Norton LifeLock Review 2024: Useful Features and Apps

Norton LifeLock identity theft protection is easy to use and provides loads of helpful features, including highly-rated apps, financial monitoring, and up to three bureau-credit monitoring.
4.9
Editorial Rating
Learn More
On LifeLock's website

LifeLock
Up to 52% off first year when paid annually
  • Top-rated identity theft protection service
  • Provides up to $3 million in coverage
  • Multiple monitoring features including dark web, home title, and social media monitoring
  • Customer support experience is lacking
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We recommend Norton LifeLock as an above-average identity theft protection service. It’s affordable (starting from about $8.29/mo for first yr ), provides up to $3 million in coverage, and offers loads of different monitoring options.

We think it’s worth going for the Ultimate Plus plan (LifeLocks’s most extensive plan) for additional protection, including three-bureau credit monitoring, reports, and scores. Our primary drawback with LifeLock was our lackluster customer service experience.

Let’s explore our Norton LifeLock identity theft protection review and see if it’s the right fit for you.

4.9
Editorial Rating
Learn More
On LifeLock's website
LifeLock
Up to 52% off first year when paid annually
  • Top-rated identity theft protection service
  • Provides up to $3 million in coverage
  • Multiple monitoring features including dark web, home title, and social media monitoring
  • Customer support experience is lacking

In this article
Norton LifeLock review at a glance
What does Norton LifeLock protect against?
Norton LifeLock prices and subscriptions
Norton LifeLock identity theft protection features
Our experience with Norton LifeLock identity theft protection
Does Norton LifeLock keep your data safe?
Norton LifeLock compatibility
Norton LifeLock customer support
Norton LifeLock alternatives
Norton LifeLock FAQs
Bottom line: Is Norton LifeLock worthwhile?

Norton LifeLock review at a glance

Price $8.29–$40.99/mo for first yr
Identity theft insurance Up to $3 million
Credit monitoring Yes 
Credit reports Yes — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
Credit score Yes
Identity recovery Yes
Dark web alerts Yes
Social media account alerts Yes
Home title monitoring Yes
Details Get LifeLock

All About Cookies Rating
4.9
Editorial Rating
"We think Norton LifeLock provides an above-average identity protection service based on our testing and research. The Ultimate Plus plan easily provides the best monitoring solutions of their available options because you get three-bureau monitoring and up to $3 million in coverage."

"We also found that LifeLock is generally affordable when compared to other popular providers, especially if you choose an annual plan. But we wish the customer service reps were more knowledgeable."

Norton LifeLock offers three different subscription plans – Standard, Advantage, and Ultimate Plus. You can receive up to $1.05 million in coverage with LifeLock Standard, up to $1.2 million in coverage with LifeLock Advantage, and up to $3 million in coverage with LifeLock Ultimate Plus.

LifeLock’s primary services include credit monitoring, dark web monitoring, and suspicious activity alerts for your identity and Social Security number (SSN). You can also take advantage of U.S.-based identity restoration specialists if you’re dealing with an identity theft situation.

The more expensive LifeLock plans also include options like credit reports and credit scores, financial account monitoring, and a TransUnion credit lock.

Whether ID theft protection is worth it for you and your family depends on what you’re looking for. LifeLock pricing is competitive and it provides plenty of useful features in each of its plans. However, its prices increase after the first year, which is something to consider if you plan to subscribe to LifeLock long term. 

We think Norton LifeLock makes a lot of sense if you want a service to help monitor your personal information and protect against identity theft. It can monitor all three credit bureaus with its Ultimate Plus plan and has a few unique features, including home title monitoring and crime alerts related to your name.

Norton LifeLock pros and cons

Pros
  • Provides up to $3 million in coverage
  • Offers financial, identity, credit, dark web, home title, data breach, and social media monitoring
  • Has highly-rated mobile apps
Cons
  • Only the Ultimate Plus plan monitors all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion)
  • Customer support experience is lacking

What does Norton LifeLock protect against?

Norton LifeLock helps protect you against these identity theft situations:

  • Identity theft: To help prevent identity theft losses and protect you from identity threats, LifeLock monitors things like your credit, personal data related to your identity, your SSN, USPS address changes, the dark web, and data breaches.
  • Child identity theft: In addition to helping protect your identity, LifeLock also helps prevent child identity theft through its family plans, which include identity theft insurance coverage for children and guided child freeze. 
  • Fraudulent activity: LifeLock monitors different types of financial accounts, such as credit cards and bank accounts, to help prevent financial fraud. If you opt for the Ultimate Plus plan, LifeLock also alerts you to any suspicious activity involved with linked 401(k) and investment accounts.
  • Phone takeovers: You receive alerts about suspicious activity with your phone number, including if identity thieves use your number to try and access your personal information.
  • Home title theft: You can receive alerts from LifeLock related to your home title with an Ultimate Plus plan.
  • Social media takeovers: With Ultimate Plus, LifeLock monitors your social media accounts and alerts you if it detects inappropriate content or suspicious activity from hackers.

