Identity Guard Review 2024

2024-07-29T19:32:30Z JUMP TO Section Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.
  • Overview of Identity Guard
  • Pricing and Plans
  • Features and Services
  • How to Enroll
  • How Identity Guard Compares
  • FAQ
  • Why You Should Trust Us
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    The average identity theft incident costs the victim thousands of dollars in damage. However, damages can be even worse if identity theft is left undetected for an extended period. Identity theft protection services can protect you against various forms of fraud, such as credit-related fraud or criminal identity theft.

    With three individual identity theft plans and additional options for families, Identity Guard can offer you the peace of mind that your identity is secure. It's important to know how to recover from identity theft, and to be prepared if it ever happens to you.

    Business Insider's personal finance team compared Identity Guard to the best identity theft protection services and found it to be one of the best options currently on the market, largely thanks to its flexibility.

    Overview of Identity Guard 

    What is Identity Guard?

    Identity Guard is an identity theft protection service owned by Aura, another credit monitoring and theft protection company Business Insider considers to be one of the best. Identity Guard is nothing to shrug at, either. 

    With annual membership rates that are very competitive with other identity theft protection services and a comprehensive family plan covering up to five adults and unlimited children, Identity Guard may be a very good fit for your needs. Even its cheapest plan, Value, offers dark web monitoring, which many services reserve for their more expensive tiers. The Value plan is also one of the cheapest identity theft protection plans on the market.

    User Reviews and Ratings

    Identity Guard's mobile app is fairly well-reviewed, receiving an average of 4.2 stars on its Apple app store page and 4.4 stars on Google Play. It is consistently responsive to customers compared to other identity theft protection services, with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Identity Guard is also well-reviewed on Trustpilot, receiving an average of 4.4 stars out of five across 4,469 customer reviews.

    Identity Guard Identity Theft Pricing and Plans

    Identity Guard has three plans: Value, Total, and Ultra. Each plan also has a family version, providing the same coverage level for five adults and unlimited children.

     ValueTotalUltra
    Price (Annual)$7.50$16.67$25.00
    Identity theft insurance$1 million$1 million$1 million
    Data breach notificationsYesYesYes
    Dark web monitoringYesYesYes
    High-risk transaction monitoringYesYesYes
    Safe browsingYesYesYes
    Password managerYesYesYes
    Bank account monitoringNoYesYes
    Three-bureau monitoringNoYesYes
    Monthly credit scoreNoYesYes
    3-bureau annual credit reportNoNoYes
    Experian credit lockNoNoYes
    White glove fraud resolutionNoNoYes
    Criminal and sex offense monitoringNoNoYes
    Social media monitoringNoNoYes
    Credit & debit card monitoringNoNoYes
    401(k) & investment account monitoringNoNoYes
    Home title monitoringNoNoYes
    Address change monitoringNoNoYes

    Identity Guard Features and Services

    Identity Guard offers quite a few features. Let's unpack some of these. 

    White Glove Fraud Resolution

    White Glove Fraud resolution is a key feature for Identity Guard and Aura. Exclusive to Identity Guard Ultra, the service provides you with a case manager to help you recover your identity if you're the victim of identity theft. With this manager, you can create a plan to recuperate any losses due to identity theft.

    Credit Monitoring and Credit Reports

    If an identity thief obtains your Social Security number, they will usually try to use it to borrow money under your name. It's important to catch any instances of identity theft early to mitigate damages. Identity Guard reviews your credit report and notifies you of any changes it detects. Identity Guard reserves monitoring of all three of the major credit bureaus for their upper subscription tiers, but a little credit monitoring is better than none.

    Depending on which plan you sign up for, Identity Guard also provides annual credit reports from the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion

    Dark web and criminal activity monitoring

    Dark web monitoring and criminal activity monitoring are two of the services that most identity theft protection services perform that are hard to replicate on your own. Dark web monitoring scans the dark web for any personal information that may be exchanging hands, which services like Identity Guard can spot for you. Criminal activity monitoring and sex offender registry monitoring perform similar functions, monitoring public records for instances of potential criminal identity theft.

    Reimbursements

    Identity Guard offers up to $1 million in identity theft insurance for stolen funds. Under the family plan, each adult member is individually covered. 

