Protecting your personal information online is as challenging as ever. With many platforms requiring signups to access information, you’re inadvertently going to disclose personal information online, and this information is often made public. Whatever is made public on the internet stays there for a long time, and you’re likely not comfortable with this. What’s a possible solution? A data removal service like EasyOptOuts.
Data removal platforms scan people-finder/data broker sites for your data, then send automated deletion requests on your behalf. When processed, your information gets deleted from the people-finder sites, enhancing online privacy. Data removal platforms also send manual removal requests, but EasyOptOuts doesn’t– it sends only automated requests.
I extensively tested and reviewed EasyOptOuts to help you decide if it’s worth adopting as your personal data removal service. Read on to learn about its core features, pricing, setup, customer support, and other essential factors.
EasyOptOuts: Plans and pricing
EasyOptOuts has a simple pricing structure – you can check out the full details by clicking here. It costs $19.99 per year for personal use. There’s no monthly plan or tiered plans like most data removal platforms. It’s just one package that unlocks access to all features.
Businesses (with 10+ employees) can get a bulk subscription, but the price still amounts to $19.99 per year per user. The exception is for registered nonprofits, which get a 25% discount from EasyOptOuts.
At $19.99 per year, or barely $1.80 per month, EasyOptOuts is much more affordable than its rivals. But, does this affordability make it a better option? Let’s explore more to find out.
EasyOptOuts: Setup
I found EasyOptOuts’ setup process very straightforward, or shall I say, easy. Entering the homepage and hitting the Sign Up button kickstarts the process. When signing up, you’ll provide your email address and other personal information like date of birth, home address, and phone numbers.
You’re probably wondering, “I’m trying to guard my personal information online and yet need to provide all this information again to a data removal platform?” The answer is that whatever information you provide is what the data removal platform scans people-broker sites for.
EasyOptOuts scans 200+ broker sites, which isn’t that many compared to competitors. However, EasyOptOuts doesn’t aim to be a mass-market data removal service. Rather, it focuses on U.S.-centric people-finder sites. Non-U.S. residents are better off with broader-focused data removal platforms.
After inputting your personal information, EasyOptOuts runs a deep scan on its network of 200+ people-finder sites. The complete scan can take a long time, based on the volume of data found across the network. It could be a day, 2 days, 3 days, or even a week, so don’t fret if you don’t get the results within a short period.
Once the scan completes, users receive an email alert and can begin monitoring the progress of the removal requests. I don’t like that EasyOptOuts sends only automated requests. Sometimes, automated requests aren’t enough to delete your information from people-finder sites, so manually drafted requests are needed to complete the process.
However, I understand that automated-only requests are how EasyOptOuts can keep its price as low as $19.99 per year. If it had to employ experts to manually draft deletion requests, the price would be much higher.
EasyOptOuts doesn’t just run the initial scan. It rescans its people-finder site network every four months, then sends another set of deletion requests if your personal information is discovered again. This rescan is important because some people-finder sites have a habit of reuploading information they were asked to delete. It ensures that your information stays off public view as long as your EasyOptOuts subscription is valid.
Compared to most data removal platforms I’ve tested, setting up EasyOptOuts felt noticeably easier. Everything ran smoothly, from providing my personal information to the initial scan and monitoring the status of deletion requests from my dashboard.
EasyOptOuts: Ease of use
Above, I’ve hinted at EasyOptOuts’ simple setup process and generally intuitive user experience. Like most data removal platforms, EasyOptOuts doesn’t have a native smartphone app, so you’ll access it from your browser.
I think a PC is the best option over a mobile browser, given the volume of information you’ll have to input to get scanned. A mobile browser would be inconvenient for the initial setup, but suitable for monitoring the status of deletion requests.
EasyOptOuts: Security and privacy
EasyOptOuts is a good addition to your online security toolkit, particularly for U.S. residents. It helps keep your information off those infamous people-finder sites like BeenVerified and PeopleLooker.
These sites have built a business model of aggregating personal information from public sources and then offering access for a fee. Tools like EasyOptOuts send deletion requests to scrub your data off people-finder sites.
However, on EasyOptOuts, you won’t find complementary security features like a VPN or password manager. It’s all about one thing – data removal – and does its job effectively. The drawback is the limited, U.S.-centric broker site coverage.
EasyOptOuts: Support
EasyOptOuts provides decent support, although I think it could be better. There’s an official support page filled with detailed answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). For new users, this FAQs section helps answer important questions, so that you’ll not have to contact support directly for routine issues.
If you do need to contact the support team, there’s a dedicated email address for that. The support team is U.S.-based, so responses revolve around local working hours. I don’t like that there’s no telephone or live chat support, but given the low price charged by EasyOptOuts, it’s understandably difficult to maintain live support teams for users.
EasyOptOuts: Competition
EasyOptOuts has many competitors. Incogni and DeleteMe are the two notable names I’d like to highlight.
I chose Incogni because it feels like a more robust version of EasyOptOuts. It covers 420+ data broker sites, including non-U.S. ones, and offers both automated and manual deletion requests. This compares to EasyOptOuts, which covers 200+ sites and only supports automated requests. However, EasyOptOuts is much more budget-friendly, costing just $19.99 per year, whereas Incogni’s pricing starts from $7.99 per month.
DeleteMe provides much higher coverage, with 850+ sites, and supports manual deletion requests. I’ve tested it and can confidently say that you’ll get more data scrubbed with DeleteMe than EasyOptOuts. DeleteMe users also get complementary features like dark web monitoring and email masking.
However, DeleteMe is priced like a premium service. Its plans average $129 per year, multiples of EasyOptOuts’ $19.99 per year.
EasyOptOuts: Final verdict
If you’re a U.S. resident and need a budget-friendly tool for scrubbing your personal data off people-finder sites, EasyOptOuts is a good bet. For just $19.99 per year, much more affordable than competitors, you’ll get a reliable tool to scan people-finder sites and send deletion requests where your data is discovered.
Setting up your account, running the initial scan, and monitoring further scans are easy to handle, thanks to EasyOptOuts’ intuitive interface.
However, you should be aware of EasyOptOuts’ drawbacks, such as the limited people-finder site coverage, lack of manual deletion requests, and email-only support. Overall, it’s a reliable data removal platform.
