DeleteMe vs Incogni (2026): Which Data Removal Service Is Worth It?

How we reviewed this: this is a research-based review. We did not buy or test the product ourselves. We checked the official website, policies and independent customer feedback, and every fact below links to its source. Facts checked 2026-10-31. How we review · Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you.

Quick verdict: DeleteMe or Incogni?

For most people, Incogni is the better value. It costs $95.88 a year (or $15.98 month to month), sends removal requests to 420+ data brokers automatically, repeats them every 60 to 90 days, and is PCMag’s Editors’ Choice (4.5 out of 5, November 2025). Deloitte checked its broker count and repeat schedule in 2025.

DeleteMe is the better pick if you want a human on your case. At $129 a year it includes 40 custom removal requests, which Incogni only offers on its $179.88 Unlimited plan, and Wirecutter named it its top pick in June 2025 for being easy to use. But it has no monthly plan, reports only every 3 months, and covers far fewer sites on the base plan than its “969 data brokers” headline suggests.

The honest part: no data removal service gets everything. In Consumer Reports’ 2024 test, DeleteMe removed 27% of profiles within 4 months, while people who did the opt-outs by hand got 70% removed within a week. Incogni was not part of that test. A service saves you time and keeps checking; it does not make you invisible.

	Incogni	DeleteMe
Best for	Most automated coverage for the money	Human help and custom requests
Price, 1 person	$95.88/yr or $15.98/mo	$129/yr (no monthly plan)
Brokers covered	420+ (Deloitte check, July 2025)	About 91 on Standard, by our count of its list
Custom removals	Unlimited plan only ($179.88/yr)	40 per year included
Reports	Monthly + live dashboard	Every 3 months
Refunds	Full refund within 30 days	Full refund until first report, then pro-rated
PCMag	4.5, Editors’ Choice (Nov 2025)	3.5, Good (Feb 2024)
Trustpilot	4.3 from 3,078 reviews	3.6 from 264 reviews

See Incogni’s current price →

See DeleteMe’s current price →

What a data removal service actually does

Data brokers and people-search sites collect your name, address, phone number, relatives and more, then sell or publish it. You have the right to ask many of them to delete it, but there are hundreds and they re-add your data over time. A removal service sends those opt-out requests for you, checks whether listings came back, and sends them again.

Both services need some personal details to do this: your name, date of birth and addresses (Incogni also asks for a phone number for US addresses and a signed authorization). Neither asks for a government ID, based on their help pages.

Incogni: cheaper, more automated, more brokers

Incogni is run by Incogni Inc. in California and owned by Surfshark, which is in one group with NordVPN. It launched in 2022.

Pros

✓ Cheapest plan: $95.88/yr, or $15.98 month to month
✓ 420+ brokers covered on every plan, checked by Deloitte (limited assurance, as of July 18, 2025)
✓ Repeats requests at least every 60 days (people-search sites) or 90 days (private brokers)
✓ Monthly reports and a live dashboard
✓ Family plan: $191.88/yr for up to 5 members
✓ PCMag Editors’ Choice, 4.5 out of 5 (Nov 2025); Trustpilot 4.3 from 3,078 reviews

Cons

✗ No custom removal requests on Standard or Family plans
✗ Not BBB accredited; 23 BBB complaints in 3 years, 16 in the last 12 months, some about cancelling
✗ Not included in Consumer Reports’ 2024 removal test
✗ 30-day refund is one time only; renewals are not refundable
✗ Its own site says family covers 5 members on the plan cards but 4 people in the FAQ

Incogni plans (US, annual billing):

Plan	Price	What you get
Standard	$95.88/yr ($7.99/mo)	Automated removals, 1 person
Unlimited	$179.88/yr ($14.99/mo)	Adds unlimited custom removals
Family	$191.88/yr ($15.99/mo)	Up to 5 members, automated removals
Family Unlimited	$275.88/yr ($22.99/mo)	Family plus custom removals

PCMag’s verdict: “Incogni is an easy, effective, and trustworthy data removal service, with strong automation, transparent reporting, and third-party auditing.” Wirecutter had Incogni as a finalist and liked “the detail that Incogni provides about where it has found your data,” but picked DeleteMe instead.

Check Incogni’s plans →

DeleteMe: human help, custom requests, longer track record

DeleteMe is made by Abine, Inc. in Boston and has been running since 2010. It mixes automation with human “Privacy Advisors.”

Pros

✓ 40 custom removal requests a year included at $129
✓ Human Privacy Advisors plus automation
✓ BBB A+ and accredited; only 7 complaints in 3 years
✓ Wirecutter’s top pick (June 2025): “easy to set up and even easier to use”
✓ Pro-rated refund for unused time even after the first report

Cons

✗ No month-to-month plan: $129/yr or $209 for 2 years
✗ Advertises 969 data brokers, but only about 91 on its list are marked as included in Standard
✗ Consumer Reports 2024: removed 27% of profiles within 4 months (“midlevel”)
✗ Reports only every 3 months; PCMag called them “bulky and awkward”
✗ Its site still quotes PCMag as “Excellent”; PCMag’s current rating is 3.5, “Good”

DeleteMe plans (US):

Plan	1 year	2 years
1 person	$129	$209
2 people	$229	$349
Family (4 people)	$329	$499
Premium, 1 person	$180	not listed

Premium adds 60 custom requests instead of 40, 15 more broker sites, 6 scans a year instead of 4, and reports every 2 months.

