DeleteMe Review 2024: Does It Work & Is It Worth Trying?

DeleteMe is a subscription-based service that helps remove private information from the web. But is it worth paying for something you could probably do yourself? And does it work as promised? I reviewed each aspect of this data removal program to ensure it works.

For context, there is a massive amount of your private data online that could risk your privacy. Data brokers dig through public databases and other sources to collate information that they can sell to other providers. This is where data removal services like DeleteMe come in.

Using DeleteMe might be worth the cost, considering how much time you save. Instead of spending hours finding and asking hundreds of data brokers to opt out, this tool will do all the heavy lifting for you. Plus, it constantly monitors your data to ensure you don’t get reprofiled again. It just comes down to how worried you are about having your personal information in the hands of these companies.

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How Does DeleteMe Work?

DeleteMe's main aim is to remove your personal details from public records, data broker databases, and search engine results. It enforces laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by requesting data brokers to delete your data.

It works with over 750 data brokers, including background check companies, people search engines, business and individual listings, and more. It offers more features compared to similar services like Incogni and OneRep. I like that it provides more privacy tools and gives you a comprehensive report for each data removal or opt out request batch.

DeleteMe was originally created for the US but has since spread its wings to cater to international users as well. You can use the service if you’re in one of the following countries:

After you complete the form, DeleteMe gets to work searching data brokers for your personal info and customer data. If it finds a match, it sends a request to the data broker to delete your data.

I was a bit concerned about the amount of data DeleteMe requests you to provide when signing up. However, this information is necessary as DeleteMe’s algorithms use the personal details you give it to determine which companies are holding your information.

Once you submit your data, the DeleteMe team will handle the rest

To help DeleteMe find your online data, it's best to provide as much accurate information as you can. It will ask for things like your full name, where you live now, places you've lived before, a picture of your driver's license, phone numbers, email addresses, where you work, and info about your family.

After submitting the information, you'll get your first report in a week. DeleteMe also keeps checking for your information regularly to ensure that brokers have not re-acquired your data — you will receive a notification every 3 months.

DeleteMe's website relies on on-location services to identify your location and provide the most precise results in its free scan. If your browser is hiding your location, you might need to temporarily turn off this feature for the service to work.

Certain data broker companies only work within specific states. DeleteMe won't automatically scan all of these states. You might need to check the list of data brokers on DeleteMe to find the ones operating in your state. Then, you'll have to submit a personalized opt out request through its support. Remember that some data brokers serve only businesses, while others are accessible to those who pay the most.

DeleteMe also provides a free scan if you want to give the service a try. However, the free scan limits the number of data brokers to about 40 and doesn’t request them to remove your data. You will only see who amongst the 40 has your data. If you want DeleteMe to remove the data on your behalf, you’ll need to subscribe.

I tested the free service with my friend’s information (with his consent), and it found about 66 records. Of the 66, you will only have access to the top two. If you want to see the rest of the report, you will need to subscribe.

The free scan will show you the amount of your personal data available online

The company also offers step-by-step DIY guides. These show you how to remove your data from various brokers personally. If you have the time and are willing to put in some effort, you can do the process yourself at no cost.

What Kind of Data Does DeleteMe Remove?

DeleteMe will remove details like your name, address, age, phone number, email, and photos, including pictures of your home, from major data brokers. But it will not remove information on legit sites, news websites, or sites you might have willingly added. The type of services that DeleteMe will remove your data from includes:

Here's a screenshot showing typical online info about a person.

You can also send in special requests depending on your needs

However, I noticed that DeleteMe operates from the US and focuses mainly on Western data collection services. This means that if brokers outside the US hold your data, DeleteMe might not be able to remove it completely. This small restriction of DeleteMe's service makes it more suitable for US citizens.

What Other Services Does DeleteMe Offer?

Abine (the online privacy company that owns DeleteMe) also offers a service called IronVest, which you can access if you’re a DeleteMe subscriber. The service gives you access to tools like:

• Email masking. Email masking gives you random email addresses to protect your real one. While you can't pick the name for these emails, you can choose if you want DeleteMe to send emails to your main DeleteMe account. It's a cool way to keep things private.
• Card masking. Card masking allows you to generate temporary credit card numbers, protecting your actual card details from potential fraud or identity theft. The feature uses the credit card linked to your DeleteMe account. So, the temporary cards are tied to your main billing credit card. To create a masked card, you simply transfer money from your main card to a temporary card provided by DeleteMe.
• Password manager. This tool helps you generate strong passwords when creating a new online account. The passwords are always a string of random characters that you can customize to match your needs. This makes your online accounts safer by creating unique passwords for you. It also keeps your passwords safe using strong AES 256-bit encryption, helping you manage and remember your different passwords.

