DeleteMe Review: Does It Really Protect Your Personal Data?

Even with top-tier security tools like VPNs, antivirus software, or password managers, your personal information can still end up on people-search websites and data broker databases. DeleteMe is a paid service that steps in and removes your private data from those sites, covering everything from your name, address, phone number, email, and other things.

Launched in 2010 by the privacy company Abine and based in the U.S., DeleteMe has over a decade of experience in cleaning up personal information from the web. This review examines DeleteMe's pricing, features, performance, and value, based on our internal testing and analysis.

Pricing and Subscription Options

You'll have to pay for the service, and a completely free option isn't available, except for the basic scan tool that we'll discuss later when using DeleteMe. The cost of DeleteMe depends on the number of people you're trying to remove your data for and the duration of the subscription. Here are the annual pricing options for DeleteMe:

• 1-Year Plan (1 person): Costs $129 per year, which comes out to $10.75 per month. This "Solo" plan covers one individual for a full year of data removal service.
• 1-Year Plan (2 people): Costs $229 per year, which is $19.08 per month. This plan is ideal for couples or two family members, covering both individuals under one subscription. It effectively reduces the per-person cost compared to two separate solo plans.
• 1-Year Plan (Family, 4 people): Approximately $329 per year or $27.42 per month for up to four people. This is a family package that provides data removal coverage for four individuals (for example, two parents and two children). It offers better value per person for larger households.

DeleteMe also offers multi-year plans that can save you money in the long run. If you opt for a 2-Year subscription, the rates are discounted:

• 2-Year Plan (1 person): $209 billed once every two years (about $8.70 per month on average). This is the most cost-effective option for single users, offering a significant discount over the annual price.
• 2-Year Plan (2 people):$349 billed every two years (around $14.50 per month for the pair). This locks in two years of coverage for two individuals at a lower monthly rate than the one-year couple plan.
• 2-Year Plan (Family, 4 people): Pricing for a two-year family plan is available (covering four people for two years) and provides further savings per person. The two-year plan costs $499 or $20.79 per month, with an additional multi-year discount.

When it comes to the DeleteMe plans, you'll notice that all of them include the same primary services and features. The thing that sets them apart is the length of time they cover and the number of people they can cover. DeleteMe plans are paid for upfront, either annually or biannually, and will automatically renew unless you cancel. There is no option to spread out the payments into a monthly installment; you pay the full year (or two years) all at once.

There isn't a traditional free trial period, but the service does come with a money-back guarantee. If you change your mind, you can request a full refund if you cancel within the first seven days of your service, provided that your first privacy report hasn't been completed. If your report has already been issued, you can still cancel and receive a pro-rated refund for the unused portion, based on the number of months remaining in your subscription.

Plans and Versions of DeleteMe

You're getting continuous removal of your personal data from an exhaustive list of data broker sites, plus regular reports and support. There isn't a free or professional version. Every paid plan includes the full suite, and doesn't come with a basic, stripped-down free edition that only performs removals.

Standard Plan: When you sign up for the Standard Plan, you'll get a 1-year subscription for 1 person, and the removal of your data from the main pool of data brokers, plus regular reports on what's being done, and all the bells and whistles, including our masking services.

Couples Plan: DeleteMe provides their standard service to a second individual under the same account, splitting the cost, when choosing the 1-year plan for two people. This plan is often referred to as the "Most Popular" plan. Each of the two individuals will receive equal coverage, and both of their data will be searched and removed.

Family Plan: For cleaning up the online presence of multiple individuals, the 1-year plan is a family plan, suitable for households or extended families that need to remove information about four individuals from broker sites. This plan includes standard removal and monitoring services for up to four people.

Multi-Year Plans: Considering DeleteMe, you're presented with a two-year option for the Single, Couple, and Family plans. These 2-year plans function in the same way, just provide service for 24 months in a row and knock off a bit of the price.

