Incogni Review | Pros and Cons – What Do The Experts Think

Are you looking for a real in-depth review of Incogni? Or a side-by-side comparison with Optery, for the best alternative to Incogni?

Incogni Pros	Incogni Cons
Europeans often prefer a service that is headquartered in Europe, such as Incogni. Incogni is principally operated out of Lithuania, as a subsidiary of Surfshark, but maintains a corporate entity in the United States.	U.S. citizens often prefer a service that is headquartered in the United States, such as Optery. Optery has a single corporate entity, a Delaware Corporation, with headquarters in Clayton, California. Optery operates as a fully-remote globally distributed team with core operations and the majority of its leadership team in the United States.
Attractive and Intuitive User Interface	Lack of scanning and visual screenshots, such as those provided by Optery. Offers a free digital footprint checker, but our testing yielded limited results.
No Affiliate Partnerships with Data Brokers	As part of the Nord / Surfshark conglomerate, Incogni operates a massive influencer marketing operation, so when performing research online, it can often be difficult or impossible to determine which reviews or testimonials have actually been paid for.
Monthly and Yearly Billing Options	No free tier (only paid plans), unlike Optery which offers Monthly and Yearly billing options, as well as a Free tier
Offers product bundle with other security and privacy tools	Optery covers 50%+ more data brokers for automated removals than Incogni (645+ Sites by Optery vs. 420 by Incogni, at the time of this writing).

💡Most professionally-written Incogni reviews we found online were written by affiliate marketers, influencers, and Surfshark or Incogni team members paid to write positive things about Incogni. But does that make Incogni the most effective data removal product on the market? We don’t think so. Packed with screenshots and in-depth analysis – this is the most comprehensive review of Incogni on the internet, and we believe the data shows Optery is clearly the superior personal data removal service!

If you’re selecting a personal data removal service, we’re confident after reading this review you’ll save yourself loads of time and money in your search for the best product for your hard-earned money.

💡 Important Note to Current Customers of Incogni:
According to PCMag.com, one of Optery’s strengths is the free Optery Exposure Report. Existing Incogni customers can create a free Optery account and review the results of the free Optery Exposure Report scan to test Incogni’s performance and double-check Incogni’s work. Based on our research and testing, Optery finds ~50 exposed profiles for customers of other personal data removal services on average.

Incogni is a European based service owned by Surfshark, which is based in the Netherlands. In 2022, Surfshark and Nord Security, which is based in Lithuania, merged under one holding company to form a cybersecurity conglomerate. Incogni benefits from their parent company’s large marketing budgets, and the internet is filled with paid posts and affiliate marketers promoting Incogni, but for the reasons listed in this review, we believe Incogni’s product lags behind Optery in the market today.

💡 Did you know? PCMag.com awarded Optery “Editors’ Choice” over Incogni as the most outstanding product in the personal data removal category in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.  Optery is the most awarded personal data removal product on the market: PCMag.com “Editor’s Choice” (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025), three “Cybersecurity Excellence Awards” (2024, 2025), SiliconANGLE TechForward Award for Digital Risk Protection (2025), Fortress Cybersecurity Award (2025), Global InfoSec Award by Cyber Defense Magazine (2025), Top InfoSec Innovator Award by Cyber Defense Magazine (2024), Fast Company “Next Big Things in Tech” (2023) .

In this review, packed with screenshots, charts, and detailed examples, we review Incogni, unpack the major differences with Optery and discuss why we’re 100% confident Optery is the smartest choice you can make when it comes to choosing a personal data removal service for yourself, your family, or your business. We believe Optery wins across the board on Affordability and Value, Data Broker Coverage, Exposure Reporting, Removals Process and Reporting, Flexible Billing Options, Support for Families, Support for Businesses and Data Security. Read on for a deep dive into most of these areas.

Last Updated October 2025. If you find incorrect or outdated information let us know at support@optery.com and we’ll investigate right away.

