IDShield review: is it worth the cost?
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Learn moreIDShield is one of the best-rated identity theft protection services. This is a feature-rich service provider that not only protects your sensitive information but covers your children’s information as well.
This US-based ID theft protection tool offers coverage for identity protection, credit card monitoring, medical data protection, insurance support, and even covers sexual offender monitoring. More so, with any subscription, you also get a free Trend Micro antivirus, VPN, and password manager.
In this review, we delve deeper, to see if this high-praised service provider is truly worth the hype. So, continue with our IDShield review to learn if this is truly the best identity theft protection tool for you.
⭐ Rating: | |
🥇 Overall rank: | #3 out of #6 |
💵 Price: | From $14.95/month |
✂️ Free version: | No |
🖥️ Platforms: | Android, iOS |
💰 Credit monitoring: | Yes |
🔒 Insurance: | Yes |
🔥 Coupons: | Get IDShield Identity Theft Protection coupon! |
Pros and cons of IDShield identity theft protection
IDShield features
IDShield’s identity protection service has numerous features that aim to secure your personal and financial data. These tools break down into four major categories:
I’ll share a more in-depth look at the available features below.
Identity protection
I was particularly interested in the social media scanning and reputation management technology IDShield offers, though I’ll admit I was skeptical about how successful it would be. However, not long after I connected my social media accounts, IDShield flagged a number of old Facebook posts, mostly ones that I had been tagged in rather than posted directly. I’ll admit that I was a bit surprised by the speed and the accuracy of the process. At the same time, my skepticism was justified because the flagged posts weren’t really problematic and didn’t require action on my part. To be fair, my social media usage has always been fairly benign. I suppose if you’ve got a wild past with plenty of evidence on social media, this feature might be of more immediate use to you. Just make sure you’ve got time to sort false positives and make an informed decision about any flagged posts. Either way, I was impressed with how quickly it crawled my social presence and provided a generally sound result.
Next up was the dark web monitoring functionality. I started adding more personal information, including old email addresses and phone numbers that I had reason to suspect might be compromised. I found notice of a number of data breaches that I already knew about and had taken action on, and I also found one that I hadn’t previously been aware of. I had to give IDShield some recognition for that one, and I immediately took action to change passwords and secure the potentially compromised account.
I was also keen to look at IDShield’s data broker removal request functions. I’m a fan of Incogni, so I really wanted to see how this tool would stand up against it. I have no doubt that Incogni is a more robust, comprehensive, and advanced tool, but IDShield was successfully able to send removal requests to a bunch of data brokers that ultimately confirmed their removal of my data. Sending these requests manually takes a massive amount of time, so I’m impressed with any automation that actually gets the job done.
IDShield also offers child monitoring, which I only tested with a fictional child profile. The scanning process looks every bit as effective and thorough on the kids’ side as the adult, which is a big plus in my mind because child identity theft is a hugely underestimated problem. However, the child monitoring was not nearly as thorough as a tool like Aura or Bark. So, if your primary interest is monitoring and parently controls, you might be better off elsewhere.
There was also a sex offender monitoring tool. I decided to test it and was both surprised and concerned by some of what I learned about the people living in my neighborhood. It is always better to know if there’s an offender in your area so you can take reasonable precautions.
My overall impression was that the IDShield identity protection measures are fairly robust and relatively user-friendly. Dedicated systems for any one of these use cases tend to be better, but at its price point, IDShield offers a pretty good value.
Identity restoration
Nobody wants to deal with identity theft, but there’s no way to protect yourself completely from cybercriminals and fraudsters. This means that the real test of a provider like IDShield is how it handles a crisis. On that point, IDShield’s insurance provision of up to $3 million–depending on your plan–is impressive and even higher than some of its competitors.
I was even more impressed with the speed and efficiency of the emergency assistance line and the IDShield licensed private investigator service. When I contacted these for a brief simulated identity theft scenario, I was impressed with their speed and professionalism.
I was pleased and impressed with the restoration features in terms of insurance, investigation staff, and professional, friendly, 24/7 emergency support. Collectively, these inspired real confidence in IDShield’s commitment to looking after clients through an identity theft emergency.
Financial protection
As a cybersecurity expert, I’m keenly aware that the primary target for identity thieves is usually financial, and often it is your accounts directly. So, I was very interested in testing the usefulness and effectiveness of IDShield’s financial protection features.
