Hogo Privacy Defense Review 2024: Can Hogo’s Helpers Protect My Data?

Data protection app Hogo Privacy Defense provides a beginner-friendly way to protect your identity online.

Hogo makes a game of the whole process, awarding coins and using animated characters to guide you through its services. Although Hogo might not be for everyone, people who want to see which sites have their personal information and have a little fun while removing it may find the app helpful.

Keep reading this Hogo Privacy Defense review to learn more about Hogo's services, the pros and cons, and how it ranks among the best data removal services.

Hogo Privacy Defense review at a glance

3.9

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

Learn More

On Hogo Privacy Defense's website

Privacy Protection

Hogo Privacy Defense

• Easy to use and set up
• Up to $25,000 in fraud insurance
• Shares data for marketing purposes

Our experience

We had an easy time using Hogo Privacy Defense. We downloaded the app on our iPhone. 

You can visit the Hogo website and hit the Get Started button. From there, you’ll be directed to a QR code that takes you to the App Store or Google Play Store, depending on your device, where you can complete the download.

When creating your account, Hogo requests basic information like your name, phone number, email address, and last four of your Social Security number (with Premium accounts). 

Hogo also asks you to rate your privacy concerns. We liked that we could personalize the app based on what we care about the most.  

You'll also select your Hogo Helper, which will be your guide in the app. This function may not be for everyone, but it's worth a try with the free app or the subscription trial period. 

Once we set up our account, Hogo began scanning data brokers and other sites for our information. The Privacy tab displays all the sites it found with our information, the personal information listed, and what private info the site could be selling. 

We could easily remove our data from the sites by swiping left or keep the data on the sites by swiping right. All the actions taken will be listed with checkmarks in green boxes for successful removals and purple boxes for pending removals. 

Note that it can take up to 45 days for Hogo to take down your information from these sites. In addition, removing your information doesn’t stop your information from appearing on the data broker's site again, hence the importance of recurring removals.

Who is Hogo best for?

• Recommended for people seeking a fun and interactive way to maintain privacy online

Hogo is an data removal app with an approach is unlike most other services in this realm. It encourages you to personalize your privacy journey by selecting a Hogo Helper and uses casual language when reporting its findings.

The app awards coins each time you take action, like requesting your information be removed from a site or an increase in your credit score. If you gather up enough coins, you can unlock gift cards and items from the Hogo store.

The Premium membership allows for unlimited removals and comes with perks like up to $1 million in identity theft insurance for your household, credit monitoring, and financial account monitoring. 

Hogo Privacy Defense prices and subscriptions

Hogo offers a free version and premium subscription for $5.99/mo. The free service is limited to five removals a month, but Hogo Premium allows you unlimited data removals. 

Hogo Premium only offers a monthly plan, so there are no prolonged subscriptions for a lower price. However, its price is cheaper than the starting price of some data removal services without requirng a long-term commitment. 

• Optery: $3.99/mo
• Incogni: $7.49/mo (billed annually)
  
• DeleteMe: $6.53/mo (billed every two years) 
  

Hogo Privacy Defense security features

Hogo conducts privacy scans to keep your private information off suspicous websites. The app provides explanations and tips all throughout, making it an easy entry for anyone new to data removal services. 

Beyond its removal capabilities, Hogo also has a bunch of identity theft protection features like fraud insurance (even with the free plan), credit monitoring, financial account monitoring, and more. We just wish Hogo disclosed a list of the data broker and people-search sites it covers.

Types of data removed

Hogo alerts you to the type of information it finds on data broker sites, such as:

• Your full name
• Age
• Gender
• Current address
• Past addresses
• Full names of family members
• Phone numbers

Data brokers and people-search sites covered

• Number of sites covered: Undisclosed

Hogo doesn't share which data broker and people-search sites it covers. We scoured the website and the blog and even reached out to customer support but didn't receive a response after 24 hours. 

As far as how many removals you can request, it depends on your subscription. The free Hogo app only allows you to remove your data off five sites a month. But Hogo Premium lets you remove your data from as many websites as you want. 

Reports

Although you don't receive a formal report, Hogo scans for new information every 14 days and presents the results on the Privacy tab. If you ask Hogo to remove your information, the broker site appears at the bottom of the list and shows as pending or removed.

You can swipe left to delete your information from the site or swipe right to keep the information on the site. You can also let Hogo know if the listing found is not yours.

Hogo says it can take up to 45 days to get a response from a data broker. Some data brokers email to confirm your information was removed from their website.

ScamAssist helps you identify potential scams through email, text, social media, phone, or via the U.S. mail. A Hogo Premium subscription helps you resolve any damage through a partnership with Iris Generali if you find yourself targeted by scammers or hackers.

Alerts

Hogo makes sure you're on top of data removal. It sends real-time alerts when your personal information is found on a data broker or people-search site. It also sends reminders to get that data removed.

