheaper. You’ll want to factor this into your buying decision. 

So Incogni's monthly plan isn't exactly the most ideal given its cost. But you’ll be happy to know that this subscription based service offers a 30-day money back guarantee. This allows you to cancel your subscription and get your money back within 30 days after sign up. That's if you’re not satisfied with the service. For comparison, DeleteMe only gives you a refund if you cancel before you receive your first Privacy Report. Since DeleteMe’s first privacy report usually arrives within seven days, that means you’re only given 7 days to cancel to get a refund.  I’m happy with the full month that Incogni gives for a new subscriber to really explore if it’s worth it.

Data Broker Companies That Incogni Contacts

As of this writing, the number of data brokers Incogni contacts is 149. This number may change from time to time. Incogni constantly adds new data brokers. However, some may have merged and others may have closed shop. Thus, the number can go up or go down. However, looking into other data removal service providers, I found that some of them cover a larger number of data brokers.

Some of the brokers covered by Incogni include:

• AccuData
• Bookyourdata
• Comscore
• Dice
• Ekata
• Fetcher
• Homemetry
• Indtrue
• And many others

Features and Capabilities

As hinted earlier, Incogni isn’t full of features. But what other features do you really need if all you want is an easy way to remove your data online? Incogni already takes charge of sending data removal requests. It also takes care of follow ups. So, all you’ll likely need is a way to track their progress. 

An Incogni subscription allows you to track progress through these two menus: Dashboard and Detailed View. You can find them at the top of the page when you login to Incogni.  

Incogni Dashboard

The Incogni Dashboard provides crucial status information about your data removal requests. It shows three key figures on requests—sent, in progress, and completed. It also gives the number of suppression list entries you are on. A suppression list is a list that names customers whose personal info will no longer be collected, traded, or stored by the broker moving forward. This means the more supression lists you are on, the better for you.

In some instances, the Dashboard may also contain alert dialog boxes. These are for issues that require further action on your part. Your actions will help Incogni speed up or complete the data removal process. For example, the boxes might ask you to select certain profiles or provide additional information.  

Further down, you’ll see activity logs pertinent to the data removal requests. In most cases, it will just show when a data removal request was completed. 

Detailed View

This page contains all the details about specific data brokers and the official data removal requests. You can filter the results by broker type, severity score, compliance score, and request status. Let’s talk about each filter in more detail. 

Broker type

There are two types of data brokers: public databases and private databases. Public databases focus on selling individual personal information. Private databases, on the other hand, focus on selling personal data in bulk. Due to the volume of data, private databases often contain more sensitive information. Marketers use these types of data to create targeted ads. 

Compliance score

The compliance score shows how fast and reliable a data broker is in complying with removal requests. Take note however, that the “scores” aren’t numeric but are qualitative. They are based on Incogni's internal algorithm and evaluation system. Data brokers can be Compliant, Inconsistent, Resistant, or Undetermined. 

Severity score

This qualitative score indicates the level of data sensitivity and associated risks a data broker has. The scores are rated High, Medium, and Low. Data brokers with High scores store a lot of sensitive data and are susceptible to identity theft. 

Request status

This simply indicates the status of the removal requests sent to a particular data broker. The status labels are In Progress or Completed. A request with the status In Progress means that it is still being processed by the broker. A Completed status means that the data has been successfully removed.

In the list of data brokers, you may get more detailed information for each broker by clicking on them. This will expand the entry and show more details. 

Here’s how an expanded entry looks like. You’ll see some relevant information like the average resolution time, a brief description of the company, associated risks, and so on. Ideally, you’ll want to see the broker marked “Suppressed”. This means the broker has promised not to collect and store your data anymore. A “Completed” status only means the broker removed your data for now. It’s not a guarantee they won’t collect it again in the future.  

Ease of Use and Setup

Incogni is easily one of the most, if not THE most user friendly data removal service out there. Well, as mentioned earlier, it doesn’t have a lot of features to begin with. Some may see that as a drawback, but others (I, for one) will like how everything is focused on the main objective. The only page that requires some user interaction is the Detailed View page. And if you get stumped there, you can click the Interactive Tutorial to get assistance. 

Incogni Account Creation

The Incogni registration process is pretty straightforward. Incogni doesn’t require as much personal data as other similar providers. I find this a plus for Incogni. Others require more info from you when you’re trying to reduce your data online. Anyway, when you sign up, you’ll only need to provide:

• Your email address,
• A password for your account,
• Your name,
• Your phone number,
• Your date of birth, and
• Your physical address

You’ll also need to sign an authorization form. The contents of the authorization form serves as a limited power of attorney. This means you are granting Incogni permission to send removal requests on your behalf. 

If you think you’re sharing a lot of personal data with Incogni, you should see other information removal sites. Other providers ask for more personal data that may seem needless. This info could be your employment history and even information about your relatives. 

Interactive Tutorial

The Interactive Tutorial is a tool that walks you through the different components of the Detailed View page. You can activate it by clicking the link as shown below. It will then start orienting you with the different elements of that page. 

Incogni Customer Support Customer Support

Since there’s really not much you can do once the data removal process is underway, it’s unlikely you’ll need customer support. However, should you need further assistance, you can scroll to the bottom of the page and click Help. This will bring you to Incogni’s Help Desk. 

Here, you have 3 options:

1. You can submit a request. This will trigger Incogni’s email-based customer support. This is the only kind of human-assisted help you’ll get from Incogni. 
2. You can type a question. This will allow you to trigger a search against Incogni’s Help Desk articles. 
3. You can click on any of the general topic buttons. This will allow you to browse to relevant topics and Help Desk articles.