The urgency to protect your privacy online has reached unprecedented heights. No matter the social platform, people are talking—and are proactively moving toward removing their personal information from the internet.
Consider the high-profile hacks targeting major providers like Uber, which have underscored the vulnerability of our private data, making it essential to address the growing threat posed by data brokers and people-search sites.
In today’s ReputationDefender vs. (Abine) DeleteMe review, we confront these challenges head-on.
We delve into the significance of deleting personal information from the web and include insights about what each provider does best to help you reclaim control over your privacy and secure your digital future.
ReputationDefender: An Overview
Background and history
Since 2006, ReputationDefender has been at the forefront of the online reputation and digital privacy industry. Inside their offering of a full suite of online reputation benefits, digital privacy is a top priority.
With the backing of a global, publicly traded cyber safety company, they combine advanced technological safeguards with careful human monitoring, which over the years has led to the right balance and recipe for consistently keeping your private data safe.
Services offered
Earlier, we mentioned how your sensitive private information is bought and sold online. This is primarily done by data brokers, and it’s a booming business. The scary part is it’s all legal. ReputationDefender is working hard to shelter as many people as possible from online theft and other negative online misfortune that exposed personal data can lead to.
Digital privacy: This service removes your personal information from online data-broker databases. But that’s not the end of the service provided.
On top of removing more than 100 sources of data from the internet, you are given your own personal privacy concierge. They walk you through the process and explain how over a half-dozen features work to protect you or your family from malicious attacks.
It’s not just about removing your data, it’s also about monitoring the internet and protecting you if anything new pops up, say on the dark web. That’s a benefit provided on even the most basic digital privacy plan offered.
Alongside their privacy plan, are five other solutions for controlling your online presence:
- Search results: This service includes search results management, which includes content creation to suppress negative things that show up when you’re searched online. Your reputation management specialist explains the details and walks you through the process along the way.
- Online reviews: Here is where they help with business review requests, alerts, and review monitoring. Since online business reviews are one of the main things people use to make decisions about your brand it’s smart to keep a close eye on them.
- Personal branding: The content and website created for you are optimized to rank on Google when you’re searched. This service helps you look your best online, creates a great first impression for business owners or job seekers, and helps you show up more—be more visible. To learn more about polishing your online image, review this free guide.
- Executive protection: This is a privacy solution specific to C-level executives and other leadership team members who need to protect their digital privacy and not worry about threats because their information is being used against them.
- VIP services: This service is for online reputation management for public figures, executives, and brands. This service offers video and image remediation, SEO consultation, report analysis, and on-demand consultation for any type of online reputation issue.
Pricing and plans
ReputationDefender’s well-described programs not only help you take control of your online privacy and reputation, but they also make it simple to budget effectively and help you be clear about the investment it takes to wash your personal information away from the internet and data brokers’ systems.
The only plan not priced on the ReputationDefender website is VIP services. That’s because it’s a custom plan that requires input about your specific needs.
Plans available include:
- Search Results
- Personal Branding
- Online Reviews
- Digital Privacy
- Executive Protection
- VIP Services
Pricing is listed at the bottom of each solution page, excluding VIP Services. Having pricing this way allows you to read about your services, understand how they work, and then review costs.
Here’s what we mean:
Executive Protection is something we talked about earlier. It’s for your C-level executives who need digital privacy protection. This helps remove personal and sensitive data from the internet and helps protect personal IT.
Under the solutions tab on the website, you’ll see executive protection. At the bottom of this page, you will find pricing.
This well-thought-out digital privacy product comes in two tiers.
- Preferred
- Premium
Each plan offers a robust set of features such as dark web scans to see if your data is exposed in any data breaches, email address protection to help avoid malicious email and phishing attacks, and cybersecurity recommendations that keep executives one step ahead with best practices in protecting themselves from cyberattacks.