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction – What are Personal Data Removal Services?
2. Incogni Company Profile
   • On the Positive Side
   • On the Negative Side
3. Incogni Subscriptions & Pricing – Affordability, Value & Data Broker Coverage
   • Incogni Data Broker Coverage
   • Incogni Pricing
   • How Does Incogni Compare with Optery in Coverage & Value?
4. Incogni Scan – Exposure Reporting
   • How Does Incogni Compare with Optery in Exposure Scanning & Reporting?
5. Incogni Removals Process and Reporting
   • Removals Process
   • Removals Reporting
   • Incogni Lacks Screenshot Verification
6. Incogni Flexible Billing Options
   • How Does Incogni Compare with Optery in Flexible Billing Options?
7. Incogni Data Security Credentials
   • How Does Incogni Compare with Optery in Data Security?
8. Incogni Review Conclusion

🕵️ Introduction – What are Personal Data Removal Services?

Numerous companies collect and sell our personal details online, often without consent. This data, often from public records, includes sensitive information like home addresses, phone numbers, emails, and more. These entities are typically referred to as data brokers, or sometimes “people search sites”. They include well-known names like WhitePages, Spokeo, and BeenVerified.

Data removal services like Incogni and Optery help people remove their information from data broker sites. Opting out, or removing your information, from data brokers can help reduce the risks of stalking, identity theft, phishing, and spam. Different data removal services have different advantages and disadvantages.

This Incogni Review, which compares Incogni vs. Optery, assesses these two data removal services based on the criteria below:

Affordability and Value
Data Broker Coverage
Exposure Reporting
Removals Process and Reporting
Flexible Billing Options
Support for Families
Support for Businesses
Data Security Credentials

⚖️ Incogni Company Profile

Surfshark was founded by Vytautas Kaziukonis in 2018. The company is based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Surfshark’s first product was a VPN of the same name. The company has since added more digital privacy products including search, antivirus tools, and in 2021 Surfshark released Incogni, its personal data removal service.

In 2022, Surfshark merged with Nord Security, another prominent VPN and data privacy company founded in 2012 in Lithuania.

What do we like about Incogni and what do we think you should be aware of?

📈 On the Positive Side

If you’re based in Europe and looking for an affordable privacy and security bundle with basic personal data removal coverage, then Incogni is a solid choice. While Optery provides international coverage for Optery for Business customers, there is currently a waiting list for individuals outside of the United States and Canada. Incogni currently supports 35 countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Switzerland, and most EU countries. Check their website for the most up-to-date list. Optery, by contrast, is available to individuals in the U.S. and Canada and provides more comprehensive visibility and control over removals, making it the better option for users in those regions. Source.

However, for customers desiring maximum protection, Optery’s Ultimate plan offers far greater data broker coverage and more robust features and functionality as compared to Incogni. If you’re unsure, just create a free Optery account to try it out and compare.

💡 Optery provides international coverage for Optery for Business customers, but has a waiting list for individuals desiring coverage outside of the United States.

Additionally, the Incogni product is straightforward and easy to understand, with a clean, user-friendly interface. Incogni offers two tiers: a Standard plan at $15.98 per month or $95.88 per year (about $7.99/month when billed annually), and an Unlimited plan starting at $179.88 per year (about $14.99/month). The Unlimited plan includes features such as custom removal requests and expanded support. Overall, the service provides an accessible customer experience, and reviews consistently highlight its simplicity and ease of use

📉 On the Negative Side

One of the biggest drawbacks of Incogni is its lack of transparency in proving that removals have actually occurred. While Incogni provides confirmation notices, these reports are generic and do not include verifiable evidence like the before-and-after screenshots Optery provides. Optery has received several cybersecurity awards for going further in documenting our work and giving customers confidence in the process.

Another limitation is that Incogni does not provide a robust free account tier with do-it-yourself tools and resources as Optery does. As a result, users must subscribe upfront without fully understanding the scope of their data exposure or exploring alternative ways to take action themselves.  Optery’s Free Basic account tier allows users to get a feel for the product and platform and their exposure risk before making a purchase decision.

