Guardio Review 2026: Straightforward Protection for Your Browser

Guardio uniquely combines basic antivirus capabilities and powerful identity theft protection. It can monitor for data breaches, block cyberthreats in your browsing and email inbox, and provide coverage in the event of identity theft.

Since Guardio isn't a comprehensive antivirus program, its price tag may be too high for the average person. There are no manual scans or a firewall, and its protection is focused on your browser. 

But with Guardio, you'll receive reliable and lightweight protection that also covers you in the event of a scam. In this Guardio review, we'll discuss its plans, features, test results, and more.

At a glance

Price	$9.99-$34.99/mo
Free plan	Yes
# of devices supported	1 - 5
Malware scans	No
Real-time protection	Yes
EICAR test results	0/3
Firewall	No
Phishing protection	Yes
Compatibility	Android, iOS, Chrome, Edge
Extras	Data breach monitoring, dark web monitoring, identity theft insurance
24/7 support	Yes
Learn more	Get Guardio

We last tested Guardio on September 25, 2025.

Our experience

We found Guardio to be user-friendly from the beginning. Once we purchased our subscription, we were greeted with a video from the Guardio team briefly explaining the program's capabilities.

We liked that Guardio provided an overview with steps on how to set up your protection. Afterward, the overview tab will share any potential security threats that Guardio has found.

Once we set up the features, Guardio got to work. We clicked through the various tabs to find reports of data breaches, malicious extensions, and spam emails. 

It took us a minute to realize what Guardio is and what it isn't. We quickly realized that Guardio lacks many of the features we look for in antivirus software. 

There's no firewall to protect your device from unauthorized access, and there was no option to scan our device. We reached out to customer support to confirm this, and the agent let us know that there's no need for a manual scan, as Guardio provides real-time protection.

What we did find were several tools for identity theft protection. You'll be able to monitor email addresses and phone numbers for data breaches. You'll also get up to $1 million in identity theft insurance.

Ultimately, Guardio would be best if you only need browser protection and can pair it with one of the best antivirus programs. 

Guardio prices and plans

Guardio offers a free plan and a premium plan, with prices ranging from $9.99-$34.99/mo. 

Guardio Free provides basic browsing protection, which includes suspicious site detection, on-demand scans, phishing alerts on limited sites, and a history of personal data leaks. However, you can only remove any threats found by purchasing Guardio Premium.

	Free	Premium
Price	Free	$9.99-$34.99/mo
# of devices supported	1	5
Dangerous site alerts
Dangerous site blocks
Malicious email security
Identity and data breach monitoring
Identity theft insurance
24/7 identity theft resolution hotline
Learn more	View plan	View plan

Guardio Premium is comparable to some of the more expensive antivirus programs in terms of annual cost. Here are some of the popular antivirus programs for comparison:

• Norton: $29.99/first yr 
• Bitdefender: $34.99/first yr
• McAfee: $39.99/first yr 

On the plus side, Guardio's price doesn't increase after your first year, so that cost stays the same. Cheaper antivirus programs may start out at a lower price, but often the price skyrockets at the start of your second year. Depending on your existing subscriptions, Guardio's browser security may be worth adding. 

Guardio offers a no-obligation, seven-day free trial before you commit to buying the extension. It also has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Guardio features

Guardio comes with real-time protection, which helps guard you against malicious push notifications and phishing attacks. It also comes with extension neutralizing, which blocks harmful add-ons.

Both the free and premium subscriptions include identity theft protection in the form of a historical data leak report. This is helpful for spotting potentially compromised accounts so you can take quick action by changing your password — a key step to prevent identity theft. 

The Guardio Premium plan also includes data breach monitoring, which alerts you if any future leaks compromise your account info.

Malware and antivirus scan

Guardio's antivirus software prevents viruses in real time and also gives you the option to manually scan your browser for potential threats. 

uardio previously had a manual scan feature, but it appears to have been removed. While real-time protection is optimal, it's sometimes hard to tell if your antivirus is working as intended.

Phishing protection

Guardio protects against phishing emails by blocking pop-ups that are designed to scam you or send you to a malicious website. However, its website admits that the product won’t stop legitimate pop-ups from platforms you use, like food delivery websites, because these sites make money from ads. 

You can toggle on real-time protection for phishing emails by selecting the Email Security tab. Guardio flagged two false positives but didn’t detect any malicious emails in our inbox.

Guardio’s harmful site blocks also protect you against phishing attacks. It blocks sites that could be malicious, so you won’t even have the chance to click on malware.

Real-time protection

Guardio’s real-time removal feature only needs to be toggled on to detect hijacking attempts. It keeps hackers from altering your browser’s settings without your permission. 

You can set your preferred search engine under the settings. If you have malware on your browser, Guardio will fix it for you after you install the extension.