Business and Enterprise Plans: For organizations, DeleteMe has solutions to protect executives or employees. While not a "version" in the consumer sense, business plans are available (custom pricing is required). These plans can cover multiple individuals in a company and often include concierge support. The specifics of business plans (number of people, duration, and price) are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

They didn't have tiered services; everyone received quarterly removals from the same list of brokers. However, they've recently introduced more advanced plans for those who require more intensive coverage or frequency, which was not available when DeleteMe first started.

Coming from the main page, you might not be aware of these, but DeleteMe offers higher-tier plans, such as Gold, Diamond, Platinum, and VIP, which, after signing up, will cover a wider range of data broker sites and send reports more frequently.

For example, a Gold plan would cover roughly 100 sites with bi-monthly reports. The Diamond and above plans send out monthly reports, cover a significantly larger number of sites, around 140 sites or so, and the top-of-the-line VIP tier adds features like a Google search scrub.

These tiers are upgrades for power users who want the most thorough and regular monitoring and can be purchased in addition to your basic subscription, at a separate fee.

Supported Countries: It was primarily a US-based service, where data broker issues were a significant concern when DeleteMe first started. Today, DeleteMe has expanded its service to residents of many other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Singapore, and Brazil. If you live in one of these countries, you can use DeleteMe to target data brokers that operate in your area.

The lists of sites that DeleteMe covers may vary by country. A US plan will only cover US-based people search sites, whereas a UK user's plan will be for UK-specific databases. However, DeleteMe appears to be methodically expanding to other countries, so its coverage is increasing. Non-US users should, however, check that the data brokers they are dealing with in their country are being targeted by DeleteMe.

The company's plans cater to individuals, couples, families, and businesses, all of which receive the core service of removing personal data and providing privacy reports, along with additional tools. Higher-tier plans for businesses offer more comprehensive coverage. Coming from a world where most companies in this field also charge for removal services, the lack of a free tier is standard practice. You receive a complimentary preliminary scan, along with a refund policy that allows you to test the waters.

Our In-House Data Removal Test Results

We submitted our own personal data to the service to check how well it would locate and remove our online information, and also to monitor the entire process and the time it took during testing of DeleteMe.

Test Setup: When we signed up for the DeleteMe Standard plan for one person, we were required to provide a significant amount of personal information. Our full name, past and present addresses, phone number, email address, age, and a few other details, such as known aliases. We added a couple of variations in the spelling of our name and an old email address to see if DeleteMe could find them.

The sign-up also asked for the name of our spouse, and some other optional identifiers, which are used to find records that refer to our relationships. We provided DeleteMe with a fairly comprehensive picture of ourselves in an effort to ensure they could find any information that's out there.

As we set up our account with DeleteMe, we provided the service with all the necessary details, and it promptly began working. It was a week before we received the first privacy report, and that report essentially serves as the foundation of the service. Outlining what was found and what was done. DeleteMe's report gave us a summary with a few significant points, and included:

The total number of data broker listings reviewed during the initial scan. (In our case, this was several hundred listings that the system checked against our name and info.)

12 websites had a large chunk of our data, and this is basically the number of distinct data brokers that had our information. Roughly a dozen different people-search websites had outed us, which included well-known sites such as Whitepages, Spokeo, and MyLife, as well as a handful of smaller ones we hadn't even heard of.

12,000 Records were found online when DeleteMe started its work. The team submitted opt-out requests to all the relevant sites, and as of the time of the report, most of those listings had been marked as removed. This was especially impressive because, for the majority of sites, a "Removed" status was the default. There were a couple of listings that were still labelled "in progress" and hadn't confirmed the removal of our data, however.

Our investigation revealed an average of around 20 individual data points per person, totaling the amount of personal data leaked. This includes the usual suspects: name, age, current address, past addresses, phone numbers, and so forth. Coming across 20+ data points across all the brokers is just a reminder of the expansive nature of the leak.

Using DeleteMe, we found that one of the most appealing aspects was the report that calculated the time we would've spent if we'd manually searched for and requested removals ourselves. Opt-out processes can be very tedious, and taking on this task ourselves would have been a significant effort.