💡 Data broker coverage with Incogni is stronger than most in the personal data removal industry, but not as Optery.  For example, Optery covers 50%+ more data brokers for automated removals than Incogni (645 covered by Optery vs. 420 covered by Incogni, at the time of this writing). Incogni’s reach across data brokers and people-search sites is comparatively narrow, leaving gaps in removal for those who want comprehensive protection. For example, some high-profile brokers, like Whitepages and Instant Checkmate, are not part of Incogni’s automated coverage (at this time of this writing). Users must handle those removals themselves. Optery’s higher-tier plans include these and other difficult sites through built-in coverage or its Custom Removals featureIts offering is relatively uniform, without the tiered plans or Optery’s Expanded Reach option that gives customers flexible options to expand coverage modularly. This means that paying customers may still find their information exposed in places Incogni does not cover.

Finally, Incogni relies almost entirely on automated systems to process opt-outs. While automation is efficient for scale, it sometimes falls short when dealing with data brokers that require manual intervention or more nuanced handling. For example, offering limited support for multiple names, phone numbers, and addresses. Without a human-in-the-loop element, the service is less capable of resolving complex or persistent cases, and this can leave certain records lingering online or reappearing after initial removal attempts.  Optery differentiates itself here with its “Humans + Machines” approach, combining expertly trained privacy agents with the industry’s most advanced personal data removal technology and artificial intelligence.

We will dive into each of these pros and cons below in the body of this review.

📦 Incogni Subscriptions & Pricing – Affordability, Value & Data Broker Coverage

To summarize, Incogni offers two subscription tiers. The Standard plan is priced at $15.98 per month or $95.88 when billed annually, and the Unlimited plan starts at $29.98 per month or $179.88 when billed annually. These plans cover removals from over 400 data brokers, with the Unlimited plan adding custom removal requests and expanded support. 

While this may appear to be a good value option, if personal data removal is your primary focus, Optery’s subscription plans: Core, Extended, and Ultimate provide more comprehensive coverage and visibility, with the right level of service depending on your needs.

💨 Incogni Data Broker Coverage

💡 The list of sites Incogni covers contains many Marketing sites and is missing many of the most requested People Search Sites that we believe are critical for effective personal information security.

💡 Optery focuses on covering People Search Sites and Prospecting Databases, which we believe are more critical for personal data security, in contrast to Marketing sites that primarily lead to more personalized digital ads, which are more prevalent in Incogni’s list.

Incogni covers more than 400 data broker sites. To Incogni’s credit, Incogni provides an easy-to-understand list of data brokers on their website that appears to be a straightforward and accurate representation of their coverage. Unlike DeleteMe, whose “Sites We Cover” page we believe is misleading as detailed in our DeleteMe Review, Incogni clearly states which data brokers are covered right on their website. Incogni also categorizes and ranks the data brokers based on risk and type, which is a nice touch.

Source: https://blog.incogni.com/data-brokers-incogni-covers/

Digging into the list brings us to an important point about Incogni. There is surprisingly little overlap between the data brokers covered by Incogni and those covered by competitors like Optery and DeleteMe, and they only recently began adding People Search Sites. Incogni also does not provide screenshot verification, PCMag had this to say:

“I don’t insist on before and after screenshots like you get from Optery, but I’d like to see more transparency from Incogni about exactly what it accomplished..”

Neil Rubenking, Lead Analyst for Security, PCMag.com
(source: Incogni review at PCMag.com)

We compared Incogni’s list of the ~420 data broker sites it covers with Optery’s list of the ~650 data broker sites it covers, and also cross referenced that with the list of data broker sites in the California Attorney General’s Data Broker Registry. Out of the ~420 data broker sites covered by Incogni, only ~190 overlap with Optery and the California Attorney General’s Data Broker Registry. In other words, ~55% of the data broker sites Incogni covers are not what would be considered “typical” or the type of “usual suspects” data brokers that even the California Attorney General’s data broker registry tracks. In fact, since most of the sites Incogni covers are not even tracked on the California Attorney General’s data broker registry, they may be of questionable value to paying customers versus the data broker sites covered by Optery.

