There are over 2,412 data brokers in the United States that collect, aggregate, and sell your personal information. Your name, address, phone number, age, relatives, estimated income, health inferences, shopping habits, and driving patterns are all being bought and sold by companies you have never heard of.
You can opt out of most of these brokers yourself, for free. The problem is that it takes 100-200 hours to work through all of them manually, and brokers re-collect your data every 30-90 days. A one-time removal does not work. You need continuous, ongoing removal to keep your data off these sites.
That is what data removal services do: they automate the tedious, repetitive process of submitting opt-out requests to hundreds or thousands of brokers on your behalf, and they re-submit regularly to keep your data from reappearing.
We evaluated each service on five criteria:
Disclosure: Vigilant Privacy is included in this comparison, and we are obviously biased toward our own service. We have tried to be fair and honest about every service's strengths and weaknesses, including our own. We encourage you to verify our claims by checking each service's website and privacy policy.
| Service | Brokers | Monthly | Annual | CRA Reports | Credit Disputes | Opt-Outs | Tracking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vigilant Privacy | 2,412 | $9.95 | $99 | Yes (37+) | Yes | Yes | None |
| DeleteMe | 976 claimed (~87 active) | $10.75 | $129 | No | No | No | Standard |
| Optery | ~600 | $15 | $149 | No | No | No | Standard |
| Aura | 200+ | $12 | $108 | No | No | No | Shares w/ advertisers |
| OneRep | 316 | $7.49 | $83 | No | No | No | Standard |
| Incogni | 420+ | $7.99-15.98 | $96-192 | No | No | No | Standard |
| DuckDuckGo | 62 | $9.99 | $99 | No | No | No | None |
Vigilant Privacy covers 2,412 brokers, more than any other service on this list. But broker coverage is only one part of what it offers. It is the only consumer service that also sends CRA disclosure requests to 37+ consumer reporting agencies, automates credit dispute letters, handles prescreened offer opt-outs, Do Not Call registration, DMA mail opt-outs, GLBA bank opt-out letters, and unclaimed property searches.
The CCPA-based approach carries legal weight: each deletion request cites California Civil Code Section 1798.105, requiring deletion within 45 days. This is stronger than a polite opt-out request because brokers are legally required to comply.
Privacy practices are the strictest of any service on this list: zero tracking cookies, zero third-party analytics, zero advertising partners, self-hosted servers. Founded by a U.S. Army veteran.
Strengths: Widest coverage (2,412), most features (7 unique), lowest price for what you get, zero tracking, free trial, CCPA legal demands
Limitations: Newer service (2026), no family plan yet, no identity theft insurance
DeleteMe by Abine Inc. has been operating since 2010, making it the most established service in this space. With 16 years of experience, they have refined their removal processes and built relationships with many brokers. Their quarterly privacy reports are detailed and professional.
DeleteMe advertises 976 brokers, but that figure includes sites covered only on higher tiers or in theory but not actively scanned — standard-plan coverage is closer to 87 actively-checked sites, still worth knowing when comparing raw broker-count claims across services. DeleteMe focuses exclusively on data broker removal and does not offer CRA disclosures, credit disputes, or opt-out services.
For a detailed comparison, see our Vigilant Privacy vs DeleteMe analysis.
Strengths: 16 years of track record, detailed PDF reports, family plans, established broker relationships
Limitations: standard-plan coverage well below the advertised 976-broker number, no CRA or credit features, more expensive annually, no free trial
Aura bundles data broker removal with identity monitoring, a VPN, password manager, antivirus, and $1 million identity theft insurance. If you need all of these tools and do not already have them, Aura provides them in a single package.
However, Aura only covers approximately 200 brokers, the lowest of any premium service on this list. More concerning: Aura's own privacy policy discloses that it enables third-party advertising services to use tracking cookies and pixels to advertise Aura's products elsewhere on the web (the full partner list is in their separate cookie policy), and states plainly that certain cookie-based sharing "may be considered a 'sale' or 'share' under California law" — a striking admission for a company selling privacy protection under that same law.
For a detailed analysis of Aura's data sharing practices, see our Vigilant Privacy vs Aura comparison.
