Incogni vs. DeleteMe vs. Optery: Which Data Removal Service Is Worth It?

What is personal data removal?

Data brokers are companies that collect personal information — from public records, retail purchases, app permissions, and other sources — and sell it, often in bulk, to marketers, background-check companies, and anyone else willing to pay. People-search sites are the consumer-facing version of this: type in someone's name and get back a profile listing their address history, phone numbers, age, and often relatives, usually free or for a few dollars.

A typical broker profile might connect a name to a current and past address, a phone number, an approximate age, and a handful of relatives' names — pulled together from sources most people never agreed to individually. A removal service identifies which of these profiles exist across the brokers it covers and submits an opt-out or deletion request on your behalf, asking that broker to take the listing down.

Worth being precise about what this means: data removal is not the same thing as deleting someone from the internet. It's a request-and-response process with a specific, narrower scope — participating brokers and people-search sites, not the internet generally. And it isn't permanent on its own: brokers can and do re-collect and re-list the same information later, sometimes from an entirely different original source, which is why every service in this category runs on an ongoing subscription rather than a one-time purchase — they keep re-checking and re-submitting, not just doing the job once.

How data removal services actually work

The process is broadly the same across providers, in four steps:

01 — You provide identifying information. Typically your name, current address, and sometimes past addresses or a date of birth, so the service can accurately match listings to you rather than someone with a similar name.

02 — The service searches its supported brokers. Each provider maintains its own list of data brokers and people-search sites it checks against.

03 — Removal or opt-out requests are submitted. Automatically for supported brokers, sometimes requiring a manual step for sites outside that automated list, depending on the provider and plan.

04 — The service keeps checking, because records can reappear. This is the ongoing part that justifies the subscription — a one-time removal doesn't stay removed indefinitely.

Worth knowing: removal is a process, not a delete button. How much of that process is actually automated for you, how often it re-checks, and how it proves a removal happened are exactly where these three providers differ — which is what the rest of this guide covers.

---

Incogni

Incogni is a data removal service from the team behind Surfshark. It covers 420+ data brokers, and — this is the structurally important part — describes this coverage as automated across its plans. A paid tier upgrade (Unlimited) adds custom removals for brokers outside that list; it isn't required to get automated coverage of the standard list in the first place.

Its removal process has been audited by Deloitte — a genuine third-party review of the process and claims generally, not a per-removal certificate for your specific data. That's a real point of evidence, distinct in kind from the individual-removal verification covered under Optery below.

Pricing: Standard plan around $7.99/month on the annual rate (individual); Unlimited around $14.99/month, adding custom removals. Family plans are also available.

Availability: Broader than US-only, including Australia and other international markets.

Strengths: Full advertised broker list is automated at the standard tier; competitive price; real third-party process audit; broad geographic availability.

Limitations: Process-level audit rather than per-removal visual proof; custom removals require the higher tier.

PrivacyLabz has an affiliate relationship with Incogni — see the full disclosure at the end of this article.

---

DeleteMe

DeleteMe is one of the longest-running services in this category, in operation since 2011, and includes email and phone masking (disposable contact details for signing up to things online) bundled with its core removal service. It also offers more human involvement in its removal process than some automation-first competitors, which some users prefer for stubborn or unusual listings.

Its marketing prominently advertises “975+ data brokers.” That number needs unpacking: based on independent breakdowns of DeleteMe's own published fine print, only around 85 of those sites are actually removed automatically on the Standard plan. A further set is reserved for higher-tier business plans, and the majority of the advertised total falls under “Custom Requests” — meaning you have to locate your own profile and submit it manually rather than the service handling it for you automatically.

Pricing: Around $8.60–10.75/month on the annual rate depending on current promotions; the same core feature set applies at every tier, with price scaling by the number of people covered.

Availability: US residents only, per DeleteMe's own pricing page — confirmed directly from the source rather than a competitor's characterization of it.