We asked ChatGPT-5 (in October 2025) to “Name the most popular people search sites”, and then reconciled that list with the list of sites covered by Optery and Incogni. Based on the list of the most popular people search sites in the chart below, Incogni has major gaps in coverage of the most popular people search sites as compared to the far more comprehensive coverage that Optery provides

Most Popular People Search Sites from ChatGPT	Optery	Incogni
Whitepages.com	✅	🚫
TruePeopleSearch	✅	✅
Spokeo	✅	✅
PeopleFinders	✅	✅
RocketReach	✅	🚫
ThatsThem	✅	✅
BeenVerified	✅	✅
TruthFinder	✅	🚫
Instant Checkmate	✅	🚫
PeopleFinders	✅	✅
Pipl	✅	✅
ZabaSearch	✅	🚫
PeekYou	🚫	🚫
US Search	✅	🚫
SmartBackgroundChecks	✅	✅
PeopleLooker	✅	✅
That’s Them	✅	✅
PeopleSearchNow	✅	✅
CocoFinder	✅	🚫
Radaris	✅	✅

If you are not interested in removal from the most popular people search sites, and you are more interested in removal from niche marketing databases that most other personal data removal platforms do not cover, then Incogni could be the right solution for you. Many of the companies Incogni covers are not covered by Optery or other popular data removal services. Optery does see some of its more privacy conscious customers combine personal data removal services for maximum removals coverage when there is a low overlap across data removal services. As we can see in the list above, even though Incogni may cover non-standard data brokers that other services don’t cover, they are clearly missing some of the more popular and requested ones.

💡 “Coverage” is relative. Even though all data removal services offer “data broker coverage”, what “coverage” entails is not the same. Optery conducts automated scans, provides annotated screenshots, and performs rescans monthly to verify removal. Incogni and other data removal services do not seem to offer the same level of automated scanning, monitoring, “Humans + Machines” combination of automated and manual removals, and screenshot verification technology as Optery.

🏷️ Incogni Pricing

Incogni’s Standard plan costs $15.98 per month or $95.88 per year (about $7.99/month when billed annually). The Unlimited plan costs about $29.98 per month  ($179.88 per year when billed annually) and adds features such as custom removals and expanded support. On the positive side, Incogni provides both monthly and yearly billing options, which gives customers flexibility. Optery also offers Monthly and Yearly subscription options across its Core, Extended, and Ultimate plans, and goes a step further by allowing customers to pause their subscription at any time or easily upgrade or downgrade between plans instead of being locked into a long-term contract.

Source: https://incogni.com/pricing

Incogni makes its pricing and coverage relatively clear and easy to understand, offering two straightforward subscription tiers (Standard and Unlimited) along with a published list of the 420+ data brokers it covers. This transparency is refreshing, since many personal data removal services conceal the list of sites they cover or use misleading marketing tactics that embellish or inflate the scope of their coverage. Fortunately, neither Incogni, nor Optery engages in these practices.

🧐 How Does Incogni Compare with Optery in Coverage & Value?

Incogni’s straightforward pricing and transparent broker list are commendable, and recent feature additions like Custom Removals have improved its offering. However, important gaps remain. Incogni does not provide screenshot evidence of removals, offers only basic monitoring, and its support for handling multiple identities is limited. By contrast, Optery provides screenshot proof of removals, continuous monitoring and rescans, robust support for multiple names and email addresses, flexible business and enterprise plans, and a developer API. Depending on their needs, customers can find more value in an Optery Core, Extended, or Ultimate subscription, each of which covers these areas and more.

Optery offers a range of plans starting at $3.99 per month, or $39 per year to $24.99 per month, or $249 per year, covering 365+ data broker sites to 645+ data broker sites (or 400+ Sites without enabling Expanded Reach) and Unlimited Custom Removals (for a grand total of 1,360+ Sites covered) respectively.

