Disclosure: VPN Vetted is reader-supported. Some links below are affiliate links (marked “sponsored”): if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Our ranking follows the evidence described below, not commissions; the service that ranks second has no affiliate link with us.
Last updated October 11, 2026 · Prices and coverage checked October 11, 2026 on each provider’s official pages (USD).
Our picks
What data brokers are, and what removal services can’t touch
Data brokers collect personal information, build profiles and sell them; people-search sites publish those profiles so anyone can look you up by name (Incogni). A removal service sends opt-out requests on your behalf and repeats them, because data tends to reappear.
What they can’t do: they don’t delete a data breach that already happened, they can’t make you invisible, and they don’t delete Google results directly. DeleteMe explains that Google only displays information from source sites, so the fix is removing it at the source (DeleteMe). Some plans add tools to request removal of outdated search results (Optery Ultimate) or Google results (Aura).
Comparison table
| Incogni | Optery | Aura | DeleteMe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sites it says it covers | 420+ brokers; 3,000+ more via custom removals (Unlimited) | 380+ (Core), 555+ (Extended), 630+ (Ultimate) | 425+ sites plus Google results | “All major” broker sites |
| Independent study result | 76.6% removed in 1 month (PoPETs 2025) | 68% removed in 4 months (Consumer Reports 2024) | Not in either study | 27% in 4 months (Consumer Reports 2024) |
| Proof of removal | Monthly progress reports | Before/after screenshots (Extended+) | Not stated | Quarterly privacy reports |
| Free option | No (30-day money-back) | Yes: free scan and self-service tools | 14-day free trial | No |
| Family plan | Up to 5 members | Not covered here | Couple and Family (5 adults) | 2 and 4 people |
| Entry price | $7.99/mo billed yearly ($95.88) | $3.25/mo billed yearly ($39) | $12/mo billed annually ($15 monthly), Individual | Not displayed on static page |
| Who can sign up | Not stated on pricing page | Not stated | Not stated (identity insurance terms are US-based) | US residents only |
Sources linked in each section; all checked October 11, 2026. Site counts are each company’s own claims.
What independent tests found
Two independent evaluations exist, and they tested different services, so neither covers all four picks.
Consumer Reports, 2024. With Tall Poppy, CR enrolled 32 volunteers in seven services (Confidently, DeleteMe, EasyOptOuts, IDX, Kanary, Optery, ReputationDefender) and checked 13 major people-search sites over four months. Overall, only 35% of the personal information found was removed. Optery (68%) and EasyOptOuts (65%) did best; DeleteMe removed 27%; Confidently (4%) and ReputationDefender (6%) did worst. Manual opt-outs did slightly better than any paid service (Consumer Reports, full report PDF). Limits: only 13 sites and four volunteers per service; Incogni and Aura weren’t tested.
PoPETs 2025 (academic). Researchers had participants buy one-month subscriptions to four removal services (Incogni, Optery, Kanary and Mozilla Monitor). On average only 48.2% of found records were removed; Incogni had the highest rate at 76.6%, and Kanary the lowest at 23.4%. The study also found that only 41.1% of records the services identified were actually about the participant (PoPETs paper). Limits: one month only and four services; Aura and DeleteMe weren’t tested.
The honest takeaway: no service removes everything, results vary a lot between companies, and the best performers in each study are the ones we rank first and second.
How we review
We ranked on evidence first, then features and price: (1) results in independent studies, (2) proof of removal you can check, (3) coverage and custom removals, (4) family options and who can sign up, (5) price per person. Prices and features come from official pages checked October 11, 2026; study figures come from the published Consumer Reports and PoPETs reports. We haven’t run our own removal test. Site counts are the companies’ own claims, and we describe them that way.
The best data removal services
1. Incogni: best overall
Incogni says it covers 420+ public and private data brokers, removes multiple emails, addresses and phone numbers, and sends recurring requests; its Unlimited plans add custom removals from 3,000+ additional sites plus live phone support (pricing). It’s the top performer in the 2025 PoPETs academic study (76.6% of records removed within a month, PoPETs 2025).
Pricing (checked October 11, 2026, billed yearly): Standard $7.99/mo ($95.88/yr), Unlimited $14.99/mo ($179.88/yr), Family (up to 5 members) $15.99/mo ($191.88/yr), Family Unlimited $22.99/mo ($275.88/yr). Monthly Standard is $15.98/mo. 30-day money-back guarantee (pricing).
Watch out for: private brokers can’t be scanned, so for those Incogni sends requests based on your region rather than showing you a found profile; you rely on its reports. Incogni is part of the same company group as Surfshark and NordVPN.
2. Optery: best for proof (and a free start)
Optery’s case is verification. Exposure and removal reports include screenshots of where your profile was found and later removed, and its free Basic plan gives you an exposure report, including a scan of Google and Bing results, plus self-service removal tools (pricing). It topped Consumer Reports’ 2024 study (68% removed after four months). Optery says it’s SOC 2 Type 2 certified and has no affiliations with data brokers.
Pricing (checked October 11, 2026): Free Basic; Core $3.99/mo or $3.25/mo billed yearly ($39), removals from 380+ sites but only one name and city per person; Extended $14.99/mo or $12.42/mo yearly, 555+ sites, a human privacy agent and before/after screenshot reports every ~90 days; Ultimate $24.99/mo or $20.70/mo yearly, 630+ sites, unlimited custom removals and outdated-content requests to Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yahoo. 30-day money-back guarantee (pricing).
Watch out for: CR’s 68% figure was for the Ultimate tier; Core is much more limited.
3. Aura: best if you want identity protection too
Aura is an identity-protection suite that now includes data removal from 425+ data brokers, people-search sites and junk-mailers, plus Google search results, on every plan. Alongside it you get identity theft insurance, 3-bureau credit monitoring, a credit lock, financial transaction alerts, antivirus, a password manager and fraud remediation (pricing).
Pricing (checked October 11, 2026): Individual $12/mo billed annually or $15 monthly (1 adult); Couple $22/mo billed annually or $29 monthly; Family (5 adults, unlimited kids) $32/mo billed annually or $50 monthly. 14-day free trial; 60-day money-back guarantee on annual plans (pricing).
Watch out for: Aura wasn’t in either independent study, so we can’t compare its removal rate. If you only need data removal, Incogni or Optery cost less.
Also consider: DeleteMe
DeleteMe has been running since 2011, assigns a personal privacy expert, sends quarterly privacy reports and offers plans for 1, 2 or 4 people, for US residents only (DeleteMe). It removed 27% of found information after four months in Consumer Reports’ study, behind Optery and EasyOptOuts. Its prices didn’t display on the static pricing page when we checked, so confirm them at checkout. We don’t have an affiliate relationship with DeleteMe. See DeleteMe
Do it yourself for free
Consumer Reports found manual opt-outs slightly more effective than any paid service, at the cost of hours or days of work (Consumer Reports). A practical route: start with Optery’s free exposure report to see where you’re listed, then use each site’s opt-out page. Repeat every few months, because profiles come back.
Beyond data removal
If your data turned up in a breach, change reused passwords. A password manager makes unique passwords easy (not part of the ranking): See NordPass
FAQ
Is a data removal service worth it? If you value your time, often yes: the best services in independent studies removed roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of records. None removed everything.
Do data removal services actually work? Partly. Consumer Reports found 35% removed on average across seven services after four months; PoPETs found 48.2% on average after one month, with big gaps between companies.
Can I remove my data from data brokers for free? Yes, by opting out site by site. CR found that slightly more effective than paid services, but slow.
How long does data removal take? It varies by broker, from hours to weeks, Incogni says, and data can reappear, which is why services repeat requests.
Is Incogni or DeleteMe better? On the independent evidence available, Incogni: it led the 2025 PoPETs study, while DeleteMe removed 27% in CR’s 2024 study. They weren’t tested head-to-head.
Does a data removal service remove info from Google? Not directly. Removing the source page is what makes results disappear; Optery Ultimate and Aura add search-result removal requests.
Verdict
Incogni is the best data removal service for most people: the strongest independent result, broad claimed coverage and fair yearly pricing. Pick Optery if you want screenshot proof or a free starting point, and Aura if you’d rather pay for identity theft protection with data removal included.
Sources (official pages, checked on October 11, 2026)
- Incogni pricing: https://incogni.com/pricing
- Optery pricing: https://www.optery.com/pricing/
- Aura pricing: https://www.aura.com/pricing
- DeleteMe pricing: https://joindeleteme.com/pricing/
- Consumer Reports, Services That Delete Your Data From People-Search Sites (Aug 8, 2024): https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics/personal-information/services-that-delete-data-from-people-search-sites-review-a2705843415/
- Consumer Reports, Data Defense report (PDF): https://innovation.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Data-Defense_-Evaluating-People-Search-Site-Removal-Services-.pdf
- PoPETs 2025, Measuring the Accuracy and Effectiveness of PII Removal Services: https://petsymposium.org/popets/2025/popets-2025-0125.php