Personal data privacy is becoming increasingly important in today‘s digital age. With data breaches and misuse of personal information happening more frequently, people are looking for ways to protect their data online. This is where data removal tools like Incogni and Kanary come in. But which one should you choose in 2023?
In this comprehensive guide, we will compare Incogni and Kanary to help you determine which data removal tool best meets your needs. We will look at key features, privacy protection, pricing, customer support and more. Read on for our full analysis and recommendation on Incogni vs Kanary.
Contents
Key Differences Between Incogni and Kanary
Before diving into the details, here is a quick overview of how Incogni and Kanary compare:
- Approach: Incogni focuses solely on data deletion through removal requests, while Kanary offers monitoring and alerts in addition to automated data deletion.
- Number of Removals: Incogni sends 12 removal requests per year. Kanary has unlimited automated removals.
- Pricing: Incogni starts at $6.49/month. Kanary starts at $12/month.
- Support: Incogni offers email support. Kanary provides phone, email and chat support.
- Availability: Incogni operates in the US, UK, EU and Canada. Kanary is only available in the US.
Overview of Incogni and Kanary
What is Incogni?
Incogni is a data privacy service focused exclusively on helping you remove your personal information from data broker websites.
The platform allows you to request removal of your name, email, phone number, home address and other data from hundreds of shady data brokers. Incogni has pre-compiled a list of over 300 data brokers and sends automated removal requests on your behalf.
Incogni sends 12 removal requests per year to companies like Acxiom, LexisNexis, Whitepages and others. It also offers tech support from privacy experts via email.
The service currently operates in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and European Union.
What is Kanary?
Kanary is a more comprehensive online privacy protection service. In addition to automated data removal, Kanary also monitors the web for your personal information and alerts you when your data is found.
The platform scans sites where your personal information may be exposed, including data broker sites, people search sites, criminal records sites and court documents. Whenever your personal data is detected, Kanary sends an automated removal request.
Kanary also offers features like credit monitoring, identity restoration and USPS address change monitoring. Customers get access to a personal online dashboard to view potential threats and removal requests.
Phone, email and live chat support is also provided by the Kanary team. However, this service is only available to users located in the United States.
Now that we‘ve covered the basics of each platform, let‘s compare them across some key factors:
Data Removal Capabilities
One of the main deciding factors between Incogni and Kanary lies in their data removal capabilities.
Incogni‘s Data Removal Process
The core of Incogni‘s service is focused on removing your personal data from known data broker websites.
When you sign up, Incogni asks for your basic personal information like name, email, phone number, etc. This is used to pre-populate data removal requests.
Incogni has compiled a proprietary list of over 300 data broker sites where your information may be bought and sold. On your behalf, their system will automatically send data removal requests to these sites.
These requests are sent periodically throughout the year, with a total of 12 removals per year. So your data is continuously scrubbed from new data leaks over time.
However, one downside is that Incogni does not provide visibility into which specific sites your data was removed from or what data elements were eliminated. You simply have to trust that they are handling the removal process appropriately.
Kanary‘s Data Removal Process
Kanary takes a different approach to data removal. Rather than just blindly submitting periodic removal requests, Kanary actively monitors the web to find instances of your personal data.
The Kanary crawler regularly scans data broker sites, people search sites, court documents and other sources where your personal information could be exposed. Whenever your data is discovered, an automated removal request is immediately sent.
So this means your data could end up being removed from hundreds or even thousands of sites based on what Kanary finds. There is no set limit like with Incogni.
Another benefit is that Kanary provides full transparency. You can log into your account dashboard to see every data leak that was detected across the web and how Kanary handled it. This helps ensure you know exactly where your data was exposed and removed from.
Overall, Kanary appears to provide more robust and transparent data removal services compared to Incogni.
Additional Privacy Protection Features
Beyond just data removal, Kanary offers some extra privacy protection features that Incogni lacks.
Kanary provides alerts if your personal information appears in any new data leaks or security breaches. So you‘re immediately notified if your data ends up in the wrong hands.
The platform also includes credit monitoring to alert you of any suspicious activity that could indicate identity theft. Credit reports and scores are monitored on a daily basis.
For ultimate peace of mind, Kanary customers get $1 million in identity theft insurance included. This provides coverage for costs related to restoring your identity should the worst happen.
