DeleteMe Review 2024: How Well Can You Disappear?

After testing DeleteMe, we found that it provides an easy and convenient way to remove your personal information from across the internet.
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4.9
Editorial Rating
Learn More
On DeleteMe's website

Privacy Protection
DeleteMe
  • Removes your data from the web to avoid scams, spam and stalkers
  • 100+ million successful opt-out removals
  • Provides continued removals every three months

DeleteMe is a straightforward data removal and privacy service that makes it easy to clean up and keep private personal information online. We think it’s a bit pricey compared to some of the other similar services, especially for something you could probably do yourself. 

But we also think DeleteMe could be well worth the price. We signed up for the service and within one month, it took down over 70 listings with our personal information, saving us hours of time. 

Read on to learn why we think DeleteMe is one of the best data removal services.

Pros
  • Can remove your personal data from hundreds of data broker sites
  • Provides continuous removals every three months
  • Includes additional online privacy tools, like email, phone, and card masking
Cons
  • Expensive compared to other services
  • Confusing hidden plan options
In this article
At a glance
Our experience
Who is DeleteMe best for?
Prices and subscriptions
Features
Does DeleteMe keep your data safe?
Customer support
Alternatives
FAQs
Bottom line

DeleteMe review at a glance

Price $8.60–$34.40/mo
Money-back guarantee Yes — prorated based on time left in subscription
# of people covered 1 - 4
# of site removals 750+
Recurring removals Yes — quarterly
Custom removal requests Yes
Privacy reports Yes — quarterly
Supported countries Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, and more
Extras Email masking, phone masking, card masking
Details Get DeleteMe

How we test and rate data removal services

To review data removal services, we sign up for the service anywhere from a week to a month in advance. This allows it time to gather our data, scrub it from the data broker and people search sites, and send us reports on its process.

With so many data broker websites, you’ll want to make sure the one you choose sends requests to a lot of them, as well as follows up and searches for more. 

Once we've spent some time with the service, we calculate our editorial rating by taking into account key features, prices, security measures, and other criteria.

To learn more about how we test, check out our full data removal testing methodology here.

4.9
Editorial Rating
Learn More
On DeleteMe's website
Privacy Protection
DeleteMe
  • Removes your data from the web to avoid scams, spam and stalkers
  • 100+ million successful opt-out removals
  • Provides continued removals every three months

Our experience

Overall, we had a great experience with DeleteMe. The setup process was straightforward, as we just had to fill out the datasheet with our personal information. You can also pick and choose the information you decide to submit.

DeleteMe data sheet under the personal information tab.

Data requested included our email addresses, current and past home addresses, employer information, and more. Although it can feel counterintuitive to provide all this data, data removal services like DeleteMe work by creating a profile of you that it can use to search for and remove listings from data broker sites. 

DeleteMe has a user-friendly dashboard with helpful tips throughout. For instance, we were reminded to look out for typos and add our middle name to help the service find more data brokers.

DeleteMe tips while filling out data sheet

Once you've submitted your data sheet, it can take up to one week to receive your first report. Our first report detailed the number of listings reviewed and removed, as well as a detailed list of the sites with the information found. 

DeleteMe privacy report statistics

There are no real-time alerts of data found and removed, but we felt confident about DeleteMe's efforts to complete our removals. The report details that the majority of listings will disappear in a month but could be removed instantly or take as long as six weeks. 

Our only confusion about DeleteMe was the number of data brokers covered. We reached out to support to get more details about the 750+ brokers covered, but turns out that's including custom requests (which you'd have to submit) and sites only included with higher tiers (which aren't advertised on the main website). 

Customer support was helpful with clarifying this information, but it's definitely not clear to the average site visitor. 

Who is DeleteMe best for?

  • Recommended for a set-and-forget service for families

One of DeleteMe's strengths is its ease of use. After filling out our data sheet, we essentially had nothing to do but wait for DeleteMe to get to work. You'll receive recurring removals and privacy reports every three months, so you can have your peace of mind that you're becoming more anonymous online. 

We also like that DeleteMe offers several plan options for different-sized families. There's a couples plan that covers two people as well as a family plan that covers four people.

DeleteMe prices and subscriptions

DeleteMe provides multiple subscription options, ranging from $8.60–$34.40/mo. Your plan price depends on the number of people on the plan and if you want a one-year or two-year plan. 