When the privacy report returned with a summary of the individuals who had access to our personal information, it also detailed the specific people-search sites and data brokers that had a profile of ours. Laying out what information they had and where the removal process stands. Each of these sites is listed by name, detailing which of our personal details were exposed and whether a removal has been initiated, e.g., "Removal in progress" or "Removed, clean!" And sometimes includes a rough time frame in which this is estimated to be completed, as is the case with one broker that said that the removal would take about a month.

Identification and Verification: They request additional assistance to ensure they are removing the correct information. To prevent someone else from using their service to erase someone else's data, they require verification. During our test, we were asked to provide a limited power of attorney and some form of identification, which they used to authorise us to request the removals. Many data brokers insist on this requirement.

We provided a scanned ID and, following DeleteMe's guidelines, blacked out the sensitive information, such as our photo and ID number, leaving only our name and address for verification. They accepted the documents without any issues.

Removal Progress Over Time: It was removed within seven days and was quite accurate, as evidenced by the privacy report. Not all of the data was gone at this point, however, as some broker sites can take some time actually to remove their listings. DeleteMe's report showed that they had managed to delete most of the records, but a few were still pending.

We continued monitoring our email and DeleteMe dashboard for any further updates and received notifications from remaining sites as they confirmed the deletion of our information. A couple of weeks after the report's release, we noticed that some of our personal information on the originally identified sites had disappeared, or at least was being aggressively scrubbed to the point of being non-existent. We also made a couple of Google searches on our name and didn't see a re-emergence of specific people-search results.

Custom Removal Requests: Coming across a website or URL that contains your personal information, even if it's not part of the usual list that DeleteMe handles, can be a real pain. Well-known examples include finding your phone number on a random online forum or a minor directory profile. You can ask DeleteMe's team to remove it for you. We tested the feature on a smaller data broker site that wasn't included in the initial report, sending them the URL and a photo of the page that displayed our information. DeleteMe's expert advisors got right on it and knocked the entry out within a couple of weeks.

Free Scan Results: We also ran their Free Scan to see how it would do. The scan asks for your name and location, and we entered it in. Coming back from the scan, it presented us with the basics. A handful of mentions of our name appear on around half a dozen broker sites, out of a total of about 40 that the free scan checks. This prompts us to sign up for the full service to see the rest and remove the data. The free scan doesn't actually remove anything, as it merely provides a rough idea of what's out there.

Overall Effectiveness: The results showed that they had a thorough understanding of the problem and its solutions. In a remarkably short period of one week, they initiated the removal of my personal data from numerous data broker websites. When checking the scan results, we found that the data we were most concerned about. Addresses, phone numbers, and family links on major people-search databases had been removed or suppressed.

We'll be receiving regular, quarterly reports, and so far, based on the initial cleanup, we've already noticed a drop in unsolicited phone calls and random marketing emails, which, as per other users, seems to be on a parallel course with. DeleteMe has been proven to deliver on its promises, providing a smooth and hassle-free way to remove the majority of your exposed contact information.

Main Features: How DeleteMe's Data Removal Service Works

DeleteMe's primary feature is its data broker removal service. The process is designed to be as hands-free as possible for the user. Here's an overview of how it works and what you get with a DeleteMe subscription:

Automated Opt-Outs from Data Brokers: You're given access to their massive list of 153 people search and data broker websites, with a total of 750+ if you count optional and international sites, when you sign up with DeleteMe. Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, Intelius, MyLife, Radaris, and loads more are all on this list. DeleteMe's job is to search for any of your personal information on these sites and send opt-out or removal requests to them on your behalf.

Quarterly Privacy Reports: You'll receive a privacy report every three months, which is a summary of the services that have had your personal information, the steps they took to remove it, and the status of each request. With a year-long subscription, you'll receive four of these reports, one per quarter, which can be found in your online account. The reports are completely transparent, showing the evidence of what we found, removed, and the outcomes of any refusals or pending requests.

Continuous Monitoring & Recurring Removals: The service will continue to monitor these sites for any re-emergence of your data. Every three months, when it generates a new report, it conducts a new search across the broker list to find any new instances. If your data appears on a previously clean site or if a new data broker has collected your information, DeleteMe will re-initiate the removal process.