Check DeleteMe’s plans →

How many data brokers do they really cover?

This is where the marketing gets slippery. Incogni says 420+, and Deloitte’s limited-assurance report found nothing showing it covered fewer than that as of July 18, 2025. That check did not confirm each removal actually stuck.

DeleteMe says 969, but its own list uses symbols for which plan covers each site. When we counted it on October 31, 2026, about 91 entries were marked as included in the Standard plan. About 562 were custom-request only (sites like Zillow and Yelp), and the rest were higher-tier, international or VIP-only. PCMag counted 72 in 2024. Broker counts are not apples to apples, so don’t pick on the biggest number alone.

What independent tests found

Consumer Reports (August 2024): 32 volunteers, 7 services, 4 months. DeleteMe removed 13% of profiles in a week, 20% in a month and 27% in 4 months. The best paid services, EasyOptOuts and Optery, reached 65 to 68%. Doing it by hand removed 70% within a week. Incogni was not tested.
PCMag: Incogni 4.5, Editors’ Choice (updated November 17, 2025). DeleteMe 3.5, Good (updated February 12, 2024).
Wirecutter (June 2025): DeleteMe is the top pick; Incogni was a finalist. Wirecutter started a year-long test in March 2025.
Heads up: many “DeleteMe vs Incogni” pages are written by competitors or by Incogni’s own sister brands, Surfshark and NordVPN. PCMag and Wirecutter also earn affiliate commissions, but they do their own testing.

Refunds and cancelling

Incogni: full refund if you contact support within 30 days of your first purchase. That works once; renewals are not refundable. Plans renew automatically.

DeleteMe: full refund, no questions asked, until your first Privacy Report arrives (about 7 business days after signup). After that you can still get a pro-rated refund for unused time. Plans renew automatically unless you cancel.

Who should pick which

Pick Incogni if you…	Pick DeleteMe if you…
want the lowest price or a monthly option	want custom requests without paying extra
want the most brokers handled automatically	want human Privacy Advisors on your case
are covering a family of up to 5	are covering 2 people ($229/yr)
like monthly reports and a live dashboard	want a US company with a BBB-accredited record since 2010

Try the free route first if money is tight. Consumer Reports’ free Permission Slip app helps with opt-outs, and both companies publish free opt-out guides. If you live in California, the state’s free DROP platform sends one deletion request to over 600 registered data brokers, and brokers have been processing those requests since August 1, 2026. Pay for a service when you want it done for you and checked again every few months.

Start with Incogni →

FAQ

Is DeleteMe worth it?

It works, but it is not the strongest performer. Consumer Reports’ 2024 test found DeleteMe removed 27% of profiles within 4 months, compared with 65 to 68% for the best services and 70% within a week for manual opt-outs. Wirecutter still named it its top pick in June 2025 for ease of use and included custom removals. At $129 a year it is worth it mainly if you want human help and custom requests.

Is Incogni legit?

Yes. It is a real service run by Incogni Inc. in California and owned by Surfshark, part of the NordVPN group. Deloitte gave limited assurance in August 2025 that it covered 420+ brokers and repeats requests every 60 to 90 days, and PCMag rates it 4.5 out of 5. It is rated A+ by the BBB but is not accredited, with 23 complaints in 3 years.

Which is cheaper, DeleteMe or Incogni?

Incogni. Its Standard plan is $95.88 a year or $15.98 a month, while DeleteMe starts at $129 a year with no monthly plan. For families, Incogni is $191.88 a year for up to 5 members versus DeleteMe’s $329 for 4. If you need custom removals, DeleteMe’s $129 plan includes 40, while Incogni’s Unlimited plan costs $179.88.

How much does DeleteMe cost?

DeleteMe costs $129 a year for one person, $229 for two people and $329 for a family of four, or $209, $349 and $499 for two years. Premium for one person is $180 a year. Plans renew automatically.

Can I get a refund?

Incogni gives a full refund if you ask within 30 days of your first purchase, once only, and renewals are not refundable. DeleteMe gives a full refund until your first Privacy Report (about 7 business days after signup) and a pro-rated refund for unused time after that.

Can I remove my data myself for free?

Yes. Consumer Reports found manual opt-outs removed 70% of profiles within a week and recommends its free Permission Slip app. Californians can use the free state DROP platform to reach over 600 registered brokers at once. The catch is time: listings come back, which is what you pay a service to keep checking.

Will my information come back after removal?

Often, yes. Brokers re-collect data, so both services repeat the work: Incogni re-sends requests at least every 60 days for people-search sites and every 90 days for private brokers, and DeleteMe rescans every 3 months.

What personal info do I have to give them?

Incogni needs your full name, date of birth, most recent home address, a phone number for US addresses and a signed authorization. DeleteMe asks for the details you want removed, such as current and past addresses, date of birth and other names. Consumer Reports noted DeleteMe’s privacy policy allows customer data to transfer if the company is sold.