    Overview of Pricing

    Identity Guard has six plans when you include its family memberships. Prices for Identity Guard range from $8.99 to $29.99 monthly for individuals, $14.99 to $39.99 monthly for families. You get a discount if you sign up for the annual membership. Here's the full spread of prices you'd pay monthly:

     Monthly subscriptionAnnual subscription 
    Value$8.99$7.50
    Total$19.99$16.67
    Ultra$29.99$25.00
    Family Value$14.99$12.50
    Family Total$29.99$25.00
    Family Ultra$39.99$33.33

    Note: The annual subscription is billed yearly, so multiply those prices by 12. 

    How to Enroll in Identity Guard

    To enroll in Identity Guard, you simply need to choose the right plan and put in the necessary information, such as your email, phone number, birthday, and Social Security number. You will also have to confirm your identity. Once your account is set up, your identity theft protection service should begin immediately.

    Drawbacks to Consider 

    Identity Guard reserves its fraud resolution service for its most expensive plan. Any members who subscribe to less expensive plans will be left to figure out how to recover from identity theft on their own.

    Also, Identity Guard has no free trial period, so you must pay for everything upfront. It does offer a 60-day refund window for its annual membership, which you can almost view as a free trial. 

    Identity Guard vs. the Competition

    While Identity Guard might be one of the best identity protection services, but it's up against a competitive industry. See how Identity Guard stacks up against some of its competitors.

    LifeLock vs Identity Guard

    LifeLock Standard and Identity Guard have very comparable services at their highest tiers. This comparison doesn't do LifeLock any favors, though. As one of the leading names in cybersecurity, the service offers little cybersecurity protection. You can opt to add Norton 360, which gives cybersecurity measures, but it will cost extra.

    That said, LifeLock includes recovery services with its cheapest plan, which Identity Guard does not. LifeLock also offers 24/7 member support, while Identity Guard restricts support to business hours. 

    Read our LifeLock review.

    IdentityForce vs Identity Guard

    IdentityForce UltraSecure and Identity Guard are very closely matched on first glance, charging similar monthly prices for their highest-tier subscriptions. It's worth noting that Identity Guard has a better annual subscription discount than IdentityForce, but IdentityForce offers a free trial. Identity Guard's family plan also covers five adults and unlimited children, while IdentityForce only covers two adults and unlimited children.

    That said, you get more for your money when you subscribe to IdentityForce. While their services are pretty one-to-one, IdentityForce has a better suite of cybersecurity tools, including a VPN and anti-keylogger software. Additionally, IdentityForce offers fraud resolution with its cheaper plan, while Identity Guard reserves fraud resolution for its most expensive tier.

    IdentityForce is also included in our guide on the best credit monitoring services.

    Read our IdentityForce review.

    Identity Guard Price Comparison

    Identity Guard's service is on the pricey side compared to some of its competitors listed in our guide on the best identity theft protection services on the market. 

    Company

    Monthly subscription cost

    Identity Guard

    $8.99 to $29.99 monthly for individuals, $14.99 to $39.99 monthly for families

    LifeLock Ultimate Plus

    $34.99 monthly or $239.88 for first year, then $339.99 upon renewal

    Aura All-In-One

    $15 monthly or $144 annually

    IDShield

    Starting at $14.95/month

    PrivacyGuard

    $9.99 per month

    Complete ID

    $8.99 monthly for Executive members, $13.99 monthly for Business and Gold Star members

    IdentityForce UltraSecure+Credit

    $29.95 monthly or $299.50 annually

    Frequently Asked Questions About Identity Guard 

    How effective is Identity Guard at preventing identity theft? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

    Identity Guard is as effective at preventing identity theft as any other identity-theft protection service. It offers robust features like credit monitoring and dark web scanning to protect your identity.

    Can I cancel Identity Guard? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

    You can cancel Identity Guard by calling 855-993-3061 or emailing customercare@identityguard.com. You can also cancel Identity Guard through your account dashboard. You need to cancel your account at least one day before the commencement of the next billing cycle, or else you will be charged for an additional term. 

    Does Identity Guard offer a money-back guarantee? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

    Yes, Identity Guard offers a money-back satisfaction guarantee with terms and conditions.

    How can I contact Identity Guard customer service? Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.

    To contact Identify Guard customer service, call Identity Guard's customer service line at 833-692-2187, which is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET from Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET on Saturday. You can also email them at customercare@identityguard.com. Expect an email response within 24 to 48 hours. 