Here’s how DeleteMe pricing compares to other popular data removal services:

  • DeleteMe: $8.60–$34.40/mo
  • Incogni: $7.49–$32.98/mo
  • HelloPrivacy: $8.25-$9.99/mo
  • Optery: Free–$24.99/mo

The lower range of DeleteMe’s pricing is more consistent with what you find with other services, and the higher part of the range is much more expensive. Keep in mind that these companies don’t all provide the same services, so it might be worth paying more for a certain subscription depending on what you want.

Plan Individual Couple Family
Two-year plan $6.97/mo (billed every two years) $13.93/mo (billed every two years) $27.87/mo (billed every two years)
Annual plan $8.60/mo (billed annually) $17.20/mo (billed annually) $34.40/mo (billed annually)
Max # of people covered 1 2 4
Data broker opt-out Manual and automated Manual and automated Manual and automated
# of site removals Up to 750+ Up to 750+ Up to 750+
Privacy reports Yes — quarterly Yes — quarterly Yes — quarterly
Real-time alerts
Recurring removals
Custom removal requests
Identity monitoring
Details View plan View plan View plan

DeleteMe doesn’t offer a free trial for its services, but you can request a full refund before your first data privacy report is complete. If you’ve already received a privacy report, you can request a pro-rated refund based on how much time is remaining on your subscription. 

You can also get DeleteMe at a lower promotional price.

DeleteMe features

DeleteMe has everything you need from a data removal service: detailed privacy reports, recurring removals, the ability to submit custom removal requests, and more. Most of these features don't require any effort on your end once you've filled out your data sheet. 

However, we wish there was some clarity on its bonus features. For instance, card masking is advertised but it's listed as "coming soon" in our dashboard. We also thought phone masking was included but we turns out we need to pay a $7.00 one-time for generating a masked phone number. 

What data does DeleteMe protect?

DeleteMe removes the following personal information from different data broker websites:

  • Name(s)
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Email addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • Current and past home addresses
  • Marital status
  • Employer info
  • Gender
  • Race and ethnicity information
  • Information on family and relatives

Please note that you must provide this data if you want DeleteMe to remove your info from Google search results and other sites on your behalf.

Data broker and people-search sites covered

  • Up to 750+ sites covered

DeleteMe lists over 750 data broker sites from which it can remove your private information. However, the bottom of the list points out that sites are only covered by specific plans and some are international or custom requests. 

We reached out to customer support for some additional clarity. Here's the sites covered breakdown for each plan: 

  • Standard: Removes information from over 89 sites processed through quarterly privacy reports 
  • Gold: Removes your information from over 102 sites processed through privacy reports every two months
  • Diamond: Removes your information from over 107 sites processed through monthly privacy reports 
  • Platinum: Removes your information from over 140 sites processed through monthly privacy reports
  • VIP: Removes your information from over 160 sites processed through monthly privacy reports plus a Google search engine scrub

All the plans above Standard can be purchased once you have a subscription. We do wish DeleteMe was more upfront about this, as it can be confusing if you don't dig further for the details. 

Reports

DeleteMe provides reports on a quarterly basis. You'll typically receive three or four reports per year, depending on when you started your subscription.

DeleteMe dashboard open on Reports tab.

Our report statistics showed that 458 listings were reviewed and 79 listings were removed. There were 77 brokers with our personal information and 587 pieces of personally identifiable information were found. 

We also like that DeleteMe shares that we saved four and a half of time searching for listings as well as four and a half hours of time removing listings. 

After the base statistics, you can find every site with your information listed, how long the removal time will take, and the personal information exposed on each site. 

A page from a DeleteMe privacy report with data broker listings

Recurring and custom removal

DeleteMe scrubs your data off the internet on a quarterly basis, or every three months. This coincides with the privacy reports you receive. 

DeleteMe also allows you to submit custom removals. You'll need to select the data sheet, provide the link for the site with your information, and upload a screenshot to help advisors with removing your information. 

DeleteMe form for a request removal.

Bonus features

DeleteMe offers extra features to help protect your information. Here are a few ways that DeleteMe helps keep your data safe.

  • Free scan: DeleteMe offers a free scan feature that searches the internet for your personal information. After the free scan, you can see what information is available online. From this point, you can join DeleteMe for assistance in removing the data.
  • Email masking: Use DeleteMe to create other email addresses so you don’t share your personal email address. These newly created email addresses still deliver mail to your regular inbox but provide an alternate address to help keep your information secure.
  • Phone masking: Similar to email masking, phone masking creates an alternate phone number you can use instead of giving out your actual contact information. This provides an added layer of protection and helps keep your number off the robo-caller lists.
  • Card masking: DeleteMe's masked card tool keeps your credit card information secure. This feature creates a disposable card number you can use when paying with your credit card online. It's currently listed as "coming soon."
  • Search Yourself: In the Privacy Tools tab of your online account, you'll find a Google search bar that allows you to search and see where your information appears. 

