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There is no evidence-based universal winner among data broker removal services. Incogni is a candidate for hands-off, recurring opt-outs across supported brokers; Optery is a candidate for readers who want plan-based coverage, exposure visibility and custom removals. DeleteMe belongs in the comparison, but the strongest numeric comparison available for it is a historical 2025 measurement, not a current coverage count. Compare the sites each plan covers, repeat-request handling, removal evidence, data requirements, availability and total cost—not just the biggest advertised number.
What data broker removal services can—and cannot—do
These services submit opt-out or removal requests to brokers and people-search sites they support. They can reduce the exposure of information on covered sites, but they cannot promise to remove it from every broker or erase it from the entire internet. Information may also reappear, so recurring requests and follow-up matter.
The 2025 study in Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies found that the ten services it examined collectively covered 1,759 distinct brokers during the study period. The authors describe those lists as a limited subset of the broader broker ecosystem and note that coverage changes as brokers and opt-out processes change. Treat any service’s count as a claim about a defined list, plan and point in time—not proof of complete removal.
How the leading options differ
The available evidence supports a shortlist, not a definitive ranking. Vendor-reported counts below come from providers’ pricing pages accessed in 2026; the independent study’s counts are historical measurements from its 2025 collection period. Those figures use different dates and methods and should not be read as a head-to-head ranking.
#1 Best Overall
| Service | Coverage evidence | Relevant features or limits | Price evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incogni | Its pricing page reports 420+ brokers covered. Vendor-reported, accessed in 2026. | The Standard plan says it handles opt-out requests for every public and private broker covered by the service. Incogni describes recurring protection and says broker responses can take from hours to weeks. | The page gives an example Standard individual annual price of $7.99 per month, or $95.88 billed yearly. This is an example, not a guarantee of today’s checkout price. |
| Optery | Its Ultimate plan lists 635+ sites with Expanded Reach, or 405+ without it. Vendor-reported, plan- and setting-dependent figures from its pricing page accessed in 2026. The page lists lower coverage for Core and Extended, but the counts are not stated here. | Ultimate lists unlimited custom removal requests and outdated-content submissions for major search engines. The 2025 study measured 743 brokers during its collection period; that is a historical snapshot, not the current plan count. | Not stated in the cited pricing information. |
| DeleteMe | The 2025 study measured 759 brokers during its collection period. This is a historical measurement, not a current coverage promise. | The study emphasizes that service lists change over time, making the measurement unsuitable as a current ranking. | Not stated in the cited comparison evidence. |
Incogni’s pricing page also reports 245+ million removal requests completed to date; that is a vendor-reported cumulative figure, not an independent success-rate measure. Likewise, a broker or site count does not tell you whether your specific records were found, whether a request succeeded, or how often the service will follow up.
What the independent comparison does—and does not—show
The 2025 Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies study is useful for understanding how quickly coverage can change, not for declaring a current winner. During its observation period, Optery added 281 brokers to its list, while some services’ lists shrank. The study’s DeleteMe and Optery counts reflect its collection window and counting method; they should not be compared directly with current vendor plan counts without matching the date, plan, geography and definition of a covered broker.
Coverage totals also say nothing by themselves about request success, removal durability or the visibility a customer gets into individual matches. Ask what a provider counts as covered, whether its list is available for your plan and country, and what status or proof it provides for requests.
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How to choose a service for your situation
- Start with the sites that matter to you. Check whether the service names the people-search sites and brokers where your information appears. Confirm that those sites are included in the specific plan you would buy.
- Look for repeat handling and status updates. Ask whether requests are resubmitted or checked again, how often that happens, and how you can see a request’s progress. Broker response times vary; Incogni says responses can take from hours to weeks.
- Decide how much visibility you need. If seeing exposed records and removal evidence matters, compare what the plan shows about matches and outcomes. A large coverage count is not a substitute for this.
- Check custom-removal support. If you need help with a site outside the standard list, confirm whether custom requests are available, included in your tier, and subject to limits. Optery’s Ultimate plan lists unlimited custom removal requests.
- Review the identifiers the service asks for. A provider needs personal details to find records and submit requests. Check which identifiers are required, how they are stored, and the provider’s current retention, security and deletion terms.
- Confirm country availability and total terms. Check whether signup and the relevant coverage are available where you live. Compare the annual checkout total, household coverage, cancellation and refund terms; those details are not established uniformly by the figures above.
Consider the privacy trade-off before signing up
A removal service can reduce the amount of personal information exposed on covered sites, but using one means sharing identifiers with another company. The 2025 study notes that services may require substantial personal information and identifies the provider’s own handling of that data as a consideration, including the risk of breach or resale. Read the provider’s current privacy and deletion terms before submitting information, and share only what the service requires to perform the requests.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