Norton LifeLock prices and subscriptions

Norton LifeLock costs between $8.29–$40.99/mo for first yr, depending on which individual plan you choose. Note that paying annually costs less per month compared to paying monthly. For example, the first year of a LifeLock Standard plan costs $89.99, which is $8.29/mo for first yr. By comparison, paying for the Standard plan on a month-to-month basis costs $11.99/mo.

However, annual renewal prices (the price to renew after the first year) are higher than the first-year price. To renew a LifeLock Standard annual plan after the first year costs $124.99, which is about $10.40/mo. So it’s still cheaper overall to go with an annual plan if you know you want the subscription to last at least a year.

Norton LifeLock prices are comparable to plans from other identity theft protection providers. Here are some pricing examples from a few popular competitors.

Keep in mind that you might be able to find cheaper monthly rates for the above services, too, if you choose to pay by the year.

Norton LifeLock typically provides 60-day money-back guarantees for annual memberships and 14-day money-back guarantees for monthly memberships. Annual membership renewals can also qualify for the 60-day money-back guarantee.

Norton LifeLock individual plans comparison

Plan LifeLock Standard Individual LifeLock Advantage Individual LifeLock Ultimate Plus Individual
Paid annually $8.29/mo for first yr $15.99/mo for first yr $24.99/mo for first yr
Paid monthly $11.99/mo for first yr $22.99/mo for first yr $34.99/mo for first yr
Who’s covered 1 adult 1 adult 1 adult
Identity theft insurance Up to $1.05 million Up to $1.2 million Up to $3 million
Credit monitoring Yes — Equifax Yes — Equifax Yes — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
SSN alerts
Identity alerts
USPS address change alerts
Dark web monitoring
Credit lock Yes — TransUnion Yes — TransUnion
Credit reports Yes — Equifax Yes — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
Credit score
Financial account alerts
Phone takeover monitoring
Social media monitoring
Home title monitoring
Details View Plan View Plan View Plan

Alternatively, you could opt to pair Norton antivirus software with LifeLock for more comprehensive set of protections. While the pricing isn't much different for Norton 360 with LifeLock Select and similar bundles, you'll get access to antivirus, a virtual private network (VPN), a password manager, parental controls, and additional cybersecurity features.

Norton LifeLock family plans

Norton also provides family plans for LifeLock, which offer all the same features. You still have the option of Standard, Advantage, or Ultimate Plus plans, but you can choose to buy them for two adults or two adults and up to five children.

The monthly price for a family plan with two adults ranges from about $13 to $40 per month at the time of writing. For plans with two adults and up to five children, it ranges from about $19 to $47 per month at the time of writing.

Similar to the individual plans, you can lower your overall monthly price by paying for your subscription by the year. Keep in mind that the first year is typically cheaper; you will probably have to renew at a higher price.

Norton LifeLock family plans comparison

Plan LifeLock Standard for Family with Kids
(2 adults + 5 kids)
LifeLock Advantage for Family with Kids
(2 adults + 5 kids)
LifeLock Ultimate Plus for Family with Kids
(2 adults + 5 kids)
Paid annually $18.99/mo for first yr $30.99/mo for first yr$40.99/mo for first yr
Paid monthly $38.99/mo for first yr $59.99/mo for first yr $81.99/mo for first yr
Details View Plan View Plan View Plan

Norton LifeLock identity theft protection features

Norton LifeLock provides plenty of useful features, especially if you opt for one of its higher-priced plans. This includes general credit monitoring of up to three credit bureaus, but you can also monitor financial transactions, social media accounts, dark web activity, and others.

We like that you can customize the different categories of information you want to monitor by simply adding and editing the information straight from your account. For example, your name, SSN, and date of birth are automatically monitored. But you can also monitor your email, address, phone number, driver’s license, credit cards, bank accounts, and more.

Norton LifeLock monitors your name, Social Security number, date of birth, email, address, phone number, driver’s license, credit cards, bank accounts, and more.

We didn’t find many issues with our experience using the different LifeLock features. It did take a few days for TransUnion and Experian data to populate on the plan that includes information from all three credit bureaus, but our Equifax credit report and credit score information were available almost immediately.

