Is Incogni a good choice for a data removal service in 2026? This expert review certainly thinks so
Personal data is constantly at risk, and bought, sold, and traded by data brokers faster than most people realize. As privacy concerns reach new heights, data removal services have become essential tools for managing one’s digital identity.
Incogni, developed by Surfshark (a major name in VPN and cybersecurity solutions), and now operates as a standalone product. Incogni automates the process of removing your personal information from hundreds of data broker sites. Instead of sending deletion requests manually, a task that could take hundreds of hours, Incogni does it for you, tracking progress and maintaining removals over time.
If you’re serious about data privacy and want a stress-free way to minimize your online footprint, Incogni is one of the best data removal services of 2026.
Incogni: Plans and pricing
Incogni’s pricing is structured around individual and family plans, with clear differences between Standard and Unlimited tiers. For individual users, the Standard plan can be billed monthly at about $15.98, or annually at $95.88, which works out to roughly $7.99 per month and offers the best value if you plan to commit long term. This plan includes automated data removal from a large network of data brokers, regular progress tracking, and access to the main dashboard features.
For users who want more control over specific sites, the Individual Unlimited plan is available as an annual subscription at approximately $179.88 per year, or about $14.99 per month at effective pricing. The main advantage of this tier is the inclusion of custom removal requests, which lets Incogni pursue takedowns from sites that are not already in its standard broker database, making it better suited for people with a larger or more complicated online footprint.
Families can opt for the Family Standard plan, which covers up to five people under a single subscription and is billed annually at around $191.88, or about $15.99 per month when averaged over the year. This plan essentially extends the benefits of the individual Standard tier to multiple household members at a lower per-person cost. For the most comprehensive option, the Family Unlimited plan costs about $275.88 per year (roughly $22.99 per month effective) and adds custom removal capabilities for every account member, along with priority support for more complex removal needs.
Across all tiers, Incogni typically includes a 30-day money-back guarantee, giving new users a risk-free window to test how effective the service is for their situation. The service can also be purchased as part of the Surfshark One+ bundle, which combines Incogni with Surfshark’s VPN and other cybersecurity tools; this bundle can sometimes reduce your overall spend compared to buying each product separately, making it appealing if you are building a broader privacy and security stack.
Incogni: Features
Incogni centers its service on automated, law-backed data removal from a large and growing network of data brokers. It leverages major privacy regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and similar frameworks in supported regions, to compel brokers to delete your personal information rather than merely suppress it.
Once you subscribe and authorize Incogni to act on your behalf, the platform immediately begins sending opt-out and deletion requests to over 420 broker sites, covering both public people-search finder sites and non-public marketing, recruitment, and risk-assessment databases.
The service is designed to be as hands-off as possible. After the initial wave of requests goes out, Incogni tracks responses, flags which brokers have confirmed removals, and keeps resending requests where necessary so your data does not quietly reappear months later.
Users receive weekly progress updates that summarize how many requests were sent, how many are still pending, and how many have been completed, which makes it easy to see tangible results without digging into technical details.
The dashboard also shows which types of information each broker is likely to hold—such as contact details, demographic data, or behavioral profiles—so you have a clearer picture of exactly what is being removed.
On higher-tier Unlimited plans, Incogni adds custom data removal, allowing you to submit specific URLs or sites that fall outside the standard broker list and have Incogni’s privacy team pursue those removals on your behalf. This is particularly useful for obscure people-search sites, marketing lists, or niche industry databases that are not widely covered by competing tools.
Taken together, the combination of extensive broker coverage, recurring automated removals, weekly reporting, and custom requests makes Incogni a robust, low-effort way to continuously chip away at your digital footprint.
Incogni: Setup
Getting started with Incogni takes just minutes. After signing up:
- You authorize Incogni to act on your behalf under applicable privacy laws.
- The system automatically begins sending removal requests.
- You’ll start seeing activity updates within a week.
During the first month, most initial removals are completed, while older or unresponsive brokers are automatically followed up on. Weekly progress reports make it easy to stay informed without micromanaging.
Incogni: Ease of use
Incogni’s web-based dashboard keeps things simple. The clean interface highlights:
- Total removal requests sent
- Brokers contacted
- Status updates (pending, confirmed, or completed)
Even non-technical users can easily navigate the platform. Incogni’s automation eliminates the need for manual contact with brokers—making it one of the most user-friendly privacy tools in its class.
One limitation, however, is that Incogni doesn’t yet offer a mobile app, unlike competitors like Optery, which recently introduced one. Still, for desktop users, it offers one of the most intuitive setups available.
Incogni: Security and privacy
Incogni adheres to strict privacy standards. It collects only minimal personal data (such as your name and email) required to submit opt-out requests.
Communication between you, Incogni, and data brokers is encrypted. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands—an EU nation with strong GDPR protections—which ensures compliance with international privacy law.
Incogni also emphasizes transparency: users can see when and where requests are made and which brokers comply. There’s no data sharing or resale of customer information.
Incogni: Support
Incogni provides a mix of direct and self-service support options and has made noticeable improvements over time. For users on the Unlimited and Family Unlimited plans, live phone support is available seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., particularly helpful for real-time assistance with specific data removal issues or account questions.
All users can reach the team via email, with Incogni typically indicating a response time of around 24 hours. There is also a dedicated support portal where you can submit and track requests online, rather than relying solely on inbox communications.
On the self-help side, Incogni maintains a searchable Knowledge Base that covers common questions, troubleshooting topics, and explanations of how the service works, along with a blog that publishes broader privacy tips and product updates.
There are also detailed opt-out guides that explain how to manually remove your data from various people-search and data broker sites, and these guides can be accessed without an active subscription, adding value even for users still deciding whether to sign up.
However, Incogni does not yet offer live chat support, and while email and phone coverage are generally sufficient, some users may find the lack of instant messaging or extended-hours phone lines slightly limiting compared to competitors that have invested heavily in real-time, multi-channel support.
Incogni: The competition
Incogni competes with several leading data removal services:
- DeleteMe – Offers deeper manual intervention and reports but costs more (around $129/year per user). Excellent for users who prefer human-handled removals.
- OneRep – Strong focus on U.S. people-search sites with visual proof of removals, but less global coverage. Offers a limited free trial.
- Optery – Very transparent, showing screenshots of exposed data. Has a free scan tier, though many removals require manual steps. Better visibility, less automation.
- Privacy Bee – Adds dark web and Google Maps house-blurring tools but costs more and requires user input.
- Aura – Combines identity theft protection with broader cybersecurity tools, but its data removal tracking isn’t as detailed as Incogni’s.
Incogni stands out for global reach, affordability, and hands-free automation, although some competitors offer more visual feedback or bundled extras.
Incogni: The verdict
Incogni delivers one of the most efficient and accessible data removal services available in 2026. It automates a complex process while keeping users updated at every step. For those who want stronger digital privacy without manual oversight, Incogni offers exceptional value — especially on annual plans.
While improvements could include a free trial or a mobile app - its automation, breadth of coverage, and consistent success in data removal make it a top pick for anyone serious about protecting their personal information online.
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