Pros

• Extremely effective at data removals

• Transparent dashboard and service activity history

• Can provide additional support for people who are victims of crimes, such as domestic violence

Cons

• Not all covered sources are applicable to most people

• Custom removals can be a hassle

Optery is an effective data removal service, according to some third-party testing. But that effectiveness comes at a steeper price than almost any competitor. Still, if you value success and transparency in your data removal process, it’s hard to beat Optery — as long as the price tag doesn’t scare you off.

Optery’s data removal success rate is likely the main draw for most people, but I liked its transparency. The company says where and when it found your data, while explaining the subsequent steps that it took to remove it. Optery takes screenshots when it finds your data online and after it’s removed, plus it provides you with additional links and support email addresses to help you in the future. 

However, for the price, the service falls short in some areas, namely its custom removals process, which requires you to submit more information than rivals. And all the sources of information Optery covers may not be applicable to most people.

Despite its shortcomings, Optery is one of the most transparent services I’ve used, with easy-to-follow charts and a full breakdown of the removal process. Optery is a good choice for people who want to actively monitor their data removal progress and who value overall removal rates at any cost.

Plans, prices and value: A plan for everyone, but the highest tier offers the most coverage

Optery has four plans with varying degrees of coverage and features. As with many services, the priciest tier, called Ultimate, offers the greatest coverage. Most people will likely want that tier because of its wide coverage. Every tier includes all the benefits from the previous tiers. 

Here’s what each plan offers and whether it’s right for you.

Free Basic

Optery’s Free Basic tier is a good option for people who want to remove their data manually or don’t want to pay for a data removal service. 

This self-service plan offers an exposure report and tools to help you remove yourself from data brokers and people-finder sites. You can search for an unlimited number of name variations for yourself, as well as past cities and states you may have lived in. While every other plan has some level of automation, you have to opt yourself out of sources on this tier.

Few data removal services offer free tiers. Most free plans I’ve seen will scan your information and show you where it is, but you’re responsible for removing it. Kanary, a competing service, also offers a free tier, but it’s only available as a mobile app, whereas Optery’s is available on desktop.

Core

Optery’s Core tier, which is its lowest-priced automated plan, is great for folks who want a data removal service on a budget. It costs $40 a year, offering automated removals for up to 360 data sources, monthly automated scans and progress reports for opt-out requests. 

However, Optery writes on its plan comparison table this tier offers a “‘Bot Only’ automated approach” for your removals. That means it may not be able to handle complex requests when removing your information.

Core only covers one name, so if you’ve ever changed your name for marriage or otherwise, you should consider a different plan. And in order for Optery to cover all 360 sources, you have to enable its Expanded Reach setting, which could send your information to sources that don’t already have it. It’s not a great compromise, and if you’re looking for data removal on a budget, I recommend EasyOptOuts, which was the cheapest service I tested.

Extended

Optery’s Extended tier is solid for folks who don’t want custom removals and would rather automate finding and removing personal information for a hands-off experience. It costs $149 a year and can remove you from up to 535 sources. You get unlimited name variations, as well as past cities and states. The Extended plan uses a human-and-bot approach to handle your removals, so it should be able to manage data sources that require more information or complex requests before removing your information without issue.

But Extended doesn’t include custom removals, so if you find your info on a data broker or people-finder site, you’ll have to opt out on your own or pay extra for Optery to handle.

Ultimate

Ultimate provides the most coverage, along with custom removals, but you’ll pay a lot for it. This is Optery’s most expensive plan, and the second-most expensive single-user plan I came across in my testing, coming in at $249 a year. Ultimate covers up to 635 data sources and gives you unlimited custom removals from more than 1,360 additional sites for a total of about 2,000 sources. You can also use a tool that lets you submit requests to remove outdated information in search engines, like Google.

However, Optery’s custom removals require more information from you than other services. Most other services, like Kanary, require a link to submit a custom removal. Optery requires a screenshot in addition to a link. Still, this is the plan that performed best in Consumer Reports’ testing, so if you’re shopping for efficacy, Optery Ultimate plan is the best out there.

Performance and efficacy: Extremely effective service per third-party tests

Optery is a compelling choice if you have a large online footprint and prioritize deleting your data from as many places as possible, but its custom removals may be time-intensive. It’s important to consider effectiveness, the specific sources your information is deleted from and how your data is removed. 

In lab tests, Consumer Reports found that Optery’s Ultimate tier outperformed other services after four months of testing. According to Consumer Reports, Optery’s Ultimate tier had a 52% removal success rate within a week after sending removal requests, 58% at the one-month mark and 68% at four months. Optery was the most efficient service according to these tests. But Optery still didn’t perform as well as manually opting your own data out of sources, which had a 70% success rate at the one-week, one-month and four-month benchmarks. 

However, Optery only performed slightly better than EasyOptOuts, a service costing $20 a year — a $229 savings. In fact, EasyOptOuts outperformed Optery at the one-week and one-month marks, and only dropped below Optery’s performance at the four-month measure.