Credit monitoring

Norton LifeLock primarily uses Equifax for its credit monitoring services, so that’s the only bureau you’ll have access to on the LifeLock Standard and Advantage Plans. The Ultimate Plus plan monitors Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

LifeLock uses credit monitoring to alert you if any new credit inquiries are made in your name, and you can see a list of inquiries straight from the Credit Services tab on the dashboard. If you don’t recognize an inquiry, you can dispute it by selecting “Report an Inaccuracy.”

LifeLock uses credit monitoring to alert you if any new credit inquiries are made in your name, and you can see a list of inquiries straight from the Credit Services tab on the dashboard.

Note that you don’t necessarily need to use a paid identity theft protection service to monitor credit inquiries. Many credit card issuers (and other companies) provide free monitoring services for new credit inquiries. For example, we’ve received free alerts from Discover, Chase, Capital One, and Experian for new inquiries or changes to our credit reports.

But it could still be worth using a paid credit monitoring service like Norton LifeLock because it could help you recover more quickly from different identity theft situations.

You may not want to receive an alert that shows you are possibly a victim of identity theft, but if the costs start piling up because your identity has been stolen, you’ll likely be grateful for up to $1.05 to $3 million in coverage from LifeLock. And having a dedicated agent to help restore your identity is an added bonus for peace of mind.

Up to $3 million in coverage on the Ultimate Plus plan includes the following:

  • Up to $1 million for lawyers and experts
  • Up to $1 million in stolen funds reimbursement
  • Up to $1 million for personal expense compensation

You can see any active restoration cases directly from your dashboard.

You can see any active restoration cases directly from your LifeLock dashboard.

Transaction monitoring

Depending on your LifeLock plan, you can receive extensive financial transaction monitoring.

Depending on your LifeLock plan, you can receive extensive financial transaction monitoring.

The types of financial transactions you can monitor include the following:

  • Credit cards
  • Checking accounts
  • Savings accounts
  • Investment accounts
  • 401(k) accounts

You can set up transaction alert preferences in your account settings for:

  • Cash withdrawals
  • Purchases
  • Transfers

You can set up transaction alert preferences in your account settings for cash withdrawals, purchases, and transfers.

The process for setting up financial account monitoring is fairly straightforward. You simply have to select an available financial institution, verify your credentials, and start monitoring. You can do all of this directly from the “Transactions” tab on your dashboard.

LifeLock's process for setting up financial account monitoring is fairly straightforward. You simply have to select an available financial institution, verify your credentials, and start monitoring.

Credit reports and credit scores

It’s important to keep an eye on your credit reports and credit scores to make sure no unwanted changes are happening to your credit or personal information. It’s nice to monitor changes with one credit bureau, but it’s best to use the three major credit bureaus because lenders tend to report information differently.

For example, some lenders might report your credit information to all three credit bureaus, while other lenders only report information to one or two. This could result in different information between your three credit reports, which is why it’s important to check each report for any errors.

You can typically find free access to your credit reports and credit scores using different types of services that are available online. For instance, you can receive a free copy of your credit report from each of the credit bureaus every 12 months through AnnualCreditReport.com.

But you might prefer using a service like Norton LifeLock to have more consistent access to credit reports and scores. On the Ultimate Plus plan, you can access credit reports and scores from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

You get unlimited access to your Equifax credit report and score, meaning you can check your report on a daily basis rather than once per year. Access to other credit reports is still limited to an annual check.

We saw our Equifax credit score and credit report information almost immediately after signing up for the Ultimate Plus plan.

We saw our Equifax credit score and credit report information almost immediately after signing up for the LifeLock Ultimate Plus plan.

We couldn’t see any information about our Experian or TransUnion credit reports or scores directly after signing up. That was expected, though, because we read about it on the LifeLock plans page. The terms state, “Any credit monitoring from Experian and TransUnion will take several days to begin after your successful plan enrollment.”

We couldn’t see any information about our Experian or TransUnion credit reports or scores directly after signing up since those take longer to process.

So don’t be surprised if you initially see blank spaces for your TransUnion and Experian information in the Credit Services tab.

Norton LifeLock displays your credit score using the VantageScore scoring model. With this model, credit scores range from 300 to 850, with higher numbers indicating better scores. You typically need a credit score of at least 661 to qualify for top credit products, but having an excellent score of 781 or higher is even more preferred.

