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You’d be surprised how much of your data is publicly available online. Remember those platforms where you entered your email address, phone number, or house address? Some of that information may have been curated by data broker sites and made accessible to the public, for a fee.
These sites have built a business model of letting users discover people’s personal data, and because this data is mostly collected from public sources, the model is permitted.
Data removal platforms are the antidote to data broker sites that aggregate personal information. With these platforms, you can scan numerous data broker sites for your information and, if discovered, send automated deletion requests. I’m reviewing one such data removal service, ClearNym.
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It isn’t as popular as some of the best data removal services we’ve tested, but it’s a notable name in this niche. Read on to learn what it offers and how it compares to the competition.
ClearNym: Plans and pricing
ClearNym offers distinct pricing plans for individuals and families, with the latter being discounted. The personal plan costs $30 per month and unlocks data removal from 336+ broker sites, weekly rescans and re-removal, and phone number/house address exposure monitoring (you’ll be alerted if either information is found on a public site).
The Family plan costs $50 per month and unlocks the same features as the personal plan, but for 5 users. Instead of each family member paying $30 per month for the personal plan, a steeply discounted $50 per month subscription covers up to 5 members (it’d have been $150 if each member paid individually).
There’s also an Extended plan that offers data removal for 10 users. For $100 per month, this plan also lets users send custom removal requests to data broker sites not included in ClearNym’s native coverage.
ClearNym offers 45% discounts off the monthly price if you pay annually. For example, instead of paying $30 per month for 12 months, summing up to $360, for the personal plan, an annual subscription costs $198. Paying for 12 months upfront reduces the price significantly, so I’ll advise doing so if you can afford to.
It also helps that ClearNym offers a 14-day free trial to test its features before paying. If unsatisfied during the free trial, you can cancel the subscription without getting billed. Even after paying, there’s a 28-day window to request a refund (the 14-day free trial is included in this window).
ClearNym: Setup
ClearNym doesn’t take much effort to set up. Anyone can visit the official website and create an account. It offers a free trial that includes a few data removal scans.
After signing up, enter your information (full name, email address, or phone number). You also need to enter a location (to help narrow the search results), and ClearNym will run a deep scan on 336+ data broker sites. The scan usually takes a few minutes, but can be longer depending on the volume of data discovered on the sites.
Once the scan completes, ClearNym shows the number of sites the data was discovered on. In my case, I entered a random name (William Smith) and chose a random location (Atlanta, Georgia). Unsurprisingly, ClearNym found 1,950 profile matches.
You may be wondering why I didn’t use my actual name. The thing is, I’ve used so many data broker sites for tests and reviews that they’re probably tired of receiving my deletion requests. A scan for my credentials turns up so little data that it won’t be an effective way of demonstrating how good data removal platforms are at their job.
With data discovered, the next step is sending removal requests to all identified data broker sites, but there’s a catch. ClearNym requires formally starting a free trial to send removal requests, and payment credentials are needed to activate the free trial. You won’t get billed until 14 days after activating the trial; you can cancel it anytime before the 14th day.
Even after paying, there’s an extra 14-day window to request a refund, but this requires some back and forth with ClearNym’s sales team. Canceling the free trial is much easier if you aren’t satisfied with what you see.
ClearNym supports both automated and manual removal requests, although the latter is reserved for users on the Extended plan. Automated removal requests are sent quickly to any site among the 336+ brokers covered by ClearNym. You can monitor the progress of each request from your dashboard, and you’ll be alerted by email once any request gets successfully processed.
As an Extended subscriber, if you spot your data on a broker site that’s not under ClearNym’s network, you can initiate a manual removal request; this involves ClearNym’s experts drafting a custom request on your behalf. Custom requests take longer to process and may not always work, but they’re worth a try.
ClearNym: Ease of use
ClearNym offers a simple-to-navigate interface defined by minimal colors and clearly highlighted menus. Features are arranged neatly on the left side, and the main dashboard lies on the right, with clear icons to navigate your way through. From signing up to initiating and monitoring removal requests, I had no complaints about ClearNym’s ease of use.
ClearNym: Security and privacy
ClearNym doesn’t just offer data removal. It also offers dark web monitoring, where data breach databases are scanned for your personal information, and you’ll be alerted if there’s any match. ClearNym has also said it’ll soon add a VPN to its suite. Combined, these tools help maximize your online privacy and security.
ClearNym: Support
ClearNym doesn’t offer a detailed self-help resource center like many rivals. I did find a large collection of user guides, but they were mostly about how to opt out of data broker sites, with ClearNym positioned as the easy option. I didn’t find detailed guides about ClearNym’s features.
On the bright side, ClearNym offers direct support via email and telephone. Subscribers can contact the support team and get quick responses to their inquiries.
ClearNym: Competition
ClearNym has many rivals, with Incogni being a notable name I’d like to highlight. Incogni has broader coverage, with 420+ sites compared to ClearNym’s 336+. It also offers custom removals for hundreds more sites.
I’ll say Incogni is a better option if your goal is removing personal information from data centers en masse. However, ClearNym is better for targeted removals from specific sites that aren’t covered natively.
ClearNym: Final verdict
ClearNym is a reliable data removal platform, particularly for custom deletion requests. The family plan is affordable relative to competitors and helps maximize online privacy. It doesn’t have the most comprehensive security features outside of data removal, but it’s really good at this core function.
I recommend ClearNym more for family than individual use because of the highly discounted family bundle ($50 per month for 5 users compared to $30 per month for the Personal plan).
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Stefan Ionescu
