IDX data removal service review
IDX is among the best identity theft protection and data removal services on the market in 2024, and there is some stiff competition.
In operation since 2003, IDX has a strong brand that's trusted by many big companies and individuals, all of whom want to avoid their data ending up in the hands of data brokers or other entities.
Of course, finding a data removal service is only one part of the privacy-forward thinking required to be online citizens in the present day. We also recommend checking out the best password manager, antivirus, and a VPN, to cover all bases. Some services even bundle these features together, so watch out for that.
Everything about IDX is professional, and that's one of the things we liked most. "We employ leading encryption and security technologies to ensure that every interaction you have with us is secure," the company says. "Our U.S.-based team of experts and recovery advocates undergoes extensive training and is FCRA and HIPAA certified to ensure optimal security."
As with making choices about products and services both on- and offline, we recommend checking out rival data removal services, including DeleteMe, Mozilla Monitor Plus, Kanary, and Privacy Bee, to make sure you're getting everything you want, and for the right price.
According to IDX, its service has been used by 40 million people across the world, plus Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, which helps add credibility to the company. IDX also says it will never sell user data.
Let's get into our IDX data removal service review.
IDX: Pricing and plans
Like all of the data removal services we've reviewed, IDX splits its subscription tiers between monthly and annual payments, with the latter netting a nice discount across the tiers.
IDX Identity costs $9.95 per month, or $8.96 per month when billed annually, and offers all of the most basic features, like Password Detective, that we'll get into in more detail below.
Next up, IDX Privacy will set you back $12.95 per month, or $11.66 per month on the annual plan, and add a lot more features to the mix, like data removal and a password manager. It's probably the best tier for most people.
Finally, the big one: IDX Complete is, as the name suggests, the top tier, costing $32.90 per month, or $29.61 per month when billed annually, and effectively has everything, including a credit lock feature.
IDX helpfully offers individual plans alongside a family plan, covering two adults and up to five minors. The prices do jump quite a bit, but it's worth checking out if you want to protect multiple people.
If you're looking to sign up for a company or organization, get in touch with IDX.
IDX: Basic features
From the outset, it's worth noting that the IDX Identity plan – ie, the cheapest plan – is very bare bones, and focuses mostly on monitoring the web, rather than removing content. The monitoring features are, of course, powerful and cover the dark web, court records, payday loan records, and so on.
IDX Privacy is a similar deal to Identity in that it's focused mostly on privacy protection rather than monitoring of the web itself, so you get data removal, a password manager, a private search, and a privacy score. All of these are high-quality services we set up and used easily.
IDX Complete has it all, and then some. The package unsurprisingly comes with everything mentioned above, plus a few exclusive features: a VantageScore 3.0 Credit Score, Instant Inquiry Alerts, and Credit Lock by TransUnion. It's worth doing some research to see if this tier is worth the extra cash.
While the Privacy and Identity offerings both have their own specific focuses, and the Complete package is fairly expensive if your needs are towards one way or the other – if you want to help boost your online privacy or monitor your online identity – then IDX has complete and well-featured offerings.
In terms of the actual process of data removal, IDX employs both its proprietary ForgetMe software to carry out automated data removals and also employs a team of US-based experts to help with trickier cases and to generally make sure that things are running normally, which is par for the course for most removal services.
Overall, we were impressed with IDX's service and how quickly and comprehensively the myriad tasks that the bundles offer are carried out. As a nice gesture, IDX also offers a "100% identity recovery guarantee" or your money back if the service doesn't work as intended.
IDX: Advanced features
The IDX website lays out in some detail the sheer power of the software suite, which handles pretty much everything in not only the data removal business but also in password management, credit monitoring, ID theft insurance, and alerts.
The company breaks it down into four sections. Prevent deals with passwords, web scanning, ad-free browsing, and credit locks; Monitor covers SSN, payday loans, social media, and overall finances; Recover helps, well, recover your identity should the worst happen; and Understand is all about knowledge to avoid bad scenarios.
In particular, CyberScan is a really helpful feature to monitor criminal websites, chat rooms, and bulletin boards for illegal selling or trading of personal information, which is then alerted to the user.
A lot of data removal services are good at simply removing the data, but the monitoring side of things is an area where IDX sets itself apart well.
Finally, something we really appreciated was up to $1 million of ID theft insurance reimbursements, covering "certain expenses that you may incur in responding to an ID theft event". A nice touch.
IDX: Support
Like its rivals, IDX publishes a lot of useful information via its Knowledge Center, including on how to use the service but also the best ways to protect yourself online from hacks, how to create strong passwords, and the latest online scams.
There are also really useful product tutorials, to help get the most out of IDX's suite and find some of the more obscure features.
For any really tough problems, IDX also has a responsive online support portal, with an extensive list of FAQs and the ability to message IDX about a topic.
IDX: The competition
The data removal market is really healthy, and a lot of the offerings from different companies have their own strengths and weaknesses that might suit your specific needs, such as social media removals.
Mozilla Monitor Plus, from the company behind Firefox, is a good example of a data removal service backed by a well-known privacy-first brand that's unlikely to fold or disappear one fine day. DeleteMe, around since 2011, has a similar solid appearance.
Depending on your specific wants, it's worth checking out the two mentioned above but also Kanary, Privacy Bee, and Surfshark Incogni. It's hard to say which will be the best for you (and/or your organization), so check out the features lists of each.
IDX: Final verdict
While IDX is definitely one of the most expensive offerings on the market, the services delivered are of a good standard and will help keep your data out of the hands of data brokers and other third parties.
It's something of a shame that the Identity and Privacy plans, which cost a lot less than Complete, are so specific in offering only features for those respective needs, or that there isn't a middle ground. But, either way, IDX does the job.
We had no problems setting up the software, running scans, and everything else you might want to do, and there is a fine level of support should something go wrong.
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