Optery Review 2026: What Does Our Testing Reveal?

If you're going all in on data removal, you can't go wrong with Optery. It provides removals from 130-640+ sites depending on the plan you select. Plus, it offers a free plan with self-service removals.

We have some minor gripes, like its pay-for-privacy model that puts an extra paywall in front of half of the sites it covers. But if you're willing to get Extended Reach, Optery ranks among the best data removal services we've reviewed.

Learn about Optery's various plan options, features, our testing experience, and more in this review.

At a glance

Price	$3.25–$24.99/mo
Money-back guarantee	Yes — 30 days
# of people covered	1
# of site removals	130-640+
Recurring removals	Yes (monthly for paid plans)
Custom removal requests	Included for free with Optery Ultimate only
Privacy reports	Yes
Supported countries	United States
Extras	Automatic opt-out, custom removal requests
Learn more	Get Optery

Star rating summary

We last tested Optery on June 3, 2025.

Our experience

We had a positive experience with Optery, as everything about using the service was easy. Once we signed up for the service, we were immediately provided with a breakdown of what our plan included and next steps.

Setting up our account only required our email address, state/region, city, and birth year. All the other fields are optional.

To increase the amount of removals, Optery recommended we input our personal and work email addresses, zip code, LinkedIn URL, and more. Optery even lists the number of data brokers that it can target by providing that extra info.

We recommend adding as much supporting information as possible so that more records can be identified and removed. Although sharing your private information with a service might feel counterintuitive, data removal services work by collecting your details to accurately locate and remove them from other websites.

All Optery plans start by sending you an initial Exposure Report, which is populated with screenshots of websites where your private information is being exposed and sold. This initial scan takes at least an hour, and we received our email notification of the completed scan the next day.

Optery starts removing your listings within 24 hours but warns that it could take several weeks before these removals are complete.

It's not required, but we also enabled Expanded Reach, which prompted us to give Optery legal consent to contact 240 additional data brokers on our behalf. It makes sense to utilize this feature to get the most bang for your buck.

Once the scan is complete, the main dashboard provides a summary of how exposed you are, as well as the protection progress and status. These statistics are followed by a detailed list of websites, plan coverage, exposure risk, and screenshots.

We found the dashboard incredibly informative and reassuring as far as progress. We also like the clear visual display of contacted brokers and the breakdown of removal requests.

Even though the dashboard is user-friendly and clean, it was hard to understand exactly what was going on with our data. We had to navigate to Reports and download a PDF report of the initial Exposure Scan to get a clearer picture of what personal data was exposed.

We recommend taking a look at the actual report because it’s much easier to scroll through and see screenshots of your exposed records rather than clicking individually on each data broker.

Our only concern about our Optery experience is the choice of encryption. Although data at rest uses AES-256, data in transit uses TLS, which isn't as strong as AES.

Optery prices and plans

Optery has a free plan and three paid tiers for $3.25–$24.99/mo. You can select to pay annually for maximum savings, but one of the best features of this data removal service is its monthly subscription.

The major differences between the plans include how many site removals are included, if bots automate the removals only or if real agents are available to help with the removal process, and whether you get a removal report with before and after screenshots.

While Optery technically doesn't have a family plan, you can bundle several individual plans for a discounted price.

Plan	Free Basic	Core	Extended	Ultimate
Annual plan	Free	$3.25/mo	$12.42/mo	$20.70/mo
Monthly plan	Free	$3.99/mo	$14.99/mo	$24.99/mo
Family plan
Data broker opt-out	Manual	Manual and automated	Manual and automated	Manual and automated
# of site removals	None	365+	525+	130-640+
Privacy reports	Free Exposure Report Scan and recurring Exposure Reports quarterly	Initial Exposure Report and recurring Exposure Reports quarterly	Initial Exposure Report and Removals Report every 90 days (quarterly)	Initial Exposure Report and Removals Report every 90 days (quarterly)
Real-time alerts
Recurring removals
Custom removal requests	For additional fee	For additional fee	For additional fee
Learn more	View plan	View plan	View plan	View plan

As far as price, Optery has a wide range, so it beats most services on the lower end but is also more expensive on the higher end:

• Optery: $3.25–$24.99/mo
• HelloPrivacy: $8.33-$9.99/mo
• DeleteMe: $6.97–$34.40/mo
• Incogni: $7.99–$41.48/mo

That said, something like Incogni is more cost-effective, since all data brokers are covered on all tiers. This is rare for data removal services.

Optery features

Optery has all the features you'd expect from a data removal service: a large number of site removals, detailed reports, frequent recurring removals, and custom removal requests. We like that Optery provides Removal Reports with screenshots to prove where your data has been found and that it's been taken down.

The only drawbacks we noted were the feature limits for specific plans. For instance, the paid Optery Core plan doesn't provide Removal Reports, so you'll need to purchase a higher-tier plan.

Also, custom removal requests are limited to Ultimate plan subscribers. You can still get custom removals on other plans, but you have to pay extra, and scans apply  only to individuals. Incogni, for example, structures their plans much more clearly.

One of the perks of Optery Free Basic is that no credit card information is required to use it, though you still need to sign up for an account. You can get ongoing monitoring for free, with no credit card required. If you do invest in a paid plan, you have access to a 30-day money-back guarantee.

What data does Optery protect?