Custom Removal Requests: DeleteMe allows users to submit custom requests for data removal that fall outside the standard list. This is an important feature because no matter how extensive the automated list is, there might be niche websites or new aggregators that aren't yet covered. With DeleteMe, you can contact their team (either via your dashboard or support channels) to say, "I found my info on XYZ.com, please remove it." You provide the details (link to the data, etc.), and their privacy experts will attempt to process the removal.

Personal Privacy Advisor Support: When signing up for a DeleteMe plan, you'll also get access to support if you encounter any issues, as the company promises a "personal DeleteMe expert". What that boils down to is a support team that can be reached by phone, email, or live chat Monday through Friday, to sort out any problems you might be having.

DIY Opt-Out Guides: DeleteMe has made some of its resources available to non-subscribers. They've set up a DIY opt-out guide on their website that's essentially a step-by-step manual on how to remove yourself from a plethora of data broker sites.

Coverage of Data Types: DeleteMe removes a wide range of personally identifiable information (PII) from data brokers. This includes your full name (and any known aliases or maiden names you provide), your addresses (current and past), phone numbers, email addresses, date of birth or age, names of relatives associated with you (often broker sites list family members), and even things like your occupation, hobbies, or other profile info that some brokers have. It does not remove things like your social media accounts or content, and it doesn't remove records from official government databases or court websites. Essentially, if the info is on a people search / data broker site, DeleteMe will target it. If it's on a platform outside that scope (like Facebook, news articles, government sites), those remain untouched by DeleteMe.

Turnaround Time: You can expect to see results in approximately one week, once the first report is received. DeleteMe's initial sweep is fast in sending removals, but the time it takes for the full process to be completed on each site can vary. Brokers might delete your data in 48 hours, but others may take up to 30 or even 45 days, the maximum allowed by law. DeleteMe doesn't know exactly when the removal process will be complete, it's up to the brokers, but they'll keep you posted and flag in the report anything still pending. Over time, DeleteMe will follow up on any site that didn't comply the first time, sending them repeated requests.

The quality of the data you give them will be as effective as the service they provide. When inputting your personal details, you must make sure to list all the variations of your name, past addresses, and so on, as long as you remember them.

DeleteMe's service will eliminate any unlimited aliases and previous information, provided you have them written down. For instance, if you got married, changed your last name, or have an alternate spelling or nickname, they'll find all of these.

If you're looking for a way to scrub your personal info off the web's most privacy-violating websites, DeleteMe is here to help, and will do so, over and over, for as long as you're paying them.

Based on our experience and investigations, DeleteMe covers a broader range of sites than most services and has been doing so for years, which means they have a deep understanding of how to navigate the opt-out processes and peculiarities of each of the broker sites they work with.

Additional Features (Beyond Data Broker Removal)

It also offers a range of privacy tools and features to prevent your data from being shared and to generally enhance your online privacy, going beyond simply removing personal data from brokers. With its core removal service, DeleteMe offers a suite of features designed to prevent your data from being shared or to make it difficult for it to be so. Some of the main features include:

Email Masking: You can create a disposable email alias, similar to what some password managers and dedicated services offer, with email masking when using DeleteMe. DeleteMe can give you an address that's essentially a jumbled mess of characters, something like randomstring@opayq.com. However, this forwards to your actual email, and any mail sent to the mask will land in your inbox, without the sender ever knowing your real email address. If that masked address starts getting bombarded with spam, you can easily delete it and create a new one. We found the process of setting up email masking was straightforward, but you can't customise the name of the alias, it gets randomly generated for security reasons.

Phone Masking: If you need to enter a phone number on a form, DeleteMe's phone masking feature comes in handy when you're signing up for something online. It provides a disposable phone number that can be used for posting online or at any time you don't want to share your real number. The masked phone is a forwarding number and can receive calls or texts, sending them straight to your real phone. However, there are a few things to be aware of. DeleteMe does ask for your real phone number when setting up, so the system knows where to send the forwarded calls and texts, it's using a third-party service, and at the moment, there's a small credit included, around $3 worth of call/text usage. Each additional disposable number costs about $7, and if you go over the monthly limit, you'll need to pay more.