While Optery is effective over time, it’s important to remember the number of sources it removes your data from may be somewhat inflated. Those numbers should be one factor in your decision, not the entire basis. For example, some databases seem to be counted multiple times. Optery said it found — and removed — a court record for me in Alaska, a state I’ve never been to. When I investigated this, it led me to the URL members.courtrecords.us. I then investigated a similar court records website Optery listed for Ohio — where I live — which ultimately led me to the same URL. So while both of these court record websites for Alaska and Ohio started off with different URLs, they’re branches of one interconnected network.

I also noticed that Optery covers some niche websites that some folks are unlikely to appear in, like one for dentists in California. 

Optery has an optional feature available on all paid tiers called Expanded Reach. When enabled, Optery submits your info to data brokers that it says “typically do not post and sell information publicly.” Optery notes that it has to send your data to sources that may not have it. This feature accounts for about 230 sites each Optery plan covers, so you’ll have to enable Expanded Reach to get the most coverage for your money.

While that could pull your data down from more brokers in theory, your info might be given to a source that doesn’t already have it. Data retention laws might require holding onto such emails with your info, which could then be leaked in a data breach. It’s a mixed bag of a feature.

Data removal efficacy is complex

Data removal services can be tricky to evaluate. For instance, it’s important to consider both efficacy — how effective a company is at removing your data — as well as how many sources it removes your data from. In my experience, this can be difficult to truly gauge. Some companies boast about hundreds or thousands of data removals from just as many sources, but the numbers aren’t always apples-to-apples. One company might send a data removal request to a conglomerate of data brokers and people-finder sites, counting that as one removal, whereas another company might count that as dozens or hundreds of removals. These data removal service reviews attempt to balance both measures.

Usability: Optery is easy to use, but custom removals require more information than other services

Using Optery is mostly a smooth and straightforward experience, but there are some required actions that aren’t as convenient as other services. The user interface is easy to follow, and Optery also supports programs for victims of domestic violence and similar crimes. But I wish entering a request for a custom removal didn’t require so much information compared to competitors.

Signing up for Optery is a standard process. You’ll enter information like your name, address and date of birth for account creation and for use in scans. I could only enter one name and address upon initial signup, but I was able to add more information after I finished the signup process.

After I signed up, Optery initiated my first scan. I saw the results in my dashboard about one hour later. 

Near the top of my dashboard, Optery showed me two graphs, one labeled “How Exposed Are You?” and the other labeled “Protection Progress and Status.” The first graph shows how many sources Optery found your data on, while the other shows the status of your removals. These give a quick snapshot of Optery’s progress, but if you scroll further down your dashboard, you’ll see screenshots showing where your information was found and the result of scans on individual data broker and people-finder sites.

Optery makes it pretty easy to add more information to your profile, like a different name. You’ll click Manage Profile in the top-left corner of your dashboard, and the new page will show you tabs for categories of information, like email addresses and phone numbers. Click into any of these, and you can add or adjust the information in that category.

Some data brokers and people-finder sites reject third-party opt-out requests, but Optery allows you to grant it Limited Power of Attorney, which gives the service the power to act on your behalf in such cases. You can read the agreement in full, enable it from a tab in your dashboard and revoke it at any time. A few other services, like DeleteMe and Incogni, offer similar forms that allow those services to act on your behalf, so this isn’t unusual.

One thing I particularly like about Optery is its support of Safety Programs, which I wish more data removal services offered. If you’re part of a state-sponsored Address Confidentiality or Safety Program, Optery can help ensure your rights are protected. These are programs designed to help provide victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, stalking or abuse with a confidential mailing address. 

If your state has a program and you fit the criteria, Optery’s Safety Program tab will ask you to upload your ID and add some required information. Once you’ve done that, Optery can notify data brokers of your rights to help ensure compliance. Kanary offers a similar program, but only as part of that service’s most expensive tier, which costs at least twice as much as Optery’s most expensive tier.

Despite Optery’s overall intuitiveness, the requirements for custom removals are cumbersome. Other services, like Incogni and Kanary, make custom removal requests easier, requiring only a URL to the site that holds your information. Optery needs a URL as well as a screenshot of your information on that site as proof of a data exposure, which is more work. Some services, like DeleteMe, let you submit an optional screenshot of such an exposure, but it’s not required. 

While I understand a screenshot might help Optery locate your information within a link, I still find this additional requirement irksome. For the cost of $249 a year, I’d like such a common task to be more user-friendly.

Transparency: Optery does a great job showing its work

Optery’s transparency is the biggest selling point for me. I can easily follow along as the service works via the activity history, and thanks to the screenshots, I can go back and verify that the work was completed. Some rivals offer similar features, but they aren’t as intuitive or clear.

Removal reports and opt-out summaries can help verify where your information has been found, if it’s been removed and whether it continues to appear on certain sites. Optery provides paying customers with removal reports about every three months, but I found the service’s dashboard is far more informative. 

The exposure reports include screenshots showing where your information was found, as well as screenshots after your information was removed. So you don’t have to investigate on your own and verify Optery removed your information from a source. These screenshots are a nice confidence booster that affirms for me that Optery does the work it claims to do, and no other service I tried showed this level of information.

