Kanary vs. Incogni

Data brokers, people-finder sites, unscrupulous internet service providers (ISPs), snooping government agencies … they all want to get their hands on your information. And where exactly does that information go? Anyone’s guess. Hopefully it’s just sold to marketers to help them advertise to you more effectively (creepy). Or it could be exposed in a data breach and be snapped up by identity thieves (terrible). Or it could even be used by someone looking to find you IRL (dangerous).

So what’s a privacy-minded person to do? Well, there are proactive measures you can take short of going off the grid and moving to a hand-built shack in the woods. You can — and should — invest in top-notch antivirus software, a solid VPN, and powerful identity theft protection services, but you might also want to take a look at automated data removal.

These programs find the profiles data brokers and people-finder sites have created on you and automate removal requests. This minimizes your digital footprint and limits the amount of personally identifying information accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a couple of bucks in their pocket.

Today we’re going to be taking a look at two of the best data removal services I’ve encountered — Kanary and Incogni. We’re going to talk about what it’s like to work with both services, how effective they are, and what they’ll end up costing you. Once we take all of that information into account, I’ll give you my recommendation on which service I prefer. Before we get there, though, let’s talk about how this comparison was developed.

Security.org Methodology

In order to compare Kanary and Incogni accurately, I started with research. I took a look at both companies’ online reputations, reviews of their services, and customer complaints and commendations to get an idea of what they were all about.

Then I purchased and tested each service — no press credentials, no preferential treatment. I used each service just like an average consumer would. After testing each one for about two weeks, I got a feel for how effective they were in locating my personal information on far-flung corners of the internet, and how effective they were at removing it.

During this testing period, I also made note of each service’s user experience, their customer service, and their overall value. I considered all of these factors when making my ultimate determination on which service is better.

Now that you understand how I came to my conclusions, let’s stack these services up side by side and see how they compare on some key factors.

Kanary vs. Incogni: Functionality

Both Kanary and Incogni do essentially the same thing — they automate the removal of your personal information from data brokerages and people-finder sites. The ultimate result is a much smaller digital footprint and less exposure online. But there are a few key differences to point out in their approaches.

First, the number of sites the two services interact with is worth consideration. Incogni removes data from a database of around 180 sites, while Kanary deals with around 300. When it comes to straight-up reach, Kanary has Incogni beat. That said, when you really dive into the list of sites, Incogni deals with some brokerages and people-finder sites that Kanary doesn’t, so this isn’t a completely one-sided victory.

Functionality Winner: Kanary

Kanary vs. Incogni: Effectiveness

Like I said above, when it comes to reach, Kanary edges out Incogni in terms of numbers. But when it comes to how effective these services are, I have to give it to Incogni.

After the first week of service, Kanary had located 20 exposures and removed three of them. In the same time period, Incogni had located 129 exposures, removed 97, and suppressed 26, meaning that those 26 sites would never collect my data again. That might seem like night and day, but as you’ll see in the section below, there’s a bit of nuance to explore here.

>> Read About: How to Delete Personal Information From Google

Nuance notwithstanding, though, the clear winner here is Incogni.

Effectiveness Winner: Incogni

Kanary vs. Incogni: User Experience

When I talk about user experience, I’m generally speaking about subjective elements of the service. How easy the dashboards are to navigate, how intuitive the program is, and how transparent they are in their functionality.

Remember when I said above that there was a bit of nuance to Incogni’s efficacy? Well, they’re not exactly transparent on where their removal numbers come from. After some digging, I found out that when they reach out to a data broker site that’s likely to have your personal information on it and the brokerage says they don’t have a file on you, they count that as a removal. It won’t inflate the numbers to an untrustworthy degree, but it’s something to keep in mind.

