Three services that tackle the same underlying problem - too much of your personal data is public - from different angles: data broker removal and social media cleanup.
The Tools at a Glance
| Tool | Focus | Pricing | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeleteMe | Data broker & search engine removal | Subscription, price on request | joindeleteme.com |
| Incogni | Automated data broker removal | From ~$7.19/mo (annual) | incogni.com |
| Redact | Social media history cleanup | Free tier; Premium $7.99/mo | redact.dev |
Tool Breakdown
DeleteMe - Data Broker & Search Engine Removal
DeleteMe is one of the longest-running personal data removal services, having completed over 100 million opt-out removals since 2010. You submit your personal details and a human-assisted team locates and removes them from 50+ data broker sites - names, addresses, phone numbers, relatives, social media links, and more. It runs as an ongoing subscription with continuous scans and removal reports delivered within 7 days of signup, and it also offers business plans aimed at reducing executive doxxing and social engineering risk.
Incogni - Automated Data Broker Removal
Incogni takes a similar approach to DeleteMe but leans fully automated, covering 420+ data brokers directly and up to 3,420+ sites through its Custom Removals add-on. It sends removal requests on your behalf and re-scans regularly to catch data that gets re-collected over time. Plans scale from a single-person Standard tier to Family options covering up to 5 household members, with a dashboard and periodic privacy reports to track progress. It’s generally the cheaper of the two broker-removal services and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Redact - Social Media History Cleanup
Redact addresses a different problem: your own social media history. It connects to 35+ platforms and lets you bulk-delete old posts, comments, likes, and direct messages by keyword, date range, or content type, all processed locally on your device rather than uploaded to Redact’s servers. A “Disappearing Mode” auto-deletes new posts after they age past a set threshold, and a local archive keeps a private copy before anything is removed. The free tier covers recent Twitter/X, Discord, and Facebook content; Premium ($7.99/mo) unlocks unlimited history and more platforms.
How They Differ
- DeleteMe and Incogni solve the same problem - your data sitting on people-search and data broker sites - but DeleteMe uses more human involvement while Incogni is built for full automation at a lower price point.
- Redact solves an entirely different problem: content you posted yourself, across social platforms, rather than data aggregated by third parties.
Used together, DeleteMe/Incogni handle the broker side and Redact handles the platforms you actually post to - there’s little overlap between them.
Strengths
- Ongoing, recurring removal rather than a one-time cleanup, since brokers re-collect data over time
- Redact’s local-processing model avoids handing your social media credentials’ data to another server
- Family/household plans (Incogni) and business plans (DeleteMe) extend coverage beyond a single person
Trade-offs
- None of these guarantee 100% removal - data brokers can and do re-list information
- Recurring subscription cost for as long as you want protection to continue
- Redact’s free tier is narrow (30-day window, 3 platforms); real usefulness requires Premium