Credit Card Masking (Virtual Cards): You'll also notice the masked credit card feature when using DeleteMe. This feature generates a one-time or limited-use credit card number linked to your actual credit card, making it perfect for online purchases without exposing your card details. The masked card works by drawing funds from a pre-loaded account that you can top up via your real card, it was initially part of Abine's Blur product and is now an integral part of DeleteMe's suite.

The credit card masking feature in DeleteMe was labelled as "Beta" or "Coming Soon" for some users, but was nonetheless part of the platform, and is basically a top privacy tool for people who care about their financial info.

Search History Monitoring ("Search Yourself"): When you go to the Privacy Tools section of the DeleteMe dashboard, you'll find a feature called "Search Yourself" which is essentially a built-in Google search engine that runs a few pre-programmed queries to show you what's out there on the web in terms of information about you. DeleteMe won't remove any of these, but giving users a straightforward way to check what's out there is a great idea.

Privacy Dashboard: When using DeleteMe, the intuitive web interface is essentially a feature in itself. The dashboard is clean and logical, it's easy to see when your following report is due, how many data brokers have been cleared out, and download past reports as PDFs. You can also set up and manage your masked emails, phones, and other preferences here.

Additional Resources: DeleteMe's DIY guides are available to you, but their website also features a blog and offers some top-notch privacy tips that extend beyond the service itself, particularly when you're trying to opt out of data brokers. These tips can be very useful if you're interested in learning about how data brokers operate and how to protect your personal information.

Examining DeleteMe, a service for erasing your online footprint, it's clear that it doesn't offer all the features that other identity protection services might, such as dark web monitoring, identity theft insurance, credit monitoring, or antivirus protection. DeleteMe is laser-focused on data removal and offers a limited selection of related privacy tools.

Ease of Use

You'll find that it's been designed to be incredibly easy to use, even for those without extensive technical knowledge, when using DeleteMe. Coming from someone who has used the service, I can attest to the user-friendly nature of DeleteMe. It's an excellent option for anyone who may not have the time or expertise to delete their data from multiple data brokers manually.

Account Setup: The website's user-friendly interface makes it easy to understand and navigate, guiding you through the plan selection and payment process when signing up for DeleteMe. You'll be asked to fill out a form that requests your personal information. Although it may seem counterintuitive to share this information with anyone, DeleteMe must determine which records belong to you. Filling out the profile will take around ten to fifteen minutes if you have a lot of past data, but it's a one-time task.

User Dashboard: Upon signing up for the service, you'll be guided through a user-friendly online dashboard. The clean, modern design and logical layout make it very intuitive, and the homepage provides a clear overview of your progress. Showing something like "X number of listings reviewed, Y number of listings deleted" along with the next scheduled scan date. Navigating between the Privacy Reports, Privacy Tools, and Account settings is effortless, and we didn't experience any problems with any of them.

Customer Support and Communication: Assessing how user-friendly a service is, it's not just about the UI; it's also about getting the help you need, and DeleteMe does that well. We sent a question about our opt-out status via live chat and received a knowledgeable, polite response from a representative within a few minutes, especially during working hours. DeleteMe is only available from 9 am to 5 pm EST on weekdays. However, given that it's not an urgent service, we can usually work around these hours, and any emails sent outside of hours are responded to the next business day, which is fair. We received a few emails from DeleteMe, including confirmations that the removal was initiated and that tasks were completed.

Process Automation: The process couldn't be simpler; you upload your personal data and documents, and then the service takes care of the rest. In our test, we found that we didn't even have to follow up with a data broker; DeleteMe sorted it out for us. DeleteMe's automation and people do that work for you.

Cancellation/Account Management: DeleteMe makes it very easy; you can cancel your auto-renewal by toggling a setting in your account. Switching from a family plan to a single plan, or adding someone to your existing plan, is as easy as paying the difference, and managing the subscription isn't a problem.