Strengths: Longest track record of the three; bundled masking tools; some manual/human-assisted handling for difficult listings.

Limitations: The gap between advertised and automated broker coverage is the largest of the three; US-only.

---

Optery

Optery stands out on verification: it provides before-and-after screenshots documenting each individual removal, rather than a report or a broker-count summary. It's also the only one of the three offering a genuinely free tier — self-service scanning and opt-out tools with no payment required, useful for seeing your actual exposure before deciding whether to pay for automation.

Its paid tiers scale coverage by price: roughly 380+ brokers on the entry paid tier up to 600+ on its top tier. Worth noting the same caution that applies to DeleteMe, at smaller scale: one independent source found Optery's published site counts drop by roughly 40% once an “Expanded Reach” qualifier is factored in, meaning the headline number and what's actively, automatically monitored aren't perfectly identical here either — though the gap is smaller and more clearly documented than DeleteMe's.

Pricing: Free tier available; paid tiers from roughly $3.25–3.99/month (Core) up to $12–20/month (Extended/Ultimate) for fuller automated coverage plus verification.

Availability: US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Strengths: Strongest individual-removal verification of the three; genuine free tier; flexible pricing tiers.

Limitations: Full automated coverage and verification require a higher tier than the entry price suggests; coverage counts carry a smaller version of the same “advertised vs. actual” gap as DeleteMe.

---

What "number of data brokers" actually means

This is worth its own section because it's the single most misleading number in this category if taken at face value.

“500 supported brokers” does not mean “500 brokers automatically processed for you.” Depending on the provider, a headline broker count can include:

• Brokers automatically covered on your specific plan tier
• Brokers requiring a manual or “custom” request you submit yourself
• Sites included under a broader “exposure scanning” umbrella without active removal
• An “expanded reach” category that inflates the published total beyond what's actively monitored

How Incogni, DeleteMe, and Optery verify removals

Three different approaches, not one better-than-the-others answer:

• Optery — before-and-after screenshots per removal. The most concrete, individually checkable evidence of the three.
• DeleteMe — periodic reports and broker-count summaries. Useful for a general sense of progress, less specific than a screenshot.
• Incogni — a Deloitte-audited process. Real third-party scrutiny of the system and its claims generally, not a per-removal certificate tied to your specific data.

A process audit and an individual screenshot are different kinds of evidence answering different questions — whether the system works in general, versus whether your specific listing came down. Which matters more probably depends on whether you want reassurance about the provider or confirmation about your own data specifically.

Pricing: compare equivalent plans, not headline prices

Pricing last checked during this research pass — verify current figures directly with each provider before publishing, since this category's pricing shifts with promotions more than most.

Attribute	Incogni	DeleteMe	Optery
Entry price (annual)	~$7.99/mo	~$8.60–10.75/mo	Free, or ~$3.25–3.99/mo
Full automated coverage tier	~$14.99/mo	Same tier, scales by people covered	~$12–20/mo
Automated broker coverage	420+	~85 (975+ advertised total)	380+–600+ by tier
Verification	Deloitte-audited process	Reports/summaries	Before-and-after screenshots
Countries	US + international, incl. Australia	US only	US, Canada, Australia, NZ, South Africa
Free tier	No	No	Yes
Family plans	Yes	Yes, scales by people	Yes

The trap to avoid: comparing DeleteMe's mid-tier price against Optery's cheapest entry tier makes Optery look artificially cheap for a service that isn't doing full automated removal yet at that price point. Match the tier that gives genuine full coverage on each service before comparing numbers.

What these services cannot remove

Worth being direct and specific here, since this is where a lot of marketing in this category gets vague on purpose.

None of these services — or any provider in this category — can remove:

• Court records, government filings, or other official public records. These exist because the law requires them to; a private company can't petition them away on your behalf, and removal typically requires a legal process specific to the record type and jurisdiction, not an opt-out form.
• News articles. Even unflattering or outdated ones. This falls outside the scope entirely — a removal service has no relationship with a news publisher.
• Social media posts. Whether yours or someone else's about you. That requires a report to the platform directly, not a broker opt-out.
• Content already spread to the dark web, or already copied by another party before a removal took effect.