Strengths: VPN, password manager, antivirus, $1M insurance, family plans, well-funded
Limitations: Only 200+ brokers, own privacy policy admits cookie-based sharing that "may be considered a sale" under California law
Incogni, created and owned by Surfshark, is one of the more affordable options on this list on annual billing. It covers 420+ brokers with automated removals (more with custom requests on the top plan), and supports GDPR requests for European users. Its own privacy policy names Snowplow Analytics, Zendesk, Mailchimp, AWS, and Cloudflare as data recipients. It's also the one service here that has opened its removal results to an independent Deloitte audit.
Reviewer test results for Incogni vary widely by publication and testing period — some report success rates above 70%, others put it well behind competitors in head-to-head tests. The service focuses on automated email-based removal requests and provides a simple dashboard showing removal progress.
Strengths: Competitive annual pricing, GDPR support, 30-day money-back guarantee, independent Deloitte audit, simple interface
Limitations: no CRA or credit features, limited to email-based removals, reviewer results inconsistent across sources
OneRep covers 316 brokers and provides profile screenshots showing your data before and after removal. The visual proof of removal is a useful feature that other services do not consistently provide.
Controversy: In 2024, investigative journalist Brian Krebs reported that OneRep's CEO had been operating a network of people-search websites that sold the same personal data OneRep was charging customers to remove. Running data broker sites while simultaneously running a data removal service is a significant conflict of interest that potential subscribers should be aware of.
Strengths: Screenshot verification, affordable, 316 brokers
Limitations: CEO operated people-search sites, no CRA or credit features, limited broker coverage
Optery covers approximately 600 brokers and provides detailed exposure reports with screenshots showing your profiles on various broker sites. The visual reporting is comprehensive and helps users understand exactly where their data is exposed.
Optery is the most expensive service on this list at $15 per month. At that price point, it covers fewer brokers than DeleteMe and does not include any of the CRA, credit dispute, or opt-out features that Vigilant Privacy offers.
Strengths: Detailed visual exposure reports, screenshot evidence, ~600 broker coverage
Limitations: Most expensive option, no CRA or credit features, no free trial
DuckDuckGo Privacy Pro bundles data broker removal with their private browser, email protection, and VPN. The data removal feature covers only 62 brokers, the lowest of any paid service on this list.
The appeal of DuckDuckGo is the browser integration. If you already use DuckDuckGo as your primary browser, the privacy tools work seamlessly together. Their privacy practices are strong: no tracking, no data collection beyond what is needed.
Strengths: Excellent privacy practices, browser integration, private email, VPN included
Limitations: Only 62 brokers (lowest coverage), no CRA or credit features, requires DuckDuckGo browser
This is the question most comparison articles do not ask: does the privacy company practice what it preaches?
| Service | Tracking Cookies | Google Analytics | Ad Partners | Data Selling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vigilant Privacy | None | No | None | Never |
| DuckDuckGo | None | No | None | Never |
| DeleteMe | Standard | Yes | Limited | No |
| Incogni | Standard | Yes | Limited | No |
| OneRep | Standard | Yes | Limited | No |
| Optery | Standard | Yes | Limited | No |
| Aura | Yes | Yes | Undisclosed count | May constitute "sale" per their own policy |
Only Vigilant Privacy and DuckDuckGo use zero tracking. The difference is that Vigilant Privacy covers 2,412 brokers while DuckDuckGo covers 62.
We encourage you to test any privacy company yourself. Copy their privacy policy, paste it into any AI chatbot (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini), and ask: "Should I have any concerns about my data with this company?" The AI will analyze the policy and tell you exactly what they are doing with your information. Try it with ours at vigilantprivacy.com/privacy.html.
The right service depends on what you need:
We believe the most important factor is what the company does with your data. If a privacy company tracks you, collects your browsing history, and shares your information with advertisers, they are part of the problem, not the solution.
Vigilant Privacy covers 2,412 brokers, requests reports from 37 consumer agencies, automates credit disputes, and handles prescreened opt-outs, Do Not Call, DMA, and GLBA bank opt-outs. All with zero tracking for $9.95/month.
Start Your Free 7-Day TrialNo credit card required. Cancel anytime. We never sell your data.