    Why You Should Trust Us: How We Evaluate ID Theft Companies

    We evaluate each identity protection service based on how well it can protect, monitor, and recover your identity. We'll look for key services that all identity protection services should have, such as dark web monitoring and public records monitoring, as these two features are difficult to find elsewhere.

    We also look at whether an identity theft protection service includes credit monitoring and how comprehensive that monitoring is (single-bureau monitoring, tri-bureau monitoring, etc.). However, this isn't as important to us as you can find pretty decent credit monitoring services for free. We also look for features that help the customer recover their identity if it's stolen, such as stolen wallet protection, identity theft insurance, and dedicated fraud experts who can help you regain your identity.

    Identity theft protection services often follow a tiered pricing system, offering a greater variety of features with their more expensive plans. Once you reach the highest tier of service, you'll find a similar set of features across all services, which is why we pay particular attention to how high up their tier system you have to get to unlock certain features and how much the most expensive tier costs.

    While this is our primary consideration when we rate identity theft protection companies, we also look at a company's customer ratings to identify any issues. We also consider QoL features such as return policies, family plans, free trials, and annual discounts.

    Using this evaluation method, Identity Guard is an excellent service if you're in the market for light protection, as the Value plan is one of the cheapest services on the market. While Identity Guard does offer more secure plans, you'll find strong plans at a lower price elsewhere.

    Read our full explanation of how we rate identity theft protection services.

    spanJennifer Streaks is a personal finance expert who writes about credit for Business Insider. She has covered financial topics for over a decade, writing about her own experiences and sharing her expertise to give consumers actionable financial advice./spanspanAlong with exploring credit scores, credit reports, and how to build credit, Jennifer analyzes how current economic trends impact everyday people and offers her expert advice on budgeting, saving, and growing wealth in today’s economy. She regularly appears as an on-air financial commentator on programs like Good Morning America, CBS, and MSNBC./spanspanExperience/spanspanBefore joining Business Insider, Jennifer was a financial contributor for CNBC and covered personal finance, entrepreneurship, tech, and the economy for Forbes. Her work has appeared in TheGrio, Black Enterprise, and USA Today. /spanspanJennifer is also the author of "a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Affordably-month-month-breaking/dp/0692625941"Thrive! ... Affordably: Your Month-to-Month Guide to Living Your Best Life Without Breaking the Bank/a." The book offers advice, tips, and financial management lessons geared toward helping the reader highlight strengths, identify missteps, and take control of their finances./spanspanJennifer’s most important financial advice to her friends is to always have an emergency fund./spanspanExpertise/spanspanJennifer’s expertise includes:/spanullispanCredit scores/span/lilispanCredit history/span/lilispanCredit reports/span/lilispanBudgeting/span/lilispanSaving /span/lilispanHousing /span/lilispanRetirement/span/lilispanThe economy/span/lilispanFinancial trends/span/li/ulspanEducation/spanspanJennifer earned an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business and completed the Wharton Seminar for Business Journalists./spanspanJennifer is based in New York City./span Senior Personal Finance Reporter and Spokesperson Jennifer Streaks is a personal finance expert who writes about credit for Business Insider. She has covered financial topics for over a decade, writing about her own experiences and sharing her expertise to give consumers actionable financial advice.Along with exploring credit scores, credit reports, and how to build credit, Jennifer analyzes how current economic trends impact everyday people and offers her expert advice on budgeting, saving, and growing wealth in today’s economy. She regularly appears as an on-air financial commentator on programs like Good Morning America, CBS, and MSNBC.ExperienceBefore joining Business Insider, Jennifer was a financial contributor for CNBC and covered personal finance, entrepreneurship, tech, and the economy for Forbes. Her work has appeared in TheGrio, Black Enterprise, and USA Today. Jennifer is also the author of "Thrive! ... Affordably: Your Month-to-Month Guide to Living Your Best Life Without Breaking the Bank." The book offers advice, tips, and financial management lessons geared toward helping the reader highlight strengths, identify missteps, and take control of their finances.Jennifer’s most important financial advice to her friends is to always have an emergency fund.ExpertiseJennifer’s expertise includes:
    • Credit scores
    • Credit history
    • Credit reports
    • Budgeting
    • Saving 
    • Housing 
    • Retirement
    • The economy
    • Financial trends
    EducationJennifer earned an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business and completed the Wharton Seminar for Business Journalists.Jennifer is based in New York City. Read more Read less

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