Identity Guard Review 2024 - Is it worth it?

Identity Guard claims to be the leading identity monitoring service, but does their brand stand behind the product?

If you’re looking for the best identity theft protection solution that will protect your most important personal details and financial data, I’ve compiled a comprehensive review that summarizes Identity Guard’s features and the different levels of protection.

Identity Guard offers 3 levels of protection plans (Value, Total, and Ultra) that provide unique features focused on individual needs. All three tiers include:

• Dedicated Case Manager
• Risk Management Score that shows how at risk you are for identity fraud
• IBM Watson Artificial Intelligence gathers data about potential identity theft threats
• Online Dashboard and Mobile App to get alerts and view credit information
• $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance Policy**
• Dark Web Personal Information Monitoring with alerts whenever your credentials are found on the dark web
• High-Risk Transaction Monitoring with notifications of changes are made to your financial information
• Personal Threats Monitoring with IBM® Watson™ Artificial Intelligence
• Safe Browsing Extension to help protect your privacy online, fighting against phishing attacks, blocking ads, flash, trackers, and mining.

The best possible level of protection is offered with the Ultra plan, which also includes the following features:

• Monthly Credit Score* based on reports from all three credit-reporting agencies, Experian, Transunion and Equifax
• 3-bureau Credit Changes Monitoring
• Bank Account Takeover Monitoring
• New Checking or Savings Account Requests Monitoring
• 3-Bureau Credit Report
• Credit & Debit Card Monitoring
• 401k & Investment Monitoring
• Criminal & Sex Offense Monitoring
• USPS Address Change Monitoring
• Home Title Monitoring
• Social Insight Report

Best Use of Identity Guard and its Features

Identity Guard is truly a step above its competitors when it comes to the features they provide. Its access to artificial intelligence technology makes it faster at finding threats. They employ IBM’s Watson, which can learn and adapt to keep up with new threats in the constantly changing online landscape. This powerful identity monitoring service gives its subscribers instant access to artificial intelligence algorithms that scan millions of articles to detect identity threats.

With the Total and Ultra plans, Identity Guard monitors for changes to a person’s identity at all three major credit reporting agencies – Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. They also provide monthly credit score updates.

Identity Guard actively monitored my finances and notified me of any suspicious activities. The company kept a close watch on all my assets, from my investment and savings accounts to high-risk transactions, debit or credit card information changes, and new banking accounts opened in my name.

Besides monitoring transactions, Identity Guard also notified me when new debts appeared on my credit report. And if my address was listed in financial forms, the company notified me to confirm whether the documents were actually mine.

Using Watson for Social Insight, the AI scanned my Facebook account and provided me with a concise report of my social media reputation. This included word webs that highlight words I used most on Facebook, as well as profanity and vulgarity. The report also gave me the opportunity to click through to each occurrence and edit it if necessary.

Each plan is backed by a $1 million insurance policy for protection in the event of a data breach or unauthorized access. This is an important consideration, since the cost of identity theft continues to rise.

Identity Guard Price

There are three different levels of identity theft protection offered by Identity Guard: Value, Total, and Ultra. All three levels include core identity theft protection services, and with higher levels of protection, there is access to additional services that help protect investments and personal information.

For the individual plans that cover just one person, the Identity Guard prices are:

Family plans cover everyone that lives in the same household, both adults and children. The costs are:

Identity Guard does not provide a free trial offering. However, they provide a 30-day money-back guarantee on new accounts, so if you aren’t satisfied within those 30 days, contact their support team for a refund. This is Identity Guard’s version of a free trial.

Identity Guard’s lowest-tier plan provides satisfactory digital security for your personal information for a low monthly fee. However, you can spend more if you have to protect valuable assets, and all plans come with insurance in the event of identity theft.

After comparing the features in each plan, it is my opinion that the Ultra plan offers the best value for individual and family plans. A year-long membership costs less upfront, as you get a significant discount.

Customer Service

I was pleased with Identity Guard’s customer support. I called its phone line, and I could easily reach someone. Their team is available weekdays from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. and Saturday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., ET. For email inquiries, customer services will normally respond within 24 – 48 hours.

Privacy

Because the company is based in the United States, it is subject to international surveillance alliances. These surveillance partnerships legally compel the company to hand over customer data under certain circumstances.

While reading through their website, I discovered that the company shares information with third parties and services. However, I found out that the information is not sold to advertising and marketing companies. If I provided more information, it would ensure my identity was protected better.

Fortunately, Identity Guard customer data is encrypted, they had experienced no data breaches until this date.

User Experience

Identity Guard made it easy to manage my identity information in one place. Setting up an alert with Identity Guard was quick, taking only a couple of minutes as their user interface is easy to use. The dashboard is easy to navigate and lets customers view alerts, verify their identity, and create a plan of action.

I was given a simple survey that allowed me to give Identity Guard access to everything they needed to gather as much information as they could. The more information I gave them, the more information I got back.

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, any identity monitoring service may be able to protect you in case you fall victim to identity theft. However, Identity Guard truly stands out in this crowded market for a few reasons.

Identity Guard is the best identity theft protection, as it offers a variety of affordable packages to secure your personal information. Its plans allow you to protect yourself on all fronts with a detailed security check that provides personalized monitoring at a reasonable monthly cost.

Additionally, you get $1 million in identity theft insurance without your credit score being affected. And, by paying for a full year of monitoring upfront, you can save money with the significant discount they offer.

Identity Guard gives you peace of mind assurance, so you can focus on what matters most.

*The score you receive with Identity Guard is provided for educational purposes to help you understand your credit. It is calculated using the information contained in your TransUnion credit file. Lenders use many different credit scoring systems, and the score you receive with Identity Guard is not the same score used by lenders to evaluate your credit.

** 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.