Optery’s services include monthly automated scans and removals, unlimited name variations (for Extended and Ultimate subscribers), Custom Removals (for Ultimate plan subscribers), and detailed exposure and removal reports. Optery allows customers to switch between different plans and terms, offers a family plan with discounts for additional members, Business plans, and a developer API. Additionally, Optery has a patented search technology and the most advanced data broker scanning software in the world. We believe this flexibility, coupled with its data broker coverage, makes Optery the more attractive option regardless of your needs.

As noted earlier, comparing Incogni’s coverage to Optery’s is tricky because of the differing concepts of coverage and the non-standard data brokers Incogni covers. Nevertheless, let’s attempt to compare each service in terms of Price and Number of data brokers covered.

Looking at coverage and pricing directly, Optery’s Extended plan is the closest equivalent to Incogni’s Standard plan. Extended covers automated removals from 535+ Sites (or 290+ Sites without enabling Expanded Reach), includes profile visibility and screenshot evidence, and is priced at $14.99 per month. In comparison, Incogni’s Standard plan costs $15.98 per month and covers about 420 brokers.

At the premium level, Incogni Unlimited is priced at $29.98 per month (and adds features like Custom Removals and priority support. Optery’s closest equivalent, the Ultimate plan, also costs $29.99 per month, but covers automated removals from the same 645+ brokers (or 400+ Sites without enabling Expanded Reach), includes continuous monitoring and rescans, supports multiple names, emails, and addresses (Incogni is limited to just 3 variations), and delivers screenshot evidence with every removal.

The Optery Core plan, which covers automated data removal from 365+ Sites (or 120+ Sites without enabling Expanded Reach). It only costs $3.99 per month. This plans covers more than 85% the number of Data Brokers Incogni covers in their Standard plan but at a fraction of the cost (25% the cost of the Incogni standard plan).

In addition, Optery offers a Free Basic plan that is free of charge. With this plan, you get profile visibility at hundreds of sites, including screenshots. This can be useful for quality-checking the work of other data removal services such as Incogni.

In summary, we believe Optery Offers Superior Affordability, Value and Data Broker Coverage Compared to Incogni.

📊 Incogni Scan – Exposure Reporting

Automated scanning and exposure reporting are critical features of a data removal service. Incogni recently added a Digital Footprint Checker, which provides a free scan showing where your information appears on public people-search sites, and its dashboard reports on removal requests and status updates. However, Incogni does not provide screenshot proof or before-and-after evidence of removals, and its scans are extremely limited in comparison to Optery’s industry leading Exposure Report and Removals Report scans. If you’re going to try out the Incogni Digital Footprint Checker, we highly recommend comparing the results with the free Optery Exposure Report scan.

On the plus side, even though Incogni does not have a free tier, similar to Optery, they do offer a 30-day money back guarantee. So consumers can sign up for an Incogni account, try out the service, and get a full refund if they cancel within 30 days.

💨 How Does Incogni Compare with Optery in Exposure Scanning & Reporting?

Optery offers the most comprehensive exposure scan results on the market with its patented search technology. Optery was the pioneer in providing a free report with dozens of screenshots of exposed profiles, as well as screenshots of before-and-after photos proving its work completing the removals. Furthermore, Optery’s exposure scans identify more exposed profiles than any other service, including Google.

Optery scans hundreds of data broker sites and discovers an average of approximately ~100 exposed profiles per user. When customers of other personal data removal services (e.g. Incogni, DeleteMe, etc) create a free Optery account for the free Optery scan, Optery finds ~50 exposed profiles the others have missed per user on average. Optery typically generates reports within ~30 minutes after the free sign up. These reports include real-time screenshots that demonstrate where your profile is exposed, providing tangible evidence of Optery’s effectiveness. Furthermore, Optery offers full and complete access to all the exposed profiles in the report without even requiring a credit card or a paid account.