While the exposure reports are a great way to see where your information was found and removed from, Optery’s dashboard is one of the most transparent and easy-to-follow that I’ve seen. You can access your exposure reports in your dashboard under a dedicated tab, send custom removals and manage your profile from here. The dashboard also includes screenshots, similar to the exposure reports, but these have banners attached that read Removed, Pending or something similar to indicate the status of any opt-out request. I checked a few of the screenshots marked Removed to confirm, and I didn’t find my information, suggesting Optery worked. 

Optery also lists out every data broker and people-finder site it covers in your dashboard. Next to each data source, Optery helpfully shows your exposure risk for that source — whether your information is exposed, it’s been removed or if Optery is still scanning the source. There’s also an option for each source to show more information about that source, and clicking this shows an activity history as well as background information, including an email address for opt-out support. While I likely wouldn’t use this email address unless I wanted to start manually opting out, it is another trust indicator that I appreciate. 

Privacy and security: SOC 2 certified with a negligible data retention policy

Optery mostly follows industry-standard privacy and security practices. The company undergoes security audits, has a short data retention policy if you delete your account, and it says it doesn’t sell or share your data. 

Optery, like many other data removal services, undergoes a System and Organization Controls audit, which looks at a company’s financial and data security practices. SOC 2 audits can offer peace of mind when trusting companies with your personal data. Individuals aren’t able to see the audit results, but this isn’t unusual. DeleteMe also only makes its audit results available to “legitimate businesses.” It would be a nice trust indicator if Optery and others made these reports available to everyone, but that’s an improvement I’d like to see across the industry.

Optery’s data retention policy is better in some regards than other data removal services. The Optery team said on a call with CNET that if you delete your account with the service, the company will immediately delete your personal data. By contrast, some competitors have much longer retention policies — DeleteMe, for example, retains your information for up to six months after you delete your account in case you decide to reactivate it. Incogni may hold some information for up to 24 months.

Optery writes in its privacy policy under the section “Data Retention” that the company may keep your information in an “anonymous or aggregated form,” but this isn’t unusual. Both DeleteMe and Incogni have similar policies. 

Optery’s privacy policy does state that it participates in retargeted digital advertising. According to Adobe, this is a form of advertising that re-engages individuals who have previously interacted with a company. Under California law, this may be considered sharing or selling your data. But Optery states online — and reiterated to CNET in an email — it doesn’t sell or share your data. To opt out of this advertising method, click Your Privacy Choices at the bottom of your Optery dashboard and click the toggle so the switch is on the right.

Optery also states that if it merges or is acquired by another company, you will receive a 30-day notice in an email, and you will be able to delete your account in that timeframe. Ideally, I’d prefer if Optery didn’t transfer my account in such a scenario until I agreed to whatever the new company’s policies and practices are. That 30-day warning sounds like a lot of time on paper, but I’ve forgotten to return items to Amazon in that same timeframe, and now I have multiple electric toothbrushes. 

Customer support: An extensive online help desk that can answer many questions

Optery maintains an intuitive, in-depth help desk and FAQ website, alongside live chat, email support and a YouTube channel. I found its FAQs more exhaustive and better organized than rivals, its live chat responsive and the YouTube channel uniquely helpful. 

Optery’s help desk is easy to navigate thanks to the clearly labeled categories, which include Data Broker Coverage and Billing & Payment. These categories include common questions about Optery, along with detailed answers. You can find answers ranging from privacy features, such as how to blur your house online, to how Optery works with specific privacy laws, like the California Consumer Privacy Act. Some answers also include pictures 

I found Optery’s help desk more useful and informative than similar FAQ resources from other services, like Kanary and EasyOptOuts. Optery’s FAQs are generally easier to navigate and more comprehensive than what its competitors provide. 

For direct communication, you can either email Optery or use the service’s chatbot. I asked the chatbot how many names I could enter into my account. Optery said it would look into my question and that responses can take up to 24 hours, but it got back to me about an hour later. The chatbot sends you emails in case you close out of Optery, which is nifty. 

Optery also offers step-by-step YouTube videos that show you how to remove your info from data brokers and people-finder sites, like Infotracer. The videos are easy to follow and even include links to opt-out pages rather than forcing you to find them on your own. Some rivals, like Incogni, offer similar videos, but they’re uncommon among the services I looked at. Videos are helpful if you plan on opting yourself out of data brokers and people-finder sites, but if you already subscribe to Optery, they are unnecessary since opt-outs should be handled for you. 

Final thoughts

Overall, Optery is effective, transparent and user-friendly, while offering niche but unique features. It’s a particularly good option for people who want their data removal service to work and to see it working, or for people in state-sponsored safety programs. But the cost of that effectiveness and transparency is steep compared to other services, clocking in at $249 a year for maximum coverage and custom removals (about 2,000 sites). 

If you’re on a budget, have concerns about data privacy or just want a more hands-off approach, I’d recommend EasyOptOuts. It costs $20 a year for a seemingly smaller reach but similar data removal results over shorter time spans.