Optery offers services to help you remove your personally identifiable information from the internet. Data it can help delete includes:

• Name
• Birthdate
• Current and past home addresses
• Alternate names
• Phone number
• Email address
• Names of relatives (not guaranteed)

Data brokers and people-search sites covered

• 130-640+ sites

Optery has three paid tiers that offer different numbers of removals. Here's the breakdown:

• Core: Removals from 370+ sites (or 130+ sites without enabling Expanded Reach)
• Extended: Removals from 545+ sites (or 305+ sites without enabling Expanded Reach)
• Ultimate: Removals from 640+ sites (or 400+ sites without enabling Expanded Reach)

Note that the Core plan can only remove one name, city, and state from its removals. So if you have any name variations or cities and states from past addresses, those won't be covered under Optery Core. Other services, namely Incogni, don't make restrictions like this.

You can also activate Expanded Reach with all the paid plans. This allows Optery to make deletion requests to even more data brokers that don't meet Optery's removal verification process.

To activate this feature, you must sign the Limited Power of Attorney form.

Reports

Optery provides two types of reports: Exposure Reports and Removal Reports. Exposure Reports are sent to all accounts when you first sign up, but only to Free Basic accounts on a quarterly basis afterward.

For Extended and Ultimate users, Optery submits Removal Reports quarterly. These reports include screenshots where your information was listed on a data broker site as well as screenshots after Optery has taken down this information.

We received our Exposure Report within 24 hours of signing up for Optery. It told us how many data brokers were scanned and how many profiles it was able to match with our information.

The 44-page report also included screenshots of data broker websites with the matched profile information.

For Optery Free users, this information could be overwhelming, but Optery at least provides opt-out guides.

You can see these reports within the dashboard, but Optery will also email you to let you know when your reports are ready.

Recurring and custom removal

All premium Optery plans include automated scans and removals every 30 days (monthly). The Core plan offers a "bots only" approach, whereas the Extended and Ultimate plans provide a "humans + machine" approach. This means that bots initiate the scans and removal requests, but live QA agents are available to assist with special circumstances.

Unfortunately, custom removals are only included with the Ultimate plan. There are tons of data brokers out there, so it would be handy to include this with all paid plans. Also, the removal process only starts 30 days after purchase, whereas an option like Incogni gives you unlimited free custom removals immediately.

You can initiate custom removals for other plans, including the free account, but you must pay an additional fee for each scan. Plus, scans are limited to individuals, so even if you have a family plan, you'd have to pay for each custom scan per user if desired.

Does Optery keep your data safe?

Before sharing your data, you should consider the organization's privacy policy and how it plans to protect your data.

According to Optery, it doesn't sell your information to third-party vendors. It also enacts several security measures like access control (ensuring employees receive only minimal access to data to complete their jobs), employee and contractor confidentiality agreements, and multi-factor authentication with authenticator apps.

The company's privacy policy contains a "plain language" section before it dives into the full legal document. This makes it easy to identify key points.

Optery’s only real red flag is its encryption. Data at rest is securely protected by AES-256 encryption, which is an industry-standard protocol. 

However, when data is in transit (moving from one location to another), it uses only TLS encryption. It's not the highest encryption standard, so it may not be the ideal choice.

Optery customer support

Support type	Optery
Email or live chat	Yes — support@optery.com
Phone
Online guides or forums

Optery has a live chat, guides on how to remove your information from data broker sites, and a help desk for FAQs. The guides and help desk were easy to read and were helpful in learning how to use Optery and how to opt out of data broker sites.

We contacted support via live chat to get some clarity on the Ultimate plan. After we asked for clarification on exactly how many site removals each plan includes (since the number of data brokers varied depending on where you looked), we were prompted to confirm our email address and subscription tier.

We were then met with automated responses and encouraged to check out online guides (which did not apply to our very specific question at all). The chatbot (not a live agent as marketed) listed the response time as one to three days, even though the website claims the "live" chat can offer a response within one to two hours.

We received an email response within a few hours, but the support agent failed to address our question. Instead, we received the same automated prompt to review unrelated online guides.

Optery user reviews

• Apple App Store rating: 3.9
• Google Play Store rating: 3.6
• Trustpilot rating: 4.4

Optery's most recent reviews on the mobile app stores are negative, despite solid ratings. On the Apple App Store, reviewers mention little change after several months of using the app and inaccurate results. On the Google Play Store, some reviewers say the app is great, while others haven’t noticed much change, even with the higher-tier plans.

On Trustpilot, Optery has a great reputation, with 80% of reviewers giving the service five stars. Reviews focus on how friendly and helpful Optery's customer support is, as well as how effective the service is at reducing their online footprint. 

Top alternatives

Optery is only one data removal service that we recommend, but there are lots of options available. If you're not fully sold on this service, you should check out our top-tested recommended alternatives:

Bottom line: Is Optery good?

We love Optery's ease of use, detailed reports, and extensive plan options. And unlike many other services, it offers a free plan that provides reports of your personal information on data broker sites, along with guides for manual removal.

If you decide to use the paid subscription, you can receive the Removals Report, which includes screenshots of Optery's work before and after.

However, there are some drawbacks to using Optery. Its removal abilities are limited depending on your selected plan. And while it does use AES-256-bit encryption for data in storage, it uses TLS encryption for data in transit. TLS encryption isn't the strongest choice, so it does raise a red flag on the security of your data.

Overall, Optery may be a good data removal service for people who want to utilize the free plan to find their information on data broker sites. If you’re not interested in DIY removal, you can opt for a monthly subscription to access more extensive features like automated removals.

See how Optery compares to our recommended alternatives:

• Optery vs. DeleteMe
• Optery vs. Incogni

FAQs