“Unlike any other product in this field, Optery doesn’t just state that your data was found, like IDX Privacy. It also doesn’t simply list the found data items, like DeleteMe. Rather, the report presents you with a screenshot of your actual profile data on the site.”

Neil Rubenking, Lead Analyst for Security, PCMag.com
(source: Optery review at PCMag.com)

Users can retrieve the results of their free Optery Exposure Report scan by clicking on the screenshot thumbnails from the Optery dashboard.

Clicking on a screenshot image thumbnail will open the image in a large and detailed screenshot with a red box around where on the data broker page your information has been located by Optery:

You can also visit the Optery Reports page to download the full Exposure Report in PDF:

Optery’s Free Basic account provides free self-service tools to submit your own opt-outs at the places where you have been found. This makes Optery useful for anyone, regardless of their ability to pay.

In summary, we believe Optery Offers Superior Free Scans and Exposure Reporting Compared to Incogni.

📊 Incogni Removals Process and Reporting

🔧 Removals Process

The core function of a data removal service is to process data opt outs and removals. As noted, Incogni only seems to perform very limited scans (although it is possible there may be scanning mechanisms that are not shared with the customer). Lacking the critical scanning function, it appears Incogni skips straight to submitting opt outs and removals. Within 10 minutes after signing up for an Incogni account, we were shown 249 removal requests had already been sent, without any indication of matched profiles found, which leads us to believe the removals requests are not connected to any scan.

After checking back a few days later, Incogni reported 408 requests had been sent (an additional 159 requests), with 277 in progress and 131 completed. The fact that Incogni seems to send over 200 opt-out requests within 10 minutes of signing up indicates Incogni most likely automatically submits removal requests with no manual intervention or scanning or validation beforehand, and is most likely batching and blasting opt outs indiscriminately.

When you sign up for an Optery account, Optery uses your name and other info to find matches for your information among the millions of other profiles posted online. Optery’s scanning is fast, usually taking ~30 minutes, but it is not instant.

There are two issues with sending requests indiscriminately: Firstly, they expose more information than necessary. Secondly, indiscriminate requests are a low-cost low-impact way to process opt-outs, akin to a bulk email tool, *but* in this case, are priced comparably to more advanced and thorough approaches such as Optery, which includes patented search technology and industry-leading humans + machines opt out processes.

The main issue with blind requests is that they expose unnecessary consumer information. Some data brokers require the sharing of sensitive personal information to process the removal. While a data removal service may need to pass along this information in some cases, Optery takes great care to minimize this.

Incogni assures users that it’s legally prohibited for data brokers to misuse the information provided in opt out request [source]. However, given the shady nature of data brokers, it’s wise to minimize the sharing of personal information. Optery, on the other hand, takes great care to only expose the minimum necessary information for profile removal.

Based on our research, the Incogni removals process appears to be more basic than Optery. Incogni does not appear to approach opt outs from a more sophisticated perspective with scanning technology and a multitude of opt out processes depending on the data broker.

In summary, we believe Optery Offers Superior Removals Effectiveness compared to Incogni.

🔭 Removals Reporting

For all personal data removal services, scanning and removals can take time. Because most data brokers do not process removal requests instantaneously, it can often take 30, 60, or even 90 days to see a significant difference in your exposure level. As a personal data removal service customer, it is important to track progress with regular status updates on your removals.

Different companies address this in different ways. In the case of Optery, Optery provides configurable Removals Status Updates via email, real-time updates in the Optery app dashboard, and recurring Removal Reports with before-and-after screenshots both via email and downloadable from the Optery dashboard.

Incogni offers a dashboard that displays the number of requests sent, requests in progress, and requests completed.

Incogni also provides a “requests” tab that lists individual Data Broker request status, as well as the option to click on each individual request and see additional information about the specific data broker. However, unlike Optery, there is no confirmation or screenshot to verify if your specific information was found or if a scan was conducted.

