I turned to PrivacyBee to clean up my data - here's how it made me disappear

PrivacyBee data removal service

pros and cons

Pros

• Comprehensive scanning
• Proactive customer support
• Granular control
• Power of attorney feature

Cons

• Higher tiers are expensive

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I hate the idea of my personal information floating around the internet for anyone to see; the lack of control is unsettling. Over the past couple of weeks, I've been testing a couple of data removal services, starting with DeleteMe and, more recently, PrivacyBee. After spending a lot of time with each, I can confidently say I prefer PrivacyBee.

Also: How to delete or hide yourself from the internet - 11 effective ways (and most are free)

The service is far more comprehensive, offering a wide range of tools and features that its counterpart can't match. It scanned deeper, uncovered additional potential exposures, and provided a level of control that exceeded my expectations. On top of that, the service's transparent communication and hands-on approach made the process feel more reassuring.

PrivacyBee in action

PrivacyBee, as a service, is pretty hands-off from the user's side. Upon purchasing a subscription, you'll be asked to provide personal information that the service will use to hunt down your data. At most, all you really have to do is manage the service: Look over what's being done, add more data if need be, and direct PrivacyBee on what it should focus on. 

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The dashboard is where you'll find all your current actions. At the top is the Identity Vault banner, displaying uncovered data found online, including your name, aliases, past addresses, cities you've lived in, and old phone numbers. If an entry belongs to you, you can confirm and have the service begin the removal process.

PrivacyBee/ZDNET

Clicking on a phone number, for example, prompts you to verify your ownership. However, if you no longer have access to that number and are unable to verify via text or call, you will need to contact the support team to have it manually verified.

Other features include: 

• Digital Footprint tracks the number of scans PrivacyBee has run, the number of exposures it has found, and the number of removals completed.
• Privacy Risk Score shows your "privacy health". I was at 72, which is considered "high risk," before moving down to 44. That score is based on several factors, including the number of exposures tied to you and other proprietary signals.
• Recent Exposures highlights active removal attempts -- where PrivacyBee shines.

Seek and remove

One of the things I appreciate most about PrivacyBee is its transparency. Clicking an entry in Recent Exposures opens a panel that details the timeline for a removal request. It outlines when a leak was found and exactly what information is at risk, including your age, city, and the names of close relatives. I was surprised to see how deep the scans go; I didn't tell PrivacyBee anything about my uncle, for example, but his name appeared.

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

If you want more details on a specific leak, you can find them in the Data Broker tab. According to PrivacyBee, I appeared in 317 data brokers across all 50 states; most removed my information upon request, while others still had it. There was an instance with a certain data broker where the removal request was unsuccessful. It seemingly would not take down my information.

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

During testing, I was in frequent contact with PrivacyBee's founder and CEO, Harry Maugans. He told me that incidents like these are rare, although they do happen once in a while. 

According to Maugans, out of the 1,108 data brokers the company works with, about 12 are considered problematic. Possible causes include a temporary technical issue or a policy change that is causing pushback. In those instances, the service continues to pressure the broker until they can attempt another removal. 

At the time of this writing, the removal request with the broker that has my information is still ongoing.

Other PrivacyBee features

PrivacyBee's other features support its data removal service. The Identity Vault tab stores your core personal information, and the service uses it when issuing takedowns. You can add as much information as you want, including past snail-mail addresses or old email addresses. 

Just make sure your phone is able to receive verification texts, as this is how PrivacyBee will verify your identity. I had some issues receiving them during the testing process, but this was likely due to not having updated my phone. 

Also: 5 telltale signs that your phone has been compromised (and how to combat them)

Search Presence Scan checks whether your information still appears on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex -- the major Russian-language search engine. PrivacyBee conveniently provides direct links to those sites so you can see what's still out there.

Cesar Cadenas/ZDNET

Family Protection lets you extend coverage to other people in your family, although each person must purchase their own license. Reports house summary documents that detail removal activity, like what was taken down and from where. You'll receive an initial signup report within a week of joining. After that, the report releases become monthly.

Also: I gave DeleteMe a try after falling victim to multiple data breaches - here's how it's paid off

Account Settings lets you choose exactly which sub-types of data brokers the service targets. By default, it focuses on people search sites, but you can expand the reach to include marketing firms and job recruiting platforms. My favorite feature bequeaths PrivacyBee a limited power of attorney. This gives the service greater authority when submitting a removal request, particularly with resistant data brokers.

ZDNET's buying advice

If you're looking for a truly comprehensive data removal service, PrivacyBee is among the most robust. I recommend it to anyone who wants to scrub the internet of their data, especially if they've been the victim of major leaks as I have. 

Everything I experienced was through the Signature plan, the company's highest tier at $67 a month. PrivacyBee says this plan is designed for high-risk individuals who may need more aggressive protection. Customers under this plan are a top priority, so data removals are fast.

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Below that is the Pro plan at $18 a month, and is the best fit for most users. It shares many of the same features as the Signature tier, and scans the same network of 1,124 data brokers, but you do lose out on key tools such as dark web monitoring.

For those on a tight budget, the Essentials plan costs $8 per month. It focuses on a small pool of data brokers and provides basic protections for emails, phone numbers, and home addresses.