Documentation and Help Center: Its online help center is the place to look; it's very well-organized and has thoroughly written FAQs. When searching for answers to any questions you may have about DeleteMe, it's a great resource. You'll likely find an article that covers pretty much anything you need to know, be it "How to submit a custom request" or "Can DeleteMe get me taken off Mugshot websites?" We did check the FAQs for a question about international support and found an obvious response.

It's basically effortless, even if you're not tech-savvy, it takes your information and some time, and then the process is largely automated when using DeleteMe. The biggest hurdle is getting past the initial trust barrier and handing over your personal data, knowing it will be removed from other places. It's not easy to do, but it's necessary, you need to feed the system the information it needs to find the matching records. Well-known companies have a lot of data and trust that we gave them for our test, and DeleteMe's communication and policies put our mind at rest, so we were happy to do so.

User Reviews and Public Feedback

We scoured the web for user feedback and found it on review sites like Trustpilot and Sitejabber, as well as on Reddit, where people were discussing their experiences, when researching DeleteMe. Here's what real users are saying about DeleteMe:

Overall Ratings: Looking at reviews, DeleteMe is generally well-regarded by its customers. On Sitejabber, DeleteMe has a rating of approximately 4.2 out of five stars, which is on par with the top-rated privacy services, and based on hundreds of reviews. On this and similar platforms, people rave about DeleteMe's ability to deliver, mentioning that they feel a great sense of relief and enhanced privacy as a result of the service. As of 2025, DeleteMe's rating on Trustpilot is in the upper echelon, with a score of roughly 4.5 stars out of five.

Positive Feedback: A common thread in the reviews for DeleteMe is that it's very effective in reducing unwanted contacts, and that users have seen a significant decrease in spam emails, phone calls, and junk mail after a few months of using the service. One Trustpilot reviewer, who started skeptical, found that the number of websites showing their information had plummeted, and so had the number of spam communications, and that won them over. They also mention that DeleteMe sends them regular reports, sending their anxiety packing. The phrase "set it and forget it" is frequently used, suggesting that DeleteMe operates with minimal user input. Another area that received positive remarks was the help desk: people have complimented DeleteMe's representatives as being helpful, well-informed, and responsive when they contacted them, and they sorted out any issues they had.

Negative or Critical Feedback: No service is without its critics. Some users have pointed out a few drawbacks in their reviews:

Speed of Results: Customers expect their online footprint to disappear, but many people don't receive instant gratification when they sign up for DeleteMe. A user who has been with the service for four months, for example, on a platform like Reddit or Trustpilot, could say that they're not happy with the results, as they're still seeing their information. Well-known sites can be particularly slow, as DeleteMe isn't a magic bullet, and the internet is home to numerous sites. And sometimes new ones crop up that don't update or republish the latest removals.

Incomplete Removal: Some users on Reddit have found that the service didn't catch everything, and actually had to create their own list of websites to delete. The Reddit user who mentioned this compiled their own list, noting that DeleteMe didn't cover the smaller, newer data brokers. In a sense, it's a reminder that DeleteMe's standard plan can cover the main sites, but doesn't know about the smaller corners of the internet.

Price and Value: Some of its users criticise it for being relatively expensive. At $129 per year for a single-user plan and even more for multi-person plans, it's no small expense when discussing the cost of DeleteMe. Compared to competitors with lower starting prices and/or monthly billing, it's clear that DeleteMe is not in the same ballpark.

Website/UI issues: Regarding the website, several comments from 5-star reviews on Trustpilot mentioned issues with the interface and billing system, including slow site performance and a confusing renewal process. These were isolated cases, as we didn't encounter these issues during our testing, but they're still worth noting as part of user feedback.

Reddit Discussions: On Reddit forums like r/privacy and r/tech, users often debate services like DeleteMe. The sentiment is mixed in those communities, which include very tech-savvy individuals:

Regarding the removal of personal data from various services, many people on Reddit claim that all data removal services are ineffective. One user, who listed several brokers, said that you can get 80% of the way there by doing it yourself and implied that these services miss things. From a more extreme point of view, hardcore privacy enthusiasts often rely on completely free and open-source solutions, utilizing extensive lists of opt-out links, thereby creating their own approach.