In my testing, I found the credit monitoring to be appropriately comprehensive. Although I’m sometimes critical of providers who offer limited credit monitoring or reporting, I give IDShield a pass because of the implementation. Specifically, you get to choose whether you need single-bureau or triple-bureau monitoring, and you only pay for what you need. I’m a fan of choice and letting users decide what they need.
You can set financial alert thresholds, which means that at whatever transaction value is “a lot” for you and your circumstances, you can engage an alert there. I tested at $250 and $500, and any purchases above the threshold triggered an alert.
The system was a bit clunky and cumbersome, though. As much as I like the flexibility, I feel as though the interface needs to be more streamlined so that most users can benefit from these features.
Cybersecurity Features
As part of my IDShield review, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about the ongoing collaboration with Trend Micro, a well-known cybersecurity provider. So, an IDShield subscription also gets you a Trend Micro antivirus, VPN, and password manager. These are vital cybersecurity tools if you don’t already have them, and Trend is a solid contender within the industry.
So, you’ll also get:
- Protection from malware
- Data encryption
- Credential monitoring
- Lost device protection
If you haven’t already got appropriate cybersecurity tools in place, then these are definitely better than nothing and an excellent start to cybersecurity. If you do have appropriate cybersecurity tools in place, you may want to dig deeper into our Trend Micro reviews to decide whether you stick with your current solution or jump to the free Trend Micro options if you opt for an IDShield subscription anyway.
IDShield plans and pricing
IDShield offers two different subscription plans depending on how many people you wish to cover. However, both plans come with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
Service Category | Individual Plan (from $14.95/month) | Family Plan (from $29.95/month) |
Identity Protection | - SSN monitoring - Dark web monitoring - Social media monitoring - Public records monitoring - Address change monitoring - Identity threat alerts | - All Individual Plan features - Child monitoring (up to 10 children) |
Identity Restoration | - Full-service identity theft restoration - Dedicated team of licensed private investigators - 24/7 emergency assistance - Lost/stolen wallet assistance - Up to $3 million identity theft insurance | - All Individual Plan features - Coverage extends to spouse/partner and children |
Financial Protection | - Credit monitoring (1 or 3 bureaus) - Quarterly credit score tracker - Credit threat alerts - Hard credit inquiry alerts - High-risk application monitoring - Credit freeze and fraud alert assistance | - All Individual Plan features - Coverage extends to spouse/partner |
Cybersecurity | - Malware & ransomware protection - VPN protection- Password manager - Personal internet monitoring - Data breach notifications - Anti-phishing & anti-spam protection - Lost device protection | - All Individual Plan features - Limited parental device controls - Coverage extends to spouse/partner and children |
The individual plan secures one person for $14.95 per month. The subscription price increases depending on whether you wish to track one ($14.95/month) or three ($19.95/month) credit bureaus for your information.
The family subscription plan covers up to two adults and up to 10 dependent children for $29.95/month, including your children. The price for this plan also increases depending on how many credit bureaus you wish to track, with one bureau at $29.95/month or all three at From $34.95/month/month.
In addition, no matter which plan you choose, you’ll get access to all of the features available. The only customization choice you have to make is choosing how many credit bureaus you wish to track. One is the bare minimum, and all three are complete coverage.
Using IDShield: my experience
I found the process of buying an IDShield subscription looks very similar to signing up for other identity theft protection tools. Specifically, I needed to enter my email address and all of my personal details to verify my identity and then pay for the subscription. The site was a bit unwieldy at times, and I think the overall user experience could stand some streamlining. I go there in the end, though, and I’ll walk you through the buying process below.
Buying IDShield
- From the IDShield homepage, I clicked on “View Plans.”
- I then clicked on “Learn More” underneath the Individual Plan that I wanted to sign up for.
- Then I scrolled down to select the level of credit bureau monitoring I wanted – one bureau for now so that I could get a sense of my credit activity and explore IDShield.
- I clicked the blue Checkout button.
- Then I entered my email address and clicked continue.
- Then, I had to create an account and assign a password. On the next page, I entered my personal information.
- I entered my payment details and completed checkout.
- After I submitted my payment details, I received an email with a login link so I could access the dashboard.
Interface and setup
You can access your IDShield account on a browser or download the app to your mobile device.
While the signup process wasn’t exactly complicated, it was a bit confusing at points, and there were more steps with more obstacles than many other identity theft systems. I was glad that the customer support number was so readily visible throughout because it was clear that if the site wasn’t working, I could at least call someone.