Alerts

Monitoring services provide alerts to help you act quickly when keeping your identity protected. Norton LifeLock provides these types of alerts (availability may depend on your specific plan):

  • Credit monitoring: Monitors and alerts you to credit inquiries or changes to your credit report(s).
  • Identity monitoring: Monitors for any suspicious activity regarding your personal information, such as your name and SSN.
  • Dark web monitoring: Monitors the dark web for any leaked or potentially leaked personal information, which could include data breaches of companies or websites where you have information stored.
  • Transaction monitoring: Monitors for any suspicious activity related to linked financial accounts.
  • Address change monitoring: Monitors for any USPS address changes.
  • Social media monitoring: Monitors your linked social media accounts for any suspicious activity that might indicate an account takeover. Also monitors for inappropriate content.
  • Phone takeover monitoring: Monitors for any suspicious activity regarding your phone number.
  • Home title monitoring: Monitors for any suspicious activity with your home title.
  • Sex offender registry monitoring: Monitors sex offender registry reports for any activity regarding your name or personal information.

The LifeLock Ultimate Plus plan provides home title monitoring that sends a notification if there is an ownership (or other) change on your home title so you can take appropriate action if needed. Note that this feature is for notification purposes only and doesn’t qualify for remediation services or stolen identity event insurance.

Our experience with Norton LifeLock identity theft protection

We had no issues setting up and using the Norton LifeLock identity theft protection service. There’s nothing to install on a desktop computer; you can access your dashboard after logging in to your account on the LifeLock website.

You can access your dashboard after logging in to your account on the LifeLock website.

LifeLock monitoring dashboard

The dashboard itself is simple to use and navigate, and we could easily see if there were any new alerts and click on those if we wanted more information.

LifeLock's dashboard itself is simple to use and navigate, and we could easily see if there were any new alerts and click on those if we wanted more information.

Overall, we had a good experience with Norton LifeLock, including installing and using the iOS app on our iPhone.

Our only real area of concern was our experience with the LifeLock customer support team. We chatted with a few different representatives using the live chat feature, and we called the main line and talked with someone there too.

In general, the representatives didn’t seem to be very knowledgeable about the different options, as many of the things they said were different from what we could see directly on the LifeLock website. You might have a different experience depending on who you talk with, but that’s how it was for us.

Does Norton LifeLock keep your data safe?

Norton LifeLock logs any data that you give it, which could be a lot since it is a service that provides identity theft protection. LifeLock can’t monitor something if it doesn’t have enough information, so the more information it has, the better.

When signing up for Norton LifeLock, you have to provide your name, email address, phone number, birth date, and SSN. Depending on what you want monitored, you might have to connect bank accounts, social media accounts, investment accounts, and as well as others.

Fortunately, only LifeLock appears to use your personal information to provide you with its services. According to its privacy policy, Norton doesn’t sell your personal information.

Note, however, that Norton LifeLock might have to share your information with some of its partners for certain features to work correctly. This is common for identity theft protection services, as they sometimes use other providers for specific purposes.

For example, we were notified that “Envestnet Yodlee” would need access to our data to help monitor certain financial transactions.

LifeLock notified us that “Envestnet Yodlee” would need access to our data to help monitor certain financial transactions.

LifeLock also shares personal data for marketing and other purposes, which we weren't as pleased about. You do have the right to opt-out of sharing your personal data for adversting by selecting the privacy settings link in the Norton footer. 

Note also that LifeLock offers two-factor authentication (2FA) as an option in your account settings; it’s not turned on by default. It’s easy to set up and provides an added layer of security, which we like.

LifeLock offers two-factor authentication (2FA) as an option in your account settings but it's not turned on by default.
LifeLock's two-factor authentication feature

We also like that you can set up a verbal passcode in your account settings as a way for Norton LifeLock agents to identify who you are.

We also like that you can set up a verbal passcode in your account settings as a way for Norton LifeLock agents to identify who you are.

LifeLock by Norton was known as just “LifeLock” until it was acquired by Symantec, the owners of Norton, in 2017. Symantec became “Norton LifeLock.” Now Norton LifeLock is “Gen Digital,” or “Gen,” an umbrella of digital security services that includes Norton, Avast, Avira, AVG, and others.

Norton LifeLock compatibility

You can access your Norton LifeLock account by using a web browser on any compatible device, such as a computer or tablet. Or you can use the LifeLock Identity by Norton app on your compatible smartphone.

The LifeLock Identity Android app has an excellent 4.6 out of 5 rating on the Google Play Store, while the LifeLock Identity iOS app has a 4.8 out of 5 rating on the Apple App Store.

Previously, the iOS app was rated slightly lower than the Android app, so we took it for a test run. We found it was easy to set up and log in, and it had a clean, intuitive interface. We didn’t notice anything too different from using Norton LifeLock on the app versus a web browser other than the screen size.

