Incogni - Neat Tool But Not a Full Privacy Suite

Do You Need a Privacy Tool to Delete Your Data?

In today's digital world, protecting your online privacy is more important than ever. The amount of data that is being collected about you has increased sharply over the last couple of years. Today, websites collect information about you via third party cookies, browser fingerprinting, and apps that track you. Examples of this might be a newspaper website that asks you to accept their privacy policy before you visit the website. What happens in the background is that the newspaper shares your data including things like your location, IP-address, and the device you are using with hundreds sometimes even thousands of data brokers. These companies then go out themselves and resell that information. One other common vulnerability are apps that track you. For example, most weather apps track your location multiple times a day via GPS and sell that information to the same companies.

Over time these data brokers have access to considerable amount of information like your home address, work address, devices you use, and websites you like to visit. Should you have the urge to stop them from collecting your data, you quickly run into issues. Who do you message, how can you let them know what information to delete etc. This is where services like Incogni and Datapods Shield come into play and take care of the legwork for you, so you can lean back with peace of mind. Let's take a closer look what they offer and what the core differences are.

Understanding Incogni

Incogni was introduced in 2021 and is a subsidiary of surfshark. It is designed to simplify the process of removing your personal data from the internet. After creating an account as a user on Incogni's website and subscribing to their service for up to 12.99€, you can use the tool. Incogni offers discounts for the annual plan.

Incogni's Data Deletion - A Double-Edged Sword

Incogni sends automated removal requests to about 250 data brokers, aiming to streamline what is otherwise a tedious task. The tool is messaging mainly american data brokers with some european ones mixed in. This is a bit of a double edged sword, since american data brokers notoriously collect a lot of personal information, but mainly do so in america. Since Incogni inevitably shares your information with multiple data brokers during the removal process, this may introduce unintended privacy risks. In other words, you might be putting yourself on the map of every single data broker. Doing so in a jurisdiction like america that is far less enforcing of privacy regulation might pose threats to you if the data broker simply decides to not delete information about you but instead enrich their profiles they already have with your information. Anecdotal stories about users having more issues with spam calls and emails after subscribing to the service are quite prevalent. Additionally, users often lack clear insights into which specific data is removed, making it difficult to measure effectiveness. It is actually unclear if a data broker had information about you to begin with when they show up as completed which obviously intensifies the issue mentioned before.

Understanding Datapods

Datapods is a german GmbH founded in 2024 and aims to be your one stop privacy for all things considered personal data. While users can visualize or monetize their data with datapods they can also opt to protect it by using Datapods Shield. When installing the Datapods app the user can first request their data from large tech platforms to get an overview what information is collected. You get an overview over what information Google, Apple and other large tech companies have free of charge.

Datapods Shield – A Comprehensive Privacy Suite

If you want to delete your data from data brokers, Datapods helps you with that as well. Datapods Shield offers a more tailored approach to online privacy for 7.99€ a month or 44.99€ per annum. Datapods Shield selects only the data brokers that are highly relevant. Usually that involves around 50 out of a list of 800 data brokers. This approach is more selective is advantageous since it minimizes the risk of sending your personal information to data brokers that might not even have your information. Users can track what data broker has confirmed the deletion of your data and you get some information about the data broker, giving you a better overview of where your data is being used.

Get Ahead with Proactive Privacy

Datapods stores user data securely on GDPR-compliant servers in Germany, significantly minimizing privacy risks. This controlled approach ensures your data isn't unnecessarily exposed or shared without clear intent or control. Additionally, Datapods gives you insight whether your data has been part of data leaks in the past. We scan the recent data leaks in the clearnet and the dark web and tell you exactly which data leaks leaked your information. We also show you what account was leaked. By researching what caused the particular leak, you can make sure you only have accounts with trusted services and proactively manage your privacy.

Final Thoughts

While Incogni's mass approach of contacting 250+ data brokers may actually increase your privacy risks by exposing you to companies that didn't have your data, Datapods Shield takes a strategic approach. By selectively targeting only relevant brokers, and providing transparent deletion confirmations, Datapods offers superior privacy protection. The comprehensive data leak monitoring and proactive privacy management features make it a complete privacy suite rather than just a removal tool. For users serious about protecting their digital footprint, Datapods Shield clearly emerges as the superior choice.