On top of all that, Kanary monitors the USPS address change service for any unauthorized changes to your address. This makes it difficult for fraudsters to secretly redirect your mail.
Incogni focuses solely on data removal, without any of the extra monitoring and protection services. So Kanary is the better choice if you want the full privacy protection package.
Pricing and Plans
Incogni offers cheaper pricing plans starting at $6.49 per month when billed annually. Kanary is more expensive at a starting price of $12 per month.
Here‘s an overview of the pricing for each platform:
| Incogni | Kanary | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Billing | $8.99/month | $14/month |
| Annual Billing | $6.49/month (58% savings) | $12/month (14% savings) |
| Free Trial | 30 days | 14 days |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 30 days |
Incogni offers significantly lower pricing, especially when choosing their annual subscription. You get 58% savings compared to just 14% with Kanary‘s annual billing.
However, the higher pricing of Kanary may be justified given the more extensive features beyond just data removal, like credit monitoring and identity protection. Ultimately, it comes down to your budget and privacy protection needs.
Both services offer month-to-month plans for flexibility, with Kanary being the pricier of the two.
Ease of Use
Incogni and Kanary both provide intuitive user experiences that make it simple to sign up and manage your account.
Incogni‘s User Experience
Registering with Incogni only takes a couple minutes. You simply enter some basic personal details so they can begin removing that data on your behalf.
The Incogni dashboard allows you to update any profile information that changes, such as your address or phone number. You can also view details on past and upcoming data removal requests.
Overall, Incogni makes it quick and easy to get your data removed from hundreds of broker sites within minutes of signing up.
Kanary‘s User Experience
Signing up for Kanary involves entering a bit more information during initial registration, including your SSN and info from a government-issued ID. This allows Kanary to fully verify and protect your identity.
The dashboard provides transparency into potential threats found across the web containing your info. You can view removal requests and details on any alerts triggered by the monitoring service.
Kanary also offers mobile apps for iPhone and Android so you can monitor activity on the go.
Between the two platforms, first-time users may find Incogni simpler to get started with. But Kanary still offers a user-friendly experience overall.
Customer Support
Strong customer support can provide peace of mind that any issues or questions will be addressed promptly. Here‘s how Incogni and Kanary compare when it comes to supporting users:
- Incogni: Offers customer support via email. Emails are typically answered within 24 hours according to customers. No phone support is provided.
- Kanary: Provides phone, email and live chat support. The support team is highly responsive and aim to answer requests within 5-10 minutes.
Kanary is the winner when it comes to customer service. Phone and live chat options for immediate assistance give Kanary an advantage over email-only support with Incogni.
Privacy Policies
It‘s important for any data removal service to have strong privacy protections and transparency around how they handle your personal information.
Incogni and Kanary both have detailed privacy policies explaining what data is collected and how it is secured.
Incogni states that collected personal information is only used to provide removal services and is encrypted in transit and storage. Data is retained only as long as needed to fulfill services.
Similarly, Kanary‘s policy outlines that data is encrypted and only retained for the duration required by law or to provide services. Customer data is never sold or shared.
Based on their official policies, both companies appear to take privacy and data handling seriously. However, as with any service handling sensitive information, a degree of trust is required.
Conclusion: Our Recommendation
When considering the key factors – number of removals, extra features, pricing, support and more – Kanary emerges as the superior data removal service compared to Incogni in 2023.
While Incogni offers affordable pricing and simplistic removal request automation, Kanary provides more extensive capabilities:
- Unlimited automated removals based on real-time monitoring, instead of just 12 periodic requests from Incogni.
- Identity protection features like credit monitoring, address change alerts, and $1 million insurance.
- Complete transparency into what data leaks were detected and removed across the web.
- Excellent customer support via phone, chat and email.
The additional privacy protection and support justify Kanary‘s higher pricing over Incogni for those willing to pay. Overall, Kanary is our top recommendation for protecting your personal data in 2023.
However, Incogni remains a solid budget-friendly option focused exclusively on mass removal request automation. Much better than removing your info site-by-site manually!
We hope this comprehensive Incogni vs Kanary comparison has helped you determine which solution best meets your needs and budget for data removal. Let us know if you have any other questions!