Some Reddit users looking to delete online profiles argue that they're willing to pay for DeleteMe because it takes the hassle out of the process. One user explained that they had tried to delete their profiles on their own, but it requires near-constant monitoring and redoing opt-outs, much of which can be burdensome. For them, DeleteMe was worth the cost of lifting that load.

Better Business Bureau (BBB): When looking up DeleteMe, also known as Abine, you'll find that it has been around for quite a while and holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. From a user's perspective, there aren't many complaints, and the company usually responds to the ones that do arise. This demonstrates that they have a very strong reputation for building and maintaining customer trust.

Media and Expert Reviews: DeleteMe's recommendations by tech and privacy publications can be a good sign. Coming from PCMag, ProPrivacy, and various cybersecurity blogs, the reviews are glowing, labelling it an "excellent" or "effective" service in its class. Consumer Reports, a well-known and trusted independent reviewer, did, however, test data removal services, and while they were unable to remove everything, they did acknowledge DeleteMe as a legitimate service with some limitations. Since experts in the field vouch for DeleteMe, some users were inspired by these reviews.

In relation to the DeleteMe service, the user reviews across various platforms paint a picture of a service that delivers real value. Reduced online information, less spam, and an unparalleled sense of peace of mind. The convenience is also on the higher end, and in terms of its shortcomings, the complaints centre largely around cost and results that aren't instant or completely guaranteed, albeit from the investigative angle, it's clear that DeleteMe effectively does what it's supposed to. Clearing the majority of personal info, and it is on par that it does this, albeit expectations need to be managed, because DeleteMe won't completely eliminate you from the internet.

Is It Worth Buying DeleteMe?

Ultimately, the question for most potential users is: "Is DeleteMe worth the money?" Based on our evaluation, testing, and what we've learned from other users, here's our take:

Concerning wanting to scrub your online presence, DeleteMe is definitely a viable option. Erasing your personal information from the aggregator sites that you probably don't want it on, which is precisely what it was made for. If you're someone who values their privacy, or have a valid reason for being concerned about your personal info floating around online, such as being a journalist, public figure, someone who has experienced stalking or harassment, or a regular person sick of seeing their personal data everywhere, DeleteMe is something to think about.

Results for many users show a marked decrease in spam communications and a much greater sense of control over their personal data, when using people search engines. It can also be a highly effective safety measure, as removing your address and contact information from people search sites can significantly reduce the risk of incidents such as identity theft, social engineering, and physical stalking.

In the case of DeleteMe, the price isn't low. It's on the higher end of the spectrum, especially if you're covering your whole family. Other services in this field have launched lower-cost plans and monthly billing options, which may be something you want to consider or even try a DIY approach. Please note that cheaper services may not cover as much or be less established, and you may not get what you pay for.

You'll take into account your location, its effectiveness is really rooted in the US market. Coming from outside of the US, the value of DeleteMe could be less pronounced, and if you're in a country that's covered, it might be as good, but won't be as precise. If you're in a region that isn't currently supported, buying DeleteMe at this point wouldn't be practical.

Longevity and maintenance: Speaking of longevity and maintenance, DeleteMe is more of a service you should expect to use regularly, not a one-time fix. Personal data seems to slip out of control from public records, social media, breaches, marketing lists and so on. Your information will likely reappear on those sites, and that's not a failure of DeleteMe, it's the fact that new info gets generated about you (new address when you move, for instance), therefore, whether DeleteMe is worth it for you will depend on whether you're prepared to sign up for a year at a time, or as needed. Some people subscribe for a year or two until a lot of old info is gone, then pause and return later, while others go for an ongoing subscription to keep a constant eye on things.

Privacy trade-offs: By using DeleteMe, you're essentially giving the company access to your personal data, which is a major concern for those who are particularly concerned about their privacy. DeleteMe has a reputable history and a clear-cut policy that only uses your data for deletion, doesn't sell it, and encrypts it, with strict guidelines for handling that data. They may hand over your information to third parties in a way that's anonymized or as needed to complete the removal, such as sending a data broker your name and address to remove, which is somewhat inherent to the process.