While the Incogni dashboard is easy to navigate, is visually appealing and gives the impression of real-time updates, there is no way to easily verify if the removals have actually been processed unless the customer manually performs searches for the information on their own at the data brokers themselves. It seems that it is the customer’s responsibility to manually check these websites to confirm their information has been removed.

📺 Incogni Lacks Screenshot Verification

Similar to the majority of other personal data removal services, Incogni does not provide visual evidence of scanning or removals via live screenshots. Incogni provides other reporting mechanisms. Visual proof via screenshots are the gold standard for removal verification, which is why Optery provides them. However, without screenshots or direct links to data broker profiles, users must trust that Incogni has: 1) correctly identified the matching profiles and 2) has correctly removed the profile on the customer’s behalf. Without screenshots or direct links to profiles, there’s no way to verify your information was removed (or even found in the first place).

On the plus side, this problem is not unique to Incogni. Most other data removal companies do not have screenshots and no other company besides Optery offers the breadth and depth of before-and-after screenshots results. This is partly why PCMag awarded Optery their coveted “Editors’ Choice” award in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and why Fast Company awarded Optery their “Next Big Things in Tech” for Security and Privacy in 2023.

“Optery takes the unusual step of providing screenshots, one of your data visibly in the system before removal and another showing the (correctly) failed search for you afterward.”

Neil Rubenking, Lead Analyst for Security, PCMag.com
(source: Incogni review at PCMag.com)

💳 Incogni Flexible Billing Options

Incogni offers straightforward pricing with monthly and yearly billing options, similar to Optery.

It is worth noting that Incogni’s monthly billing option is a convenient feature that sets them apart from most other personal data removal services that only offer a yearly billing option. However, customers should consider the more limited coverage of data brokers in comparison to Optery when evaluating the value of Incogni’s services.

🚀 How Does Incogni Compare with Optery in Flexible Billing Options?

In terms of pricing and coverage with flexible billing options, we believe Incogni falls short compared to Optery. Optery offers a Free Basic plan for self-service removal tools and a range of paid plans starting at $3.99/month and also provides maximum flexibility with Family plans, integrated Business plans, monthly and yearly billing, and the ability to pause your subscription at any time. Optery caters to every niche in the market with a multitude of plans and options. Therefore, customers looking for comprehensive protection and a variety of options should find Optery to be a more appealing choice.

Optery provides flexible Monthly or Yearly plans without lengthy contracts. You can pay month-to-month and pause or cancel at anytime. Optery also allows easy upgrades or downgrades between subscription tiers (Free Basic, Core, Extended, Ultimate) and plan terms (Monthly or Yearly) at any time with pro-rated billing.

Optery for Family allows you to add and manage unlimited family members. To be clear, there is additional cost for each additional family member account managed. Discounts increase as more family members are added. Get 20% off all plans for 2 members, 25% off for 3 members, and 30% off for 4 or more members.

Optery also provides Optery for Business to small businesses and large enterprises with volume discounts based on the list pricing found on the Optery Pricing page. Users can create a free Optery for Business account and start using it right away, or they can contact Optery support for a live demo and to discuss custom pricing with our Sales team.

In summary, we believe that Optery offers superior flexibility in billing options. This is due to its Monthly and Yearly billing options, seamless migration across different plan tiers and terms, and the ability to pause and re-activate subscriptions at any time.

Incogni Data Security Credentials

Data security credentials are perhaps the most overlooked factor when choosing a personal data removal service. When selecting a personal data removal service, it’s crucial to choose one that prioritizes the security of your information and adheres to the highest data security standards.

💡 Through close analysis of Incogni’s web site and documentation materials, we found no evidence of Incogni having completed industry leading security audits such as the SOC 2, Type 2. Although we cannot say this for 100% certain, it does not appear Incogni has completed a SOC 2, Type 2 security audit.

💡 The majority of personal data removal services available on the market today have not undergone the rigors of an AICPA SOC 2 audit and lack verifiably robust data security controls and standards.