[tip type=”pro-tip”]Some VPN services include data removal services as peripheral benefits for their customers. Read our review of NordVPN for more information on how to kill two birds with one stone. It’s the best no-log VPN, so I can assure you that NordVPN takes your privacy seriously.[/tip]

But that lack of transparency does irk me a little. Kanary, on the other hand, is very clear on which sites have what information on you, what steps they’re taking to remove it, and how they’ll confirm it. Bonus points to Kanary there.

However, I will say that Incogni’s dashboard is a little more tidy, a little easier to use, and designed a little better. It’s not a stark contrast, but having worked with both systems, I prefer Incogni’s approach.

User Experience Winner: Incogni 

Kanary vs. Incogni: Price

Ah yes, the all-important delineator — the dollar sign. How much are each of these services? Well, it’s not as easy as saying Incogni costs X and Kanary costs Y, but I’ll parse it out.

First off, Kanary offers a free 14-day trial period, and Incogni does not. The needle points toward Kanary right off the bat. That said, once you do have to pay, Kanary is a little more expensive. Now that needle is leaning toward Incogni. For reference, Incogni’s monthly price is the same as my favorite identity theft protection service. Check out my review of Aura and you might find out that identity theft protection is really what you want. Anyway, here’s a quick breakdown of what Incogni and Kanary’s prices look like side by side:

Pay special attention to that annual price. As you can see, Incogni costs about $100 less if you pay for a full year — significant savings in my book. And you’re also probably going to want to go with a long-term subscription. Regardless of which provider you go with, these services take time to work, and you’re going to want them to run for at least a couple of months, if not much longer. Paying by the year really makes sense for these services, and when one costs $100 more, the choice is pretty clear.

Price Winner: Incogni

Kanary vs. Incogni: Reputation

Both Kanary and Incogni have pretty decent reputations online. While neither have profiles on big-name sites like the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports, Incogni does have a 4.4 star rating on Trustpilot with 650 reviews — Kanary doesn’t have a profile there, either.

It’s also worth pointing out that Incogni was developed by one of the best affordable VPN services available — Surfshark — and another one of the best VPNs out there — NordVPN — has partnered with Incogni to offer their data removal services to customers. To me, that speaks volumes about the effectiveness and trustworthiness of the service. Head over to my review of Surfshark VPN and my review of NordVPN to see why votes of confidence from these two services carry some weight. Then take a read through my Surfshark vs. NordVPN breakdown to see which one you might want to pair with Incogni.

>> Read More: Surfshark VPN Cost and Pricing Plans in 2024

Reputation Winner: Incogni   

Kanary vs. Incogni: Privacy Policy

If you’re looking to remove your personal information from the internet, it doesn’t make sense to hand it all over to a company that’s going to turn around and sell it. Luckily, neither Incogni nor Kanary sell off your data according to their privacy policies. That’s a big check mark for both services. If you’re always overwhelmed by privacy policies, try running them through a privacy policy analyzer to get a breakdown of the key points.

>> Learn More: What Is a Data Breach?

However, Incogni does share your personal information with third parties, but in a very limited capacity. For instance, they partner with Zendesk for customer support, their payment service provider in the U.K. is Paddle.com, and marketing in the U.S. is through Mailchimp. Incogni’s practices aren’t uncommon, but it’s worth pointing out that Kanary does everything in-house, which limits your exposure. That’s enough to give them a bit of an advantage here.

Privacy Policy Winner: Kanary 

So now that you’ve seen the components of these services compared to each other, let’s put it all back together for the big picture.

Kanary vs. Incogni: Which Service Is Better?

While both Kanary and Incogni are both outstanding services in their own right, I have to recommend Incogni. While Kanary’s reach is a little bigger and its privacy policy is just a hair more secure, Incogni is more affordable, more effective, and provides a better overall user experience. While I wouldn’t say you’re making a bad choice if you pick Kanary, I’d say you’re making a better one if you go with Incogni.

If you don’t think either of these services are what you’re looking for, though, check out our review of Optery. They’re another powerful service with some interesting functionality that might be of interest to you.

Overall Winner: Incogni