The standard digital privacy plan has four plans:
- Essentials
- Select
- Preferred
- Premium
These four plans offer different services depending on the tier level you choose. However, each one gives you adequate privacy protection out of the box. Learn more.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Over 15 years of experience in the reputation management and privacy business
- Personal Privacy Concierge
- Ongoing surveillance of new sources plus removal
- Automatic and manual removal of personal data from the internet
- Free ultimate online guide about removing your online data
Cons:
- Pricing for both standard and executive protection can be considered expensive
- No crisis protection plan listed
(Abine) DeleteMe: An Overview
Background and history
Founded in 2011, DeleteMe is now owned by Abine, an online privacy company. The idea for the service was born out of a need to shield customers’ private data from data brokers and other invasive online practices.
DeleteMe removes your sensitive personal information from people-search and online data-broker websites, significantly reducing your digital footprint online.
Services offered
DeleteMe offers two primary services.
Individuals
If you want to protect yourself or your family, you have a simple-to-follow process. It’s completely hands-off. All you have to do is submit your info to DeleteMe. Then, their experts will begin finding and deleting your information. Within 7 days, you’ll receive a privacy report. (View example) (PDF).
This process is simply removing your personal information from data-broker sites.
This includes:
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Current and past addresses
And more. Here’s a list of data brokers they have access to.
Here is the service that makes sure your employees, executives, and board members are not increasing the risk of your business being subject to cybersecurity risks and executive threats.
It’s a very simple process.
- All executives and employees complete a quick sign-up
- Then, DeleteMe scans for information
- Opt-out requests get underway
- Privacy reports get shared and ongoing monitoring continues
As you see, your team only has to do one thing. After that, it’s hands-off.
Pricing and plans
For your individual and family plans, you can see pricing clearly on the DeleteMe website.
Pricing is broken down into 3 tiers.
- 1 Year, 1 Person
- 1 Year, 2 People
- 2 Years, 2 People
The one-year plans are charged in full for a year. While the two-year plan is charged bi-annually. Yeah, you have to pay for two years upfront.
The business plan pricing is not available without you filling out your personal information about your business and getting a call back from DeleteMe.
Pros and cons
Pros
- A 100% guarantee to remove your personal information and keep it off year-round
- Simple and easy setup of services for personal and business use
- DIY opt-out guide
Cons
- Forced to pay bi-annually for two-year plans
- No pricing is listed for more than two people
- No personal privacy concierge
- Reports don’t link directly to the data brokers
- Have to wait for 3 months to learn data vulnerabilities
Key Factors When Comparing ReputationDefender and (Abine) DeleteMe
When comparing ReputationDefender vs. (Abine) DeleteMe, they both have successful digital privacy services.
There are two key factors to consider:
- Service
- Price
If you are looking to cross off every possible way to protect your personal information, ReputationDefender wins by a mile.
That’s because they offer way more services and give you a luxurious feeling of being an individual with specific needs. However, you will most likely pay more, but you get more too.
With that said, DeleteMe is for you if you’re not worried about having a personal privacy expert or dark web scans searching for data breaches or providing eight or more other privacy-rich features.
If that’s not what you need, then DeleteMe might be a better fit.
That’s because it’s fast and easy to set up, plus they guarantee you will have your personal data removed. Not needing a more robust service may be exactly what you need right now.
Content removal service
DeleteMe is the provider that focuses solely on removing your personal data from data broker sites, on and offline.
But they don’t remove unwanted content from the rest of the internet or do anything with search engines. So, if you have negative reviews or other items damaging your online reputation, they don’t offer services to help suppress them with new content.
ReputationDefender is a full-service online reputation management provider that offers you or your business digital privacy solutions that remove personal data from data brokers. Most of its privacy packages also offer personal IT suggestions to improve cybersecurity.
Negative content is not removed but instead reshuffled with positive content that represents you or your business in a way that creates positive opportunities. Search results are controlled and crafted to improve and sustain your online reputation.
Customer service and support
Abine DeleteMe has a business hour support line customers can call. You can also reach them through email and chat. So, there will be no problems getting in touch with them.
There are no DeleteMe customer reviews on Trustpilot. However, on G2 they are rated 3.5 overall out of 4 reviews as of April 2023.
When it comes to ReputationDefender, over 240 reviews provide a 4.8 overall rating at the time of the writing of this article (April 2023). This shows overwhelming customer satisfaction for the service provider.
The same overall rating of 4.8 on G2 reviews (as of April 2023) echoes the consistency and customer focus their digital privacy experts have.