Well-known red flags weren't raised, so for us, the faith in DeleteMe is grounded in their record. If you're extremely hesitant about having any company hold your personal data, then this service might not be the best option. However, then you're exposing your information all over the internet, which is essentially a greater risk.

Verdict: When it comes to deleting your online presence, DeleteMe is a solid investment for anyone who's serious about erasing their personal information from the internet and prefers an automated solution. It offers clear benefits and saves you a significant amount of time. We recommend it to individuals who are highly exposed online, i.e., their personal information is easily available to the public, and for those who don't have time to monitor and remove their online presence.

You can expect DeleteMe to effectively protect your online privacy when you use it. The service, while not a magic wand that erases you from the internet, hampers the ease with which your personal data can be accessed, delivering on its promises. Coming from a service that has successfully tested its methods and been confirmed by a large body of users, the regular clean-up of your digital footprint by DeleteMe brings an indescribable sense of peace of mind.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How does DeleteMe remove my information?

The service scans hundreds of people search and data broker websites to see if your personal details are listed when you sign up for DeleteMe. When it finds a match, it sends a formal request to delete your data, following the site's specific process. DeleteMe keeps a close eye on these sites to prevent your data from reappearing.

What types of personal data does DeleteMe remove?

When using DeleteMe, you'll be able to scrub your personal data from the data broker sites, such as your name, nicknames, age, previous and current addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and related background information. But won't be able to remove anything from social media platforms, news articles, official government records, or court records.

How long does it take to see results with DeleteMe?

You'll likely receive your first privacy report within a week of signing up for DeleteMe. The time it takes for listings to be removed can vary: some are gone in a snap, others may stick around for a couple of weeks, depending on the data broker's response time. DeleteMe runs a second scan every 3 months to detect any new or lingering data.

Does DeleteMe guarantee that everything will be removed?

When using the DeleteMe service, be aware that no service can completely remove all of your personal data online. DeleteMe, for instance, can take down the majority of the data broker listings for most of its users, but there are still a few sites that may not be covered, and some may not take down the data even if DeleteMe asks them to. The service, however, will continue working on the removals on a recurring basis.

Is DeleteMe safe and trustworthy to use?

You're counting on a U.S.-based privacy company, Abine, with over a decade of experience, to take care of your personal data when you use DeleteMe. The service uses encryption and robust security measures to keep your information safe. DeleteMe states that it uses only the information you give it to remove your personal data online. They don't sell it or hand it over for marketing purposes.

Can I use DeleteMe if I live outside the United States?

Yes. DeleteMe supports users in several countries outside the U.S., including the UK, Canada, Australia, and parts of Europe. Coverage varies by country, and the service remains most comprehensive in the U.S., where data broker activity is highest.

How is DeleteMe different from identity theft protection services?

In terms of protecting your identity, DeleteMe is a company that removes your personal data from data broker websites. Identity theft protection services, on the other hand, usually centre on credit monitoring, fraud alerts, and insurance. They don't address the same risks, and many people choose to use a combination of both.

Will my data reappear on broker sites after DeleteMe removes it?

It can. Data brokers regularly update their databases and may re-collect information over time. DeleteMe accounts for this by conducting recurring scans every three months and submitting new removal requests whenever your data reappears.

What if DeleteMe misses a website with my information?

If you find your data on a site that wasn't included in your reports, you can submit a custom removal request through your DeleteMe account. Their team will review the site and attempt to remove your information if it falls within their scope.

How do I cancel my DeleteMe subscription?

You can cancel your subscription through your account settings or by contacting customer support. Your service will remain active until the end of the paid period, and auto-renewal can be turned off at any time.

Does DeleteMe offer a free trial or free version?

DeleteMe does not offer a free trial that removes data. However, it provides a free scan that shows a limited preview of where your data may be exposed. New users can also request a refund if they cancel before the first privacy report is issued.