Recurring and custom removals

Hogo conducts privacy scans every 14 days, so you can remove any new listings once those results are ready. It's important for a data removal service to have recurring removals because your information could pop up on new sites or it could reappear on a site you've already scrubbed. 

Unfortunately we couldn't find anywhere to submit custom data removals. 

Bonus features

Hogo is much more than a data removal app; with a Premium subscription, you also get extensive identity theft protection features. 

Credit monitoring

If you subscribe to Hogo Premium, you can see your credit score, reports, and money summaries between the Privacy and Rewards tabs at the bottom of the app.

The Scores tab provides your current credit score and monitors changes over time. It also includes the Builder section, which offers ways to increase your credit by disputing negative items on their reports. 

Hogo also features a custom credit builder called Boost, which can help you raise your score over time.

Financial account monitoring

The Reports tab on the dashboard summarizes each type of credit account you have, including auto, mortgage, credit cards, and bills that may have gone to collections. You can also see if any public records are in your name or if there have been any recent credit inquiries you don’t recognize.

The Money tab comes with the Premium subscription and lets you see accounts with linked financial institutions, a summary of your assets and debt, and you can set up alerts for unusual activity.

While Hogo isn’t a personal finance app, seeing changes to your credit score or bank accounts, as well as public inquiries or negative items appearing on your credit report can help you catch identity thieves before they cause too much damage.

Identity theft insurance

Free Hogo account holders receive up to $25,000 in coverage for themselves (not family members). The policy includes a $0 deductible and assistance with lost wages, attorney fees due to ID fraud, and recovery expenses associated with a stolen ID, passport, or driver’s license, up to the policy limit.

Premium members unlock $1 million in coverage and can use the funds across their household. In addition to covering the expenses listed under the free account, Premium protection also covers childcare costs related to dealing with a stolen identity.

Does Hogo Privacy Defense keep your data safe?

Hogo uses standard encryption (AES-256), but doesn’t offer two-factor or multi-factor authentication. And while Hogo is a privacy-focused app, it collects personal data about you and your financial accounts.

Some of that is standard since the app needs your personal information to request data removal from broker sites. However, Hogo’s privacy policy states that it may share customer data with third parties and affiliates for marketing purposes.

Some of the information collected includes:

• Personal information such as name, address, email, and telephone number
• Financial information like bank and credit card account numbers, balances, payment history, and actions you take regarding your accounts
• Information specifically about you but that does not identify you personally
• Information you provide by filling in a form or interacting with the Hogo app

Hogo also collects automatic data such as:

• Usage details
• Device information
• Stored information and files, including metadata
• Location tracking
• Behavioral tracking
• Cookies
• Web beacons

Companies collecting personal data can make you more vulnerable to identity theft. If you sign up with Hogo, you can request that Hogo delete personal information its collected and you can opt out of receiving targeted advertising.

Hogo customer support

Hogo’s customer support is available through the app under the settings icon. You can contact customer support by emailing support@hogo.com, but no phone number is provided.

The Hogo website also provides a blog that discusses information about data brokers, data privacy and breaches, identity thefts, scams, and VPNs, among other topics. 

However, we couldn't find any how-to articles on the app or on the website. 

Top alternatives

If Hogo’s animations and gamification don’t sound like the right choice for you, there are other data removal and identity theft protection services to consider. Although these options can be more expensive, you may find the additional features, monitoring, or removal services worth it.

Starting price	From $8.06/mo (billed annually)	From $7.49/mo (billed annually)	From $9.00/mo (billed annually)
Max # of people covered	4	4	5
Data broker opt-out
# of site removals	750+	180+	30+
Privacy reports
Real-time alerts
Learn more	Get DeleteMe	Get Incogni	Get Aura

FAQs

Bottom line: Is Hogo Privacy Defense good?

Hogo makes protecting your private data a little more fun. Although you may find more features with a different service, finding the same features for only $5.99/mo might be a challenge. The game-like atmosphere and chance for rewards may win you over if you’re reluctant to sign up for a more formal option.

However, we wish it had additional security like multi-factor authentication and it didn't share data for marketing purposes.

If you need additional features, consider checking out the best data removal services to ensure your data is scrubbed off the internet efficiently. You can also see how Hogo compares to our top alternatives:

• Hogo Privacy Defense vs. DeleteMe
• Hogo Privacy Defense vs. Incogni

3.9

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

Learn More

On Hogo Privacy Defense's website

Privacy Protection

Hogo Privacy Defense

• Easy to use and set up
• Up to $25,000 in fraud insurance
• Shares data for marketing purposes

Author Details

Kate Daugherty

About the Author

Kate Daugherty, a Denver-based professional writer with a B.A. from the University of Colorado, specializes in personal finance, digital security, and personal privacy. Inspired by her own credit theft experience, Kate is passionate about helping people stay safe online. Through her engaging articles in Finance Buzz, Success Magazine, and the Family Money Adventure blog, she shares easy-to-follow tips for boosting online security and financial well-being.

Steph Trejos