Unfortunately, we found no evidence of Incogni having SOC 2 certification. SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) is a widely recognized auditing standard that focuses on the security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of data within a company. Being SOC 2 certified means that a company has undergone a thorough evaluation of their controls and processes to ensure they meet these criteria.

While the lack of SOC 2 certification does not directly indicate a problem, it does indicate potential increased risk of data being mishandled or exposed due to the lacking of a reliable and industry standard third-party security audit, as compared to companies like Optery which has completed its SOC 2 type II security audit successfully.

How Does Incogni Compare with Optery in Data Security?

Firstly, Optery has publicly posted a detailed “Statement on Data Security” since Optery’s inception in 2021: https://www.optery.com/how-we-secure-your-data/

You can learn more about Optery’s data security practices from Optery’s Statement on Data Security, including that Optery has completed its AICPA SOC 2, Type 2 security audit, and makes its audit report available to select Optery for Business corporate customers under NDA.

Optery has completed its SOC 2, Type 2 security audit. This indicates Optery has held itself to the highest industry standards for data security and has been certified by a third party. We could find no evidence publicly that Incogni has completed a similar such security certification.

Incogni Review Conclusion

Based on the analysis we’ve performed and that is summarized in this review, we believe Incogni falls short compared to Optery. While Incogni has an intuitive and visually appealing dashboard, and provides a straightforward and accurate representation of its coverage, it lacks the breadth of coverage across the most requested data brokers, it lacks robust features such as before-and-after screenshots for data removal verification. We believe this ultimately limits the effectiveness of the Incogni personal data removal product as compared to Optery.

Optery’s exposure and removals reports include screenshots from sites with the user’s data, demonstrating successful removal and providing verification. Optery also offers monthly automated scanning and removals, a “humans + machines” approach to data removal, support for multiple names, past cities and states, and email addresses, and advanced features such as automated submission to the Google Outdated Content Removal tool. Optery stands out in data privacy monitoring and removal and we believe is far more robust of a service than Incogni.

We believe Optery is the far superior choice over Incogni for personal data removal.

Incogni does bundle its data removal service with other privacy and security tools such as an industry leading VPN and password manager, which provides good value and is something Optery does not currently provide. Additionally, Incogni is currently one of the only personal data removal services offering coverage to consumers in Europe (Optery is currently available to consumers in the United States and Canada directly, and is offered to businesses with coverage internationally , but there is currently a waiting list for consumers outside of the United States). However, if you are primarily concerned with finding the most effective and robust personal data removal tool on the market in the United States and Canada, the Incogni data removal service as a standalone product is more limited than Optery.

Another challenge we found was that Incogni relies almost entirely on automated systems to process opt-outs. While automation is efficient for scale, it sometimes falls short when dealing with data brokers that require manual intervention or more nuanced handling. For example, offering limited support for multiple names, phone numbers, and addresses. Without a human-in-the-loop element, the service is less capable of resolving complex or persistent cases, and this can leave certain records lingering online or reappearing after initial removal attempts, and can raise doubts about Incogni’s ability to deliver a more sophisticated and nuanced data removal service.  Optery differentiates itself here with its “Humans + Machines” approach, combining expertly trained privacy agents with the industry’s most advanced personal data removal technology and artificial intelligence.

In terms of industry standard security certifications, Optery provides more peace of mind having completed its AICPA SOC 2, Type 2 security certification, demonstrating its commitment to data security. Conversely, Incogni shares no information publicly regarding any security certifications it has received so we assume this is not something they have completed.

But don’t just take our word for it, Optery has been awarded the coveted “Editors’ Choice” by PCMag.com as the most outstanding personal data removal product on the market the last three years in a row in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and Fast Company awarded Optery “Next Big Things in Tech” for Security and Privacy in 2023.

“Optery’s handling of the core data removal task outshines the rest, and its free tier brings privacy protection to those who can’t afford expensive subscriptions. In the realm of personal data removal, Optery is our Editors’ Choice.”
Neil J. Rubenking
Lead Analyst for Security, PCMag.com