We attempted to download malware test files and visit phishing test pages, but Guardio successfully blocked our access. We found this under the browser activity logs on the Browsing tab. 

Ransomware protection

The Guardio help center mentions that it "provides proactive protection against malware, ransomware, phishing, and scams." However, there are no features specifically tied to ransomware protection.

Guardio does alert you to new websites or websites with low credibility in case they’re malicious. By blocking and notifying you about these sites, it can help stop hackers from taking over your device remotely.

You won’t get a specific tab showing how ransomware protection may work with this software, though. We recommend keeping all options toggled on for the most effective security protection.

Anti-fraud protection

Guardio also doesn’t mention anti-fraud protection specifically, but it does have anti-phishing features that block malicious emails and webpages from stealing your personal data or payment information. 

Additionally, data breach monitoring alerts you to immediate data leaks, so you can take action if your data has been exposed. The Guardio website has a section on the steps to take after a data breach, which can be helpful in the case of fraud or identity theft.

Bonus features

We’ll be the first to admit that you won’t get a lot of extras with this software. We think the bonus features it does provide are pretty solid, though. 

Not only do you get regular malware protection, but you also get data breach notifications, dark web monitoring, and a feature to stop unwanted notifications.

• Data breach notifications: The data breach notifications help keep your identity safe by sending immediate alerts of data leaks. 
• Dark web monitoring: Guardio uses your email address to search the dark web, checking for personal information or data that can be tied to that address. The program continuously monitors the dark web for these data exposures.
  
• Unwanted notifications: Guardio stops adware that sends you unwanted notifications and advertisements. That includes malicious and annoying push notifications that keep popping up while you’re online.
• Identity theft protection: Guardio monitors your identity and provides a dedicated identity theft resolution timeline, available 24/7 for your assistance. You also get up to $1 million in identity theft insurance coverage with the Guardio Premium subscription.

Guardio test results

In the past, Guardio blocked our in-house malware tests and phishing tests, but, unfortunately, it failed all three this time. And since Guardio is relatively new, we didn’t find any third-party testing results for this browser extension. 

Antivirus companies submit their software for third-party testing, so this doesn't necessarily mean that a program without these results is bad or ineffective.

EICAR test results

• Result: 0/3

In our second round of testing, we pitted Guardio against the European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus Research's (EICAR's) anti-malware test files. Here's how it did:

Test	Guardio score
Malware detection	Fail
Drive-by malware downloads	Fail
Phishing detection	Fail

In the past, Guardio passed all three tests, but it had the opposite result this time. All the dummy malware downloads slipped through the cracks and we could visit the phishing test site without warning. 

We're not sure how Guardio could have such drastically different results but we hope this was just a fluke this time. 

Guardio compatibility

	Guardio compatibility
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
Browser extensions	Yes — Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Opera Mini, Samsung Internet, Mi Browser, Google Go

Although Guardio’s browser extension only works on a desktop browser, the identity protection features will work on your mobile device. You can download Guardio on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, depending on which type of device you use.

Guardio customer support

Support type	Guardio
Email or live chat	Yes — support@guardio.io
Phone
Online guides or forums

Guardio provides 24/7 email support. You can email support@guardio.io with issues or questions. 

We reached out to Guardio email support about the manual scans. It only took 20 minutes for us to receive a response, and the agent was helpful and friendly. 

There's also a 24/7 hotline you can call if you fall victim to identity theft. Other than that, Guardio has a help center along with FAQs to answer any general questions you have about the product.

Guardio user reviews

• Apple App Store rating: 4.8/5
• Google Play Store rating: 4.1/5
• Trustpilot rating: 4.4/5

Guardio has solid ratings on its mobile apps and on Trustpilot. However, almost all of the recent reviews on the app stores are negative. Most of these reviews are from users who had trouble cancelling their subscription.

On the other hand, the Trustpilot reviewers are overwhelmingly positive. Reviewers appreciate the malicious link protection, timely and helpful alerts, and reduced scam calls. 

Top alternatives

Guardio has its strengths, but it doesn't offer comprehensive antivirus protection. We've tested dozens of antivirus software and can recommend these top three.

TotalAV is good for individuals who need a budget-friendly security suite. McAfee is ideal for families because it covers unlimited devices. Norton is a big name in digital security and offers advanced security features.

Bottom line: Is Guardio good?

Yes, Guardio offers decent protection against online threats. It's a straightforward browser extension that can protect against phishing, data breaches, and identity theft. You get features that only need to be turned on to work, and the dashboard is friendly and intuitive.

Guardio may not offer a comprehensive range of protection, but it excels in its specific area. We do wish it were less pricey, especially when compared to other antivirus software. But if you can afford Guardio, it would make a great companion to your cybersecurity tools.

Guardio FAQs