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Quick answer: Both are real data removal services, but they work differently. Incogni is automated: it sends and repeats removal requests to 420+ data brokers, Deloitte has checked that those requests go out, and it’s sold in the US, Canada, the UK and Europe. DeleteMe uses human Privacy Advisors, lists 969 brokers, includes custom removal requests and sends quarterly reports, but it’s for US residents and removed 27% of profiles in Consumer Reports’ 2024 test. Incogni wasn’t in that test. Pick Incogni for hands-off, audited coverage at a lower entry price. Pick DeleteMe if you want people doing the work and custom requests on every plan. If you have a few free hours, doing it yourself beat both in the only independent test.
Table of Contents
Incogni vs DeleteMe at a Glance
| Incogni | DeleteMe | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Automated requests, repeated over time | Privacy Advisors plus automated services |
| Brokers covered | 420+ (automated) | 969 on its list (some only on higher plans) |
| Custom removals | Unlimited plans only (3,000+ more sites) | Included on its plans |
| Reports | Monthly progress reports | Quarterly privacy reports, first report within 7 days |
| Independent removal test | Not tested by Consumer Reports | 27% removed after 4 months (CR, 2024) |
| Outside audit | Deloitte limited assurance (2025) | None we found |
| Who can sign up | US, Canada, UK, EU and more | US residents (separate international plans) |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | 1-year or 2-year plans |
| Guarantee | 30-day money-back | 100% satisfaction guarantee |
Prices change often, so check the current price on Incogni’s pricing page and DeleteMe’s pricing page.
How Incogni and DeleteMe Work
Data brokers and people-search sites collect your name, address, phone number and relatives, then sell or display them. Both services send opt-out requests to these companies for you and keep sending them, because brokers often re-add people after a few months.
- Incogni is owned by Surfshark. You enter your details once and it sends requests automatically to the brokers on its list. According to Deloitte’s 2025 review, it re-sends requests within 60 days for public people-search sites and within 90 days for private databases.
- DeleteMe is run by Abine, Inc. You fill out a data sheet, and its “privacy experts take it from there,” according to DeleteMe’s site. It says your first report arrives within seven days, then quarterly.
Coverage: 420+ vs 969 Brokers
On paper, DeleteMe covers more. Its “sites we remove from” page says it removes data from 969 data brokers (updated September 17, 2026). But that list is marked by plan: some sites are only included on higher plans, business plans, international plans or by custom request. DeleteMe itself says list size is “not always” the best measure of a removal service.
Incogni says its automated removals cover 420+ data broker sites on every plan, and its Unlimited plans add custom removals from 3,000+ more sites. Deloitte’s review confirmed the “at least 420” figure as of July 2025.
Our take: don’t pick by list size alone. What matters is whether the big people-search sites, like Whitepages, Spokeo and BeenVerified, actually drop your profile. That’s the question the next section answers.
Do They Actually Work? The Independent Evidence
The biggest independent test is Consumer Reports‘ August 2024 study with the security firm Tall Poppy. Volunteers signed up for seven removal services, then researchers checked 13 people-search sites four months later. A small group opted out by hand instead.
| Method | Profiles removed after 4 months |
|---|---|
| Doing it yourself (manual opt-out) | 70% |
| Optery | 68% |
| EasyOptOuts | 65% |
| IDX (Privacy tier) | 40% |
| Kanary | 34% |
| DeleteMe | 27% |
| ReputationDefender | 6% |
| Confidently | 4% |
| Incogni | Not tested |
So DeleteMe has a real-world result, and it’s a modest one. Incogni has no independent removal result yet. What it has instead is Deloitte’s limited assurance report, which checked that Incogni sends the requests it says it sends, not how many brokers obey them. Neither fact settles which one removes more for you.
You can read the full numbers in the Consumer Reports report. We cover Incogni’s audit in detail in Is Incogni worth it?, and DeleteMe’s security, refunds and cancelling in our DeleteMe review.
Custom Removals and Google Results
- DeleteMe includes custom removal requests on its consumer plans, according to its pricing page. It says it “cannot delete Google search results themselves without first removing the source,” meaning the broker page. On its top Platinum and VIP plans, it says its advisors also scan Google results for you.
- Incogni includes custom removals only on its Unlimited and Family Unlimited plans, where its “privacy specialists will work to remove” your data from sites and search results outside its list.
- Free option for both: Google’s own Results about you tool lets you ask Google to remove search results that show your phone number, address or email.
Plans, Families and Countries
- Where you live matters. Incogni says it’s available in the US, Canada, the EU, Switzerland, the UK, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. DeleteMe’s main plans are for US residents only, with separate international plans.
- Families: Incogni’s family plans cover up to five members. DeleteMe sells plans for one person, two people and a family of four.
- Billing: Incogni lets you pay monthly or annually, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. DeleteMe’s plans are sold for one or two years, renew automatically unless you cancel, and come with what it calls a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
- Extras: DeleteMe’s plans include email and phone masking tools. Incogni comes bundled with a VPN, antivirus and data-breach alerts if you buy it through Surfshark One+.
What Neither Service Can Remove
No removal service can wipe you off the internet. Incogni’s help center says it can’t remove court records, records on government websites, news about criminal cases, or social media accounts, blogs and forums. DeleteMe works the same way: it removes listings from data brokers, not public records at the source.
If your safety is at risk, for example from a stalker or an abusive ex, don’t rely on any single service. Opt out by hand from the biggest sites as well, and see the safety steps in our guide to removing yourself from data brokers.
Which Should You Choose?
| If you… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Want it fully automatic and the lowest starting price | Incogni (Standard) |
| Live in Canada, the UK or Europe | Incogni |
| Also want a VPN and breach alerts | Incogni through Surfshark One+ |
| Want human advisors and custom requests on a basic plan | DeleteMe |
| Want the best independent test result so far | Optery (68% in CR’s test) |
| Have a few free hours | Do it yourself with our free guides |
Our verdict: for most people who just want fewer people-search listings without effort, Incogni is the easier buy: cheaper to start, monthly billing, wider country support and an outside audit of its process. DeleteMe makes sense if you value having people handle removals and custom requests from day one, and you’re in the US. Either way, check the big sites yourself after a few months. Start with our free Whitepages and Spokeo opt-out guides.
How We Compared Them
We didn’t buy subscriptions or test either service ourselves. We compared each company’s own pricing, coverage and help pages, Deloitte’s limited assurance report on Incogni, and the Consumer Reports and Tall Poppy test, the largest independent test of removal services we could find. We checked everything on October 13, 2026. If something has changed, tell us and we’ll update this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Incogni better than DeleteMe?
It depends on what you value. Incogni is fully automated, covers 420+ brokers, has had its process checked by Deloitte, and is sold in the US, Canada, the UK and Europe. DeleteMe uses human Privacy Advisors, includes custom removal requests, and lists 969 brokers, but it removed 27% of profiles in a 2024 Consumer Reports test. Incogni was not in that test, so there is no head-to-head result.
Is DeleteMe legit?
Yes. DeleteMe is a real, long-running removal service run by Abine, Inc. It was one of the seven services in Consumer Reports’ 2024 test, where it removed 27% of volunteers’ profiles from 13 people-search sites after four months. That’s well behind the best service in the test and behind doing it yourself.
Is DeleteMe worth it?
It can be if you want people to handle removals for you and send quarterly reports, and you live in the US. But in Consumer Reports’ test, opting out by hand removed 70% of profiles versus 27% for DeleteMe, so if you have a few hours, start with free opt-outs.
Can Incogni or DeleteMe remove me from Google?
Not directly. DeleteMe says it can’t delete Google results without first removing the source, the data broker page. Incogni’s Unlimited plans add custom removals for sites and search results outside its list. You can also ask Google yourself with its free Results about you tool.
Which is cheaper, Incogni or DeleteMe?
It depends on the plan. When we checked on October 13, 2026, Incogni’s Standard plan, billed annually, cost less than DeleteMe’s one-person plan, but Standard has no custom removals. Incogni’s Unlimited plan, which adds them, cost more than DeleteMe’s one-person plan. Prices change, so check both pricing pages. Incogni also offers monthly billing, while DeleteMe’s plans are sold for one or two years.
Sources
- Incogni: Pricing and plans, checked October 13, 2026
- Incogni Help Center: Can you remove me from sites not covered by regular services?
- GlobeNewswire: Incogni’s data removal process, limited assurance provided by Deloitte (August 13, 2025)
- DeleteMe: Home page and FAQ, pricing and sites we remove from, checked October 13, 2026
- Consumer Reports: Services that delete your data from people-search sites (August 2024) and the full Data Defense report
- Google: Results about you