Communicating with ReputationDefender is easy. You can reach them by general phone, email, or through your personal privacy concierge contact.
Customization and flexibility of services
You have tons of flexibility with ReputationDefender’s digital privacy plan, especially for the Executive protection plan.
There is also the freedom to make custom removal requests when available. This is available on all plans but the essential digital privacy plan.
Customizations for DeleteMe are not listed online. However, some digging found you can ask for custom removal requests as well. Also, when you call to set up business plans, they create your plan how you need it for your organization.
Additional features and offerings
The personal privacy concierge is an additional feature you receive with ReputationDefender. You also get personal alerts if your privacy is threatened, along with detailed reporting on your privacy status.
DeleteMe has a DIY-Opt-out guide that’s tailored to teaching you exactly how to do what they do on your own. If you have the time, you can get to work and start improving your online privacy yourself. They are one of the few companies offering such a free service.
ReputationDefender is the other, offering a clear and fact-filled resource explaining digital privacy and how to remove personal information from the internet.
Pricing and value for money
Looking at this from both perspectives (meaning people who just need a simple service and executives and corporations that need all the bells and whistles), both Abine DeleteMe and ReputationDefender serve different audiences.
The one you choose will depend on what you need. Both offer incredible value for what you’re paying for. Plus, the amount of work and effort that comes along with repairing your life is far more expensive than the yearly investment you will make for either service.
Making Your Decision: Choosing the Right Digital Privacy Solution for Your Needs
Assessing your unique situation and requirements
Abine DeleteMe is for individuals or businesses who just need their data scrubbed from the internet. It’s an affordable way to do that. There are no premium features; what you see is what you get.
Yes, there are other features out there. But if you don’t think you need them, why pay for them?
ReputationDefender is the Cadillac of online reputation management and digital privacy protection. They give you the website scan reports, a personal expert you can hold accountable, and more options. For instance, do you need to create content to boost your reputation or not?
Depending on the tier you choose, you get cybersecurity recommendations, social media recommendations, and enterprise reporting. Depending on your level of need, this sounds great.
ReputationDefender does offer simple digital privacy, but it still gives you way more than most providers can ever give you.
Evaluating the pros and cons of each service
We gave you some overall pros and cons, and that will get you started. But since you are focused on doing this right, it might be best to look at each service within each plan and dissect them and ask yourself what you will gain or lose if you do without that service.
The easy part is that Abine DeleteMe is pretty simple since they offer one service. ReputationDefender has a lot more to unwrap.
Tips for Making the Most of Your Digital Privacy Solution
This is simple with Abine DeleteMe:
- They are hands-off. You don’t customize anything, so once you set it up you don’t have to think that much.
- With them, it’s important to keep updated on data brokers they can’t seem to remove your information from.
- Though they guarantee full removal, there may be times when your information won’t be removed. At that point, it’s up to you to stay diligent and find out what you can do to help.
With ReputationDefender you can do a few things:
- Work with your personal privacy concierge, ask tons of questions if you have them, and build a strong relationship with them so you feel comfortable working together.
- Read the guide on removing personal information from the internet. It’s important you learn as much as you can about this topic. It’s only getting more important every day.
- Make sure you understand everything your plan covers and doesn’t cover. Don’t be a passive spectator. This is where your value comes from, and we don’t want you sitting back and thinking these services are not worth it, because they are. Just ask the thousands of people who lose their identity every year.
Final Thoughts
As society increasingly relies on digital platforms, it is vital to address the vulnerabilities exposed by data brokers and people-search sites.
After comparing ReputationDefender vs (Abine) DeleteMe, we aimed to explore the importance of removing personal information from the internet while highlighting the strengths of each provider in assisting you in keeping your personal information safe and sound.
More than ever, privacy is a growing concern. Don’t wait until you’re staring at a credit card bill that feels wrong and doesn’t make sense. By then, it’s too late.
If you need something simple, Abine DeleteMe is here to help. They are a privacy-first company focused on making the internet safe for everyone.
Now, if you want a digital privacy plan that puts a padlock on the entire internet for you, your family, and your business, call or message ReputationDefender’s experienced professionals today.