These services are also not a substitute for identity theft monitoring, breach monitoring, credit freezes, or general account security practices — different problems, different tools. Reducing your footprint on broker and people-search sites lowers one category of risk; it doesn't touch the others.

Can you do this yourself for free?

Yes, entirely. The manual version of the same process:

1. Search your own name across major people-search sites to see what's actually listed
2. Find each site's specific opt-out process (they're all different, and none of them make it especially easy on purpose)
3. Verify your identity where the broker requires it
4. Submit the removal request
5. Track whether it actually came down
6. Repeat periodically, since listings reappear

None of this requires a paid service — it requires your own time, and a willingness to actually keep doing it every few months rather than doing it once and forgetting about it. What these services actually sell is automation and follow-through on a task most people start and then abandon. That's a legitimate thing to pay for; it's also fair to know you're not paying for access to something otherwise unavailable to you.

Which service makes sense for which person

Want maximum automation with minimal involvement, and don't want to pay extra to get full coverage: Incogni's structure — full broker list automated at the standard tier — fits this directly.

Want visual confirmation that a specific removal actually happened: Optery's screenshot verification is built exactly for this.

Want to see your actual exposure before paying anything: Optery's free tier is the only genuinely no-cost option among the three.

Want a long-established, US-based service with some human handling of difficult cases: DeleteMe's track record and manual-assist approach fit this, with the caveat that it's US residents only.

Our take

The honest starting point is that all three do the same core job — broker and people-search removal — with real differences in how much of their advertised coverage is genuinely automated, how they prove it worked, and where they're available.

DeleteMe's headline broker count is the least representative of what actually happens automatically on its standard plan, which is worth knowing regardless of which service you end up choosing. Optery has the strongest individual verification and the only free option, which makes it a reasonable starting point if you want to see your exposure before committing to anything. Incogni's structure — full coverage automated without an upgrade requirement, plus a real third-party process audit — is a genuinely strong combination, and it's also the service we have an affiliate relationship with, which is exactly why we're naming that plainly rather than letting the comparison quietly lean that direction without saying so.

If your priority is proof over process, or you're not ready to pay for anything yet, Optery is worth starting with. If you're outside the US, DeleteMe isn't available to you regardless of any other factor. For most people who want the broadest automated coverage without needing to pay for a higher tier to get it, Incogni is the strongest overall pick among the three.

Frequently asked questions

What is a data removal service?

A subscription service that finds your personal information on data broker and people-search sites and submits removal requests on your behalf, then repeats the process periodically since listings can reappear.

Do data removal services actually work?

They can meaningfully reduce your presence on supported broker sites, but none of them touch court records, news articles, government filings, or social media — the scope is narrower than “removing your data from the internet.”

Can I remove my information from data brokers myself?

Yes — it's a free, manual process of finding each broker's opt-out form and submitting it yourself, repeated periodically. Paid services automate this rather than providing access to something otherwise unavailable.

Is data removal permanent?

No. Brokers can re-collect and re-list the same information later, which is why these are ongoing subscriptions with continued monitoring, not one-time purchases.

Does removing my data prevent identity theft?

Not directly. It reduces a contributing exposure factor; it isn't identity theft monitoring or restoration, which is a separate product category.

How long does data removal take?

This varies by broker and provider and isn't something we're stating a specific figure for without a verified source — check each provider's current documentation for their stated typical timelines.

Why can my information reappear after being removed?

Brokers often re-collect data from the same original sources (public records, purchases, other brokers) independently of your previous removal request, so a listing can be rebuilt from scratch even after being successfully taken down once.

What information do I need to give a data removal service?

Typically your name and address, sometimes past addresses or a date of birth, so the service can accurately match listings to you specifically.