DeleteMe email, phone, and card masking tools.

Does DeleteMe keep your data safe?

DeleteMe collects a lot of information if you use its service to remove data from different sites. But that’s to be expected because DeleteMe needs your personal information to determine where it’s being used.

Fortunately, DeleteMe generally doesn’t share any of your personal information with third parties without your consent. You can opt out of marketing and promotional emails, for instance. 

There are, however, a few situations in the DeleteMe privacy policy where your information could be shared without your consent, such as complying with certain government requests as required by law.

DeleteMe doesn’t sell user information and tries to abide by leading security practices, including: 

  • Making requests using HTTPS connections
  • Conducting regular internal audits
  • Collaborating with external auditors
  • Maintaining compliance with GDPR and U.S. privacy laws like the CCPA
  • Using AES-256 and TLS 1.2 encryption

You can also set up two-factor authentication in your online account. Two authentication methods are using an authenticator app or sending a code to your email address.

DeleteMe settings for theme and security settings

DeleteMe customer support

You can contact the DeleteMe customer support team by emailing support@joindeleteme.com or calling 833-DELETEME (1-833-335-3836). It's available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST

We didn’t see this advertised, but we also found a chat button while browsing the main DeleteMe website. In general, the customer service rep was polite, informative, and responsive. We asked them several questions about DeleteMe's features and they provided straightforward answers every time.

A live chat exchange with DeleteMe customer support.

Top alternatives

We believe DeleteMe is one of the best data removal services on the market, but it's not the only one available. We've compiled a list of alternative data removal services you can consider instead:  

Starting price From $7.49/mo (billed annually) From $9.00/mo (billed annually) From $8.25/mo (billed annually)
Max # of people covered 4 4 1
Data broker opt-out
# of site removals 180+ 30+ 50+
Privacy reports
Real-time alerts
Learn more Get Incogni Get Aura Get HelloPrivacy

FAQs


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Is DeleteMe worth it?

DeleteMe is worth it if you don’t want to go through the hassle of trying to remove your information from data broker websites yourself. Services like DeleteMe are generally for convenience and don’t necessarily provide anything you can’t do yourself; it’s possible to remove your data from LexisNexis and other data broker sites on your own.


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How long does DeleteMe take to work?

It takes about a week to receive your first privacy report after filling out the data sheet and submitting it to DeleteMe through your online account. After your first report, DeleteMe will send you a privacy report every three months.


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Does DeleteMe sell your data?

No, DeleteMe doesn’t sell any personal information you submit to its service. Note that DeleteMe has to provide some of your information to data brokers to help fulfill opt-out requests and can’t control what third parties do with your information. But that’s also a necessary part of trying to remove your data from different websites.


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How much does DeleteMe cost?

DeleteMe costs between $8.60–$34.40/mo depending on how many people you want included in your plan and your term length. If you opt to pay for a two-year plan, you can lower your monthly cost to $6.97/mo (billed every two years) for one person. You can also request a full refund before receiving your first privacy report.


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Is DeleteMe a legitimate site?

DeleteMe is a legitimate company and website that helps users remove personally identifiable information from the internet. DeleteMe will work on your behalf to find your information online and help you remove that data.

You can remove this information independently, but it will take much more time and energy. DeleteMe makes the process easier, and it offers some additional features that can help you protect your information more.


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Can you trust DeleteMe?

We believe you can trust DeleteMe because it generally doesn't share any of your personal information with third parties unless you consent. It also tries to abide by leading security practicies, like making requests using HTTPS connections and providing options for two-factor authentication.

Bottom line: Is DeleteMe good?

If you’re concerned about your personal information being available on the internet, then DeleteMe is a good service to use. DeleteMe can remove your personally identifiable information from data brokers and help limit the data online.

DeleteMe’s other features, such as  email masking, can also help keep your information more secure. DeleteMe also allows you to be more proactive about removing your information since it automates the process and takes care of the removal requests for you.

If DeleteMe doesn't sound like a fit for you, check out the alternatives we've determined are the best data removal services. You can also see how DeleteMe compares to other services:

4.9
Editorial Rating
Learn More
On DeleteMe's website
Privacy Protection
DeleteMe
  • Removes your data from the web to avoid scams, spam and stalkers
  • 100+ million successful opt-out removals
  • Provides continued removals every three months
Author Details
Ben Walker is a security, travel, and credit card writer with a passion for all things internet and technology, whether it's using VPNs while away from home or organizing his life with password managers.