Set Up — Easy to Use

DeleteMe offers a modern and user-friendly interface that's simple to navigate. You can access and manage your account directly through the DeleteMe website — there is no app to download or install.

The homepage clearly explains the company's processes and provides examples of personal information DeleteMe can remove. I was impressed to find a video that explains what you should expect with DeleteMe.

The website is also rich with information about how to get rid of your data online

The dashboard provides most of the necessary information, and if you need advanced features or want to edit your DeleteMe account details, you can easily use the tabs on the left. But you will need to subscribe first to access all the features.

Security — Not Meant for Security

DeleteMe doesn't focus much on security, but that's okay because it's not built for that purpose. If you're looking for online security, check out this list of VPNs that offer top-notch protection. But I really like that it offers two-factor authentication to enhance your account security. You can get a verification code through an app or send it directly to your email.

DeleteMe assists you in taking back control of your personal information from data brokers, boosting your online privacy. You add an extra shield against hackers and prying eyes by reducing your dispersed data. It is a smart online privacy measure to take advantage of, but I recommend using it in combination with a top-notch VPN to stay completely safe online.

Privacy — Perfect for Reclaiming Your Online Privacy

DeleteMe requests a significant amount of sensitive information when signing up. However, this is necessary since it needs this information to identify which data brokers hold your information. On the other hand, I must admit that I was a little uncomfortable providing this many details. Other services, such as Surfshark’s Incogni, require much less personal data and give you similar results.

I was also a little concerned that it’s based in the US, which isn't the most secure place for managing and storing data. Legal processes like warrants can make companies give user data to the government if required. This could potentially compromise the privacy and confidentiality that the privacy service aims to provide. Thankfully, there have been no privacy controversies related to the company so far.

How Much Information Does DeleteMe Store?

DeleteMe may request a significant amount of information when signing up. However, it collects only the information necessary to identify your data and make requests from data brokers. The personal data it collects when you sign up and use the services may include:

• Contact details. Name, email, phone number, and job details.
• Datasheet details. Names, birthdate, gender, emails, addresses, relatives, employers, ethnicity, and political affiliation.
• Profile info. Login info and account choices.
• Feedback and messages. The info you send to the company.

In some instances, DeleteMe might also ask for ID proof to process your removal request. It all depends on what information the data broker might need to identify and remove your data. For example, DeleteMe's DIY guides say some brokers might need a government ID.

Remember, some brokers might have your basic info like name, birthdate, and address. Others could have extra, like past addresses and names of your relatives. Different brokers have different information about you.

I also like that it has a detailed privacy policy that outlines exactly what data it gathers from you. For example, the privacy policy clearly states that you will be required to fill out a comprehensive datasheet so DeleteMe can use the information therein to find instances of data brokers holding your data.

DeleteMe’s privacy policy is pretty elaborate, but it’s all written in clear, simple language

DeleteMe also mentions collecting data on how you use the service, your marketing preferences, and "other information," which they don't explain in detail. But this is quite typical, just like how most companies handle their policies. These kinds of policies tend to look pretty similar overall, and DeleteMe has made sure it addresses how customer data is used. I didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

How Does DeleteMe Protect Your Privacy?

DeleteMe claims to provide absolute security and privacy to your data. While I found the data it collects to be excessive, I admit that the service requires detailed information to serve you effectively. The more details you give in the form, the better DeleteMe can help you regain your online privacy.

The document mentions that it could share certain details from the datasheet with data broker websites. This helps these companies locate and remove your data. DeleteMe's privacy policy ensures that your data won't be shared with any other third parties without your awareness.

However, I was still skeptical, considering that it’s based in the US, part of the 5-Eye Alliance — a body that shares data about private citizens. There are certain legal situations where they might be forced to share information, like when the government requires it. If this happens, DeleteMe might be forced to give your data to the US government.

DeleteMe doesn't provide a lot of information about how it stores your data. It mentions using strong security practices like encrypting communication with HTTPS. I can guess that your data is stored safely and in encrypted form, but the exact details are unclear.

Data Brokers DeleteMe Works With

As of now, DeleteMe claims to cover over 750+ data brokers, and the list is still growing. Some of the data brokers it covers include:

• Whitepages
• Advanced People Search
• Addresses.com
• Neighbors.me
• Gainesville.com
• Allpeople.com
• Crunchbase.com
• myheritage.com

However, it's challenging to determine how effectively DeleteMe connects with all these brokers. The privacy policy also suggests that some data brokers might "suppress" your data instead of deleting it. This means that after a while, they could start using your data again.

This is a limitation because even though DeleteMe tries hard to ask data brokers to delete your data, it can't promise they'll erase everything. They might just pause your info instead.