We found the LifeLock iOS app was easy to set up and log in, and it had a clean, intuitive interface.

Norton LifeLock customer support

Norton provides multiple customer support options.

We typically prefer using live chat features to talk to customer service representatives, as they’re often a quick and easy way to get answers to our questions. Unfortunately, our experience with the Norton live chat left a lot to be desired.

We wanted to ask which credit bureau the LifeLock Standard and LifeLock Advantage plans monitor since they only provide credit monitoring for one bureau. The representative started copying random information about the plans in the chat, and the information had nothing to do with our question.

Eventually, they told us the LifeLock Advantage plan provides monitoring for both the Equifax and TransUnion bureaus, which is wrong (it’s only Equifax, according to the website). The rep then ended the chat.

We opened another chat and got the same representative. They then changed their answer to Equifax being the one bureau that the two lower-priced LifeLock plans monitor. That’s correct, but our frustrating experience didn’t exactly inspire confidence.

Our experience with LifeLock customer service was less than ideal — the reps didn't seem to be knowledgeable about the plan features.

It might make more sense to get as much information as you can from the website itself, using the help center and the online forums, rather than depending on Norton live chat reps.

Norton LifeLock alternatives

There are a lot of strengths to LifeLock, but it's not the only option on the market. We've compiled a list of alternatives with budget-friendly plans, extensive features, great customer support, and more to consider if you're still on the fence:

  • Aura: Aura makes selecting identity theft protection easy since all of its plans offer the same features. Beyond identity theft protection, it also comes with an antivirus program, a VPN, a password manager, and more cybersecurity tools. 

    Get Aura | Read Our Aura Review

  • Identity Guard: If you need an affordable provider, then Identity Guard is a great option. Its Value plan starts at $7.50/mo and includes up to $1 million in identity theft insurance, dark web monitoring, data breach notifications, and high-risk transaction monitoring.

    Get Identity Guard | Read Our Identity Guard Review

  • IDShield: IDShield also includes full ID protection features on all of its plans, all you need to do is select how many bureaus you need for credit monitoring. We love that it comes with NordVPN and NordPass, two of the best products in their respective fields. 

    Get IDShield | Read Our IDShield Review

Norton LifeLock FAQs


+

Is LifeLock really worth it?

LifeLock's Ultimate Plus plan may be worth it if you are looking for the most extensive monitoring and protection against identity theft, home title theft, and other forms of fraud. Other plans might not be as beneficial because you only get one-bureau credit monitoring and fewer monitoring features overall.


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What is the difference between LifeLock and Norton LifeLock?

They’re the same thing. LifeLock used to be its own company but was acquired by Symantec in 2017, and its name was changed. You can still purchase LifeLock as a standalone product for identity theft protection, or you can include it with your purchase of other Norton products like the Norton 360 cybersecurity suite.


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What is the downside of LifeLock?

LifeLock Standard and LifeLock Advantage, the lower-priced LifeLock plans, only include credit monitoring with one credit bureau. You must purchase the more expensive LifeLock Ultimate Plus plan if you want credit monitoring with all three major credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.


+

Is there a LifeLock for kids?

LifeLock Junior is available for children under 18, starting at about $6 per month for the first year. LifeLock members can add a LifeLock Junior membership to an existing adult membership. You can also purchase a family plan that includes two adults and up to five children. These plans start at LifeLock Standard for Family with Kids.


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How much does LifeLock really cost?

LifeLock costs range from $8.29–$40.99/mo for first yr depending on which tier plan you opt for and how many people you wish to cover with your plan. Note that these prices increase after the first year. 

Bottom line: Is Norton LifeLock worthwhile?

We think Norton LifeLock provides an above-average identity protection service based on our testing and research. The Ultimate Plus plan easily provides the best monitoring solutions of their available options because you get three-bureau monitoring and up to $3 million in coverage.

We also found that LifeLock is generally affordable when compared to other popular providers, especially if you choose an annual plan. We didn’t love our customer service interactions, however, and wished the representatives could at least be more knowledgeable about the different LifeLock options. 

If you're not sure LifeLock is the right service for you, take a look at our guide to the best identity theft protection companies for alternatives.

4.9
Editorial Rating
Learn More
On LifeLock's website
LifeLock
Up to 52% off first year when paid annually
  • Top-rated identity theft protection service
  • Provides up to $3 million in coverage
  • Multiple monitoring features including dark web, home title, and social media monitoring
  • Customer support experience is lacking
Author Details
Ben Walker is a writer at All About Cookies 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.