Once you get through the setup, the dashboard is very clear and accessible. When you log in successfully, your dashboard shows an overview and highlights any alerts.
All the features you can use are listed on the side. You can get a more informative reading about your data and even search for more findings. In addition, you get to customize the information IDShield will monitor. The Identity Protect screen lets you scroll through the various accounts and identity credentials that you can set up for ongoing monitoring.
This includes individual email addresses, driver’s licenses, gamertags, and crypto wallets.
You can also set IDShield up to monitor specific provider ID numbers, passports, and Medical IDs.
Finally, you can set up specific SSNs, usernames, and phone numbers for ongoing monitoring.
The bottom line is that the Identity Protect section is extremely detailed, with very granular control of what you will monitor.From the Home tab, you can quickly check all the high-level details, like your credit score, alerts, and changes made to your ID information. Each popup also offers additional information fields or directs you to the specific tab that covers the specific issue.
IDShield App
As part of my comprehensive review, I spent some time testing the IDShield mobile app on Android as well. In general, it was a pretty good approximation of the desktop experience, but there were some technical hiccups to contend with.
The dashboard and credit monitoring looked essentially the same as on the desktop, which is a plus.
The alerts worked well, also. However, in my testing, the app wanted me to set up and configure alerts again on mobile when I had already done it on the desktop. The overall sensation was of an app that wasn’t a perfect portal into the same world as the browser, which makes me feel like a mobile-responsive webpage might be a better option than a dedicated app.
However, once I did an appropriate amount of reconfiguration, there was no denying that the alerts came through quickly. You can also see a lot of the information from the browser app on mobile, even if the layout is slightly different.
Based on this experience, my advice would be that if you know that you’ll primarily access IDShield from your mobile device, I’d recommend doing all of your setup from that device and not from a computer. There’s no point setting things up twice.
I should also point out that you can fully customize your account settings within the mobile app, which is a plus.
Here, you can see the full range of notification settings accessible from within the mobile app.
In short, the IDShield app is good but not as smooth as the web application. If you’re a “small-screen” person who is going to mainly use IDShield on your mobile device, you might want to start by setting it up there. Otherwise, you might find yourself preferring the web application for its complete range of features and generally smoother operation.
IDShield customer support
IDShield’s customer support options are varied and available at all times, which is a positive feature for a paid service that you may have to lean on in a crisis situation.
The support options are as follows:
- Live chat – via website
- Phone support – Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST
- Email support – With an approximate answer time of 24 hours or less
- FAQ Section
- 24/7 Emergency Assistance – For urgent situations like a lost wallet or identity theft crisis
- Online Contact form – Via website, no guaranteed response timeframe
The live chat was quick, courteous, and responsive, but the staff didn’t seem to be able to answer as many questions as their colleagues in other areas. When I asked more complex questions, the live chat staff sometimes wanted me to just send an email instead.
The email support staff were generally much faster than the stated time limits of up to 24 hours, but I suppose we are all just increasingly impatient. If you’ve got a non-urgent, complicated query about credit monitoring or something similar, my advice would be to send your query by email and try not to be in a rush.
However, as I’ve already said, I was extremely impressed and absolutely delighted with the 24/7 emergency assistance support and the investigators that are available to help with identity theft crisis situations. These were, hands down, my most positive experiences with IDShield customer support, and they demonstrated that when you need it most urgently, this provider can come through.
Our testing methodology
At Cybernews, We believe that detailed, balanced reviews require extensive research and analysis. Our specialists use an elaborate methodology while assessing different features of the service in this IDShield review.
What we did was this:
Protection Features Analysis (30%): We assess the credibility and comprehensiveness of vital features like credit monitoring, dark web monitoring, and social security number(SSN) monitoring.
Alerts (25%): How quickly, how correctly, and with what level of customization the system offers alerts.
Recovery Services (20%): How much support is available via dedicated specialists, as well as the type of identity theft insurance and help freezing credit or contacting institutions.
User Experience (15%): We factored in ease of setup, interface design, mobile functionality, and educational resources.
Value for Money (10%): We looked closely at pricing, features, family or couples plans, free trials, and satisfaction or money-back guarantees when grading this category.
IDShield review: our final verdict
Overall, IDShield is a secure and feature-rich all-around identity theft protection service. Although it isn’t