Pricing — Fairly Expensive

The service has three plans, with yearly or two-year billing options. If you pay yearly, the basic single-person plan costs $10.75 per month ($129 per year). The two-year plan costs $8.71 per month ($209 every two years). The yearly second-tier plan for two people is $19.08 per month ($229 per year).

DeleteMe also offers a money-back guarantee. You're free to stop or cancel your subscription anytime you want, and you can get a full refund without any hassle before your first Privacy Report is completed. After that, if you decide to cancel, you'll receive a refund based on the remaining time in your subscription.

You can use DeleteMe in Canada, Italy, Australia, France, and a couple more countries

Its most popular plan, priced at $229, covers two people for a year. If you need DeleteMe for your company, you should contact them for a quote. I found this to be quite expensive compared to other services, like Incogni. However, DeleteMe works with more data brokers and offers more advanced features, which makes the high price worth it if you require its services.

While DeleteMe doesn't offer a free plan, it has a free scan, which helps you check which data brokers have your data and what information they possess. But it only checks a maximum of 40 data brokers. To have DeleteMe send data removal requests on your behalf, you must purchase a subscription.

Reliability and Support — Highly-Responsive and Knowledgeable

You can contact the DeleteMe customer support team by emailing support@joindeleteme.com or calling (1-833-335-3836). There is also super responsive customer support, but it's only available from Monday to Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM EST.

The chat support was super-responsive and knowledgeable about the product

If you try reaching out to chat support outside of these hours, your query will still be booked, and you will receive a response through email. I tried the chat support outside the timelines and was impressed when I received a response barely an hour later.

The responses I received were well-detailed, informative, and included helpful links

I contacted support regarding the legitimacy of its refund policy, and the agent set my mind at ease.

I appreciated how patient the agent was when answering my questions

It also has a detailed knowledge base with an extensive FAQ section that answers some of the most common questions. If you have general questions, check out the website first and contact support only if you want a more personalized response.

The Bottom Line

Final Verdict — Expensive, But Worth A Try

Overall,DeleteMe is an excellent but expensive data removal service. It offers tons of advanced features and works with an impressive number of data brokers compared to other cheaper services, like Incogni and Removaly. Although it might cost you more, it’s a great investment because it’s tough to find a service this extensive.

However, whether or not you give DeleteMe a shot depends on how worried you are about your data privacy. If you want to eliminate as much of your online data as possible, then DeleteMe is your best shot. Just be aware that it requires a ton of your personal information upfront, so you’ll have to be comfortable with that.

FAQs on DeleteMe Review

Is DeleteMe legit?

Yes, DeleteMe is a legitimate service that helps you remove personal information from various online databases and directories. It aims to enhance user privacy by reducing your online footprint. As with all services, it's a good idea to do your research and read reviews to ensure it meets your personal needs and expectations.

Is Deleteme safe?

Yes, DeleteMe by Abine is considered safe. It has been in the business of protecting user privacy for years. The service is designed to help you remove your personal details from online data brokers and reduce your digital footprint. It also uses secure protocols to manage your information and has a reputable track record in the privacy industry.

Does Deleteme work?

Yes, DeleteMe works as advertised. It effectively removes your personal information from various online databases and directories. By using DeleteMe, you can reduce your online footprint and enhance your privacy. However, remember that no service can guarantee 100% removal from every website, but DeleteMe will significantly decrease your online presence.

Is Deleteme worth it?

Yes, DeleteMe is worth it. It does the heavy lifting if you don’t want to go through the hassle of contacting data brokers and requesting them to delete your data. However, it doesn’t do anything you can’t do yourself. If you have the time and are willing to put in the effort to contact data brokers and request them to delete your data, then you can do the process yourself for free.

How much is Deleteme?

The service offers three plans with annual billing. The basic one-person plan costs $129 per year or $209 for two years. For two people, the plan is $229 per year or $349 for two years. The family plan costs $329 per year or $499 for two years. For business pricing, contact DeleteMe.

What are data brokers?

Data brokers are companies that collect, process, and sell or trade vast amounts of information about individuals. This information can come from public records, online activities, purchases, subscriptions, and other sources. These brokers then compile and analyze this data to create detailed profiles, which can be sold to other businesses for marketing, credit checks, or other purposes.

Does DeleteMe sell your information?

DeleteMe does not sell your information. The service prioritizes user privacy and refrains from any practices involving the sale or sharing of personal data with third parties. DeleteMe's primary objective is to help individuals remove their information from data broker websites, thereby strengthening their online privacy and security.

How do I cancel my Deleteme subscription?

To cancel your DeleteMe subscription, simply login to your DeleteMe account and go to the account settings or subscription section. You should find a Cancel Subscription button. Follow the provided prompts to confirm your cancellation. If you encounter any difficulties or have questions, don't hesitate to contact DeleteMe's customer support. They'll be able to assist you in canceling your subscription.