If you’ve ever wondered why telemarketers keep spamming you with phone calls and junk mail, it’s probably because a data broker is selling them your contact information. While you can manually request that they delete your data, I foundIncogni’sautomated system much more efficient.
How-To Geek initially reviewed Incogni in May 2023. After several weeks of testing the personal data removal service’s family plan, I updated this review to reflect my findings. Although it’s nearly impossible to measure the number of spam calls, texts, and junk mail I receive, I noticed a significant decrease across the board once Incogni had time to remove my information from the internet.
Incogni
Incogni is a service that helps you remove your personal information from online data brokers. It automatically sends removal requests to these companies, protecting your privacy and reducing unwanted spam, telemarketing, and potential identity theft.
What Does Incogni Do?
Incogni is a “Personal Information Removal Service,” meaning it scans the web for databases that are likely to store your sensitive information and contacts the brokers behind them to remove it.
In Incogni’s words from theWhat is Incognisupport page, “Incogni contacts data brokers on your behalf and requests the deletion of any of your personal data they have.” Theservice’s algorithm scans over 180 brokersand determines which require personal data removal.
In short, Incogni gets your personal data out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have it.
How Does Incogni Work?
So, Incogni removes your personal data from broker databases, but how does it do that? According toIncogni’s support page on the topic, “[Incogni] uses an algorithm that predicts how likely it is that a particular data broker has your data.”
After you enter some basic information, including your name (and previous surnames), birthdate, up to three email addresses, last three physical addresses, and three phone numbers, the service’s algorithm analyzes its list of brokers to predict which may have your personal data. Then, Incogni sends an email to each broker with your name, physical address, and email address so they can verify your personal data is stored in their records.
If this made you wince, I could say the same. In an effort to remove personal data, Incogni sends an email with some of my…personal data attached to it?Can’t the broker just keep the datain that email now? However, when you dig into why Incogni does this, you understand a bit more.
From the moment Incogni requests the removal of your sensitive data, that broker is no longer allowed to store it. “Privacy laws, such as the EU and UK GDPR, CCPA, and PIPEDA, forbid data brokers to keep and use the data provided in data removal requests for any other purpose outside the processing of the request. This means that the data received by them can only be used for identification purposes.”
So, as soon as brokers receive the notice from Incogni, they’re highly incentivized to remove your personal data or risk paying hefty fines for breaking privacy laws.
Incogni is more than a one-use data culling tool, though. It also provides valuable upkeep from month to month; the more you buy, sell, and interact with others on the internet, the more your information is harvested and stored away. With a monthly Incogni subscription, you can stay on top of where your data ends up.
Using Incogni Is Self-Explanatory
Incogni is easy to use. The hardest part is signing up; once you create your account, sit back and let Incogni do its thing.
Dashboard
The Dashboard tab is simple but effective. The graph shows the number of requests Incogni has sent to brokers, the number of those requests that have yet to be resolved, and the number of brokers that have since removed your personal data from their servers.
Below the chart, you’ll find fun facts, like the estimated number of hours you saved by letting Incogni contact all of the data brokers and the number of suppression list entries. There’s also an abbreviated list of the most recent activity on your account.
I appreciate the straightforward design of Incogni’s dashboard—any app that deals with your personal information should be transparent and easy to navigate, after all—though I think it might even be too simplistic.
Detailed View
The Detailed View tab is significantly more involved. Here, you’re able to see a breakdown of which databases hold or once held your information, how sensitive that information is (with a severity score of High, Medium, or Low), and the current status of each Incogni request (In Progress, Suppressed, or Completed).
Under “Broker type” at the top of the page is a small menu that lets you swap between Private and Public databases. Different companies and brokers will populate depending on what they do with your personal information. Public databases display your contact details and background info to their users (a background search website or “people search site”). In contrast, Private databases are more interested in selling your personal data discreetly for marketing and advertising purposes.
Moving down to the list, you’ll find a small arrow icon next to each broker. Clicking on any company in the list will give you more details about what personal data it has stored (like “Contacts” and “Career”) and any other relevant information Incogni has about it.
It’s worth noting that, a few weeks after signing up with Incogni, 75 data removal requests have been completed, but 72 are still in progress. Incogni mentionsthat some data brokers like to take their time, but they must respond within 30 to 45 days of the formal notice. 100% of my data from public databases, many of which have the highest data sensitivity rating due to their deeply personal nature, was removed within a two-week span. On the other hand, some private databases still have information like my contacts, career status, and demographics in their system.
I can only hope these private databases hold up their end of the requirement in compliance with the legal notice brought to them by Incogni, but for now, they’ll continue trading and selling my information.
Blog
Lastly, the Blog tab brings you to Incogni’s documents page, where you can find more info on anything you need help with (or find where to contact someone if the answer isn’t on the site).
There are a few tab particularly informative pieces scattered throughout the tabs, offering info on questions like “What are data brokers?,” “Do you remove my data from the dark web?,” and “How do you know if a data broker has my personal data?”
If you just want your personal data out of places it shouldn’t be, you won’t need this tab. But if you’re interested in learning more about the process and exactly what’s happening with your sensitive info, this is where you’ll find the resources.
Should You Subscribe to Incogni?
If you take your personal data seriously, and you should,Incogniis a great tool for identifying which brokers have access to your information and getting them to delete it from their databases.
I noted a few pain points while using the service, mainly related to the email Incogni sends to companies as notice. The notification contains some sensitive information, though Incogni assures you it cannot legally remain on a broker’s database after the notice is provided. Still, it’s tough to think about my full name, physical address, and email address being sent out to hundreds of brokers who may or may not already have my data.
The email notice also opens the door for brokers to reach out to you directly via email, something which has happened to me a few times after plugging my info into Incogni. Typically, this email comes with a link to “confirm” your data removal, which is really just another added hoop for you to jump through before your data is back in your hands. However, Incogni has a support page dedicated towhat you should do if you get an email from a data broker.
