Identity Guard identity theft protection review
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BLUEPRINT
Published 9:45 a.m. UTC June 6, 2023
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Our Take
Identity Guard has identity protection plans for individuals and families, with family plans that cover up to five adults and unlimited children. While customers give Identity Guard high ratings, the company’s plans don’t include multi-factor authentication, VPNs or antivirus protection, and some plans don’t include any credit monitoring.
Pros
- 60-day money-back guarantee.
- All plans include dark web monitoring and password manager.
- Family plans cover up to 5 adults and unlimited children.
- App available for iPhone and Android.
Cons
- Does not allow 2-factor authentication.
- Some plans don’t include credit monitoring.
- No VPNs or antivirus software.
- Limited customer service hours.
Identity Guard plans & costs
You can find identity protection for yourself or your family through Identity Guard. If you pay for a year’s subscription upfront you’ll get a discounted rate, starting as low as $6.67 a month for the individual Value plan (when billed annually).
All of Identity Guard’s identity protection plans include:
- Identity theft insurance: Up to $1,000,000 per policy period, including coverage for lost wages and childcare, but insurance does not cover child members.
- Dark web monitoring: Monitors for specific information you add to your account Watchlist, such as Social Security and credit card numbers, and notifies you when the information is found online (does not include removal of information).
- Password manager: Stores your passwords for any websites you choose.
Unfortunately, none of Identity Guard’s plans include VPNs or virus protection, and you can’t set up two-factor authentication for your user account.
If you want credit monitoring of your credit reports, you’ll have to skip the Value plan. You can get a monthly credit score (from Equifax, not FICO or Vantage) if you upgrade to either the Total or Ultra plan, but you won’t get 24/7 fraud resolution support unless you go for Ultra.
According to the NCITP, Identity Guard offers the Best Family Identity Theft Protection on the market. Their family plans stand out for the number of people you can include: up to five adults and unlimited children. Just note that the only features applicable to children, even with the pricier plans, are online account monitoring and SSN monitoring.
Identity Guard Individual Plan Comparison
| VALUE | TOTAL | ULTRA | |
|---|---|---|---|
Individual price per month
| $7.20
| $15.99
| $23.99
|
Family price per month
| $11.99
| $23.99
| $31.99
|
Identity theft insurance
| ✓
| ✓
| ✓
|
Credit monitoring
| X
| ✓
| ✓
|
VPNs
| X
| X
| X
|
Aura Individual
Disclosure
¹$1,000,000 Identity Theft Insurance for Eligible Losses: Identity Theft Insurance underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group‚ Inc.. The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions.
No one can prevent all identity theft or monitor all transactions effectively.
What is Identity Guard and how it works
Aura Identity Guard, or Identity Guard, is a product of technology company Aura. The Virginia-based company was founded by Intersections Inc. in 1996, and today it offers identity theft and credit protection services.
Identity Guard offers a 60-day money-back guarantee on all six of its plans. You can enroll for a plan online in just a few minutes by providing your SSN, address, phone number, date of birth and email.
If your plan includes credit monitoring, you’ll need to take an additional step to verify your identity so you can receive fraud alerts, monthly credit scores and annual credit reports.
If you want to cancel your Identity Guard subscription, you can cancel in a few different ways: through your online account, by emailing customercare@identityguard.com (expect a response within 48 hours) or by calling 1-855-993-3061. Customer service hours are:
- 8am – 11pm (EST) Monday to Friday
- 9am – 6pm (EST) Saturday
- Closed Sunday
If you want to avoid renewal charges, you’ll need to cancel your subscription at least one day before the upcoming billing cycle.
Key features
Identity Guard has a few standout features, including insurance coverage at every price-point, plans that cover large families and comparatively positive customer reviews.
While the company doesn’t have a profile with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), it has an “excellent” rating from TrustPilot, with 4.6 out of five stars based on nearly 4,500 reviews submitted by customers. By comparison, Allstate’s Identity Protection has just three stars on TrustPilot, and McAfee has 2.5.
Identity Guard’s apps have mixed reviews, with 4.3 out of five stars in the Apple app store and 2.2 stars on Google play. Reviews for the latter mention the app’s very limited functionality and user’s inability to log in using fingerprint scans.
How Identity Guard compares
Identity Guard offers competitive pricing for identity theft protection plans. While it has comparable security features to Aura, Identity Guard’s starting price is much lower. Aura has features that Identity Guard doesn’t, however, including three-bureau credit monitoring with every subscription plan.
For a large family, Identity Guard could be a good choice, since its family plans cover more people than most competitors. For example, Norton’s family plans cover two adults and up to five children. On the other hand, Norton’s plans offer a lot more protection per person, including stolen funds reimbursement and credit monitoring for each child.
Identity Guard is also lacking some other features that competitors include. If you go through McAfee instead of Identity Guard, you’ll get antivirus protection, five VPNs with each plan, and two-factor authentication for your account. Plus, McAfee’s starting rate is significantly lower than Identity Guard’s.
Identity Theft Protection Services: Basic Individual Plan Comparison
Final verdict
Identity Guard may cover some of your identity protection needs, since all of their plans include insurance, dark web monitoring and a password manager. But if you want credit protection, you’ll have to upgrade from the Value plan, since there’s no credit monitoring included.
If you want strong cybersecurity protection, you’ll need to go somewhere else altogether. On top of having no VPNs or antivirus protection, Identity Guard lacks multi-factor authentication. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, (ITRC) multi-factor authentication is one of the keys to protecting your online identity.
In the wake of an identity crime, you may want to skip calling Identity Guard and instead reach out to an ITRC expert advisor (for free) at 888-400-5530 or via live-chat at IDTheftCenter.org.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Yes, Identity Guard is a legitimate company. Identity Guard is described as an investigation and security service by Dun & Bradstreet, and its parent company Aura has been accredited through the Better Business Bureau since 1996.
Bank account monitoring is included with Identity Guard’s Total and Ultra plans, but not with the Value plan. If you want Identity Guard to monitor your bank account(s), you’ll need to activate the Financial Transaction Monitoring Services and provide your account credentials.
Identity Guard’s identity protection plans start at $6.67 a month for the individual Value plan when you pay annually, and range up to $31.99 a month for the family Ultra plan (when billed monthly).
Identity Guard’s Value plan may not be worth the cost, since it doesn’t include credit monitoring or 24/7 support, and none of Identity Guard’s plans offer VPNs, antivirus protection, or two-factor authorization for your account. Identity Guard’s higher priced plans (Total and Ultra), however, do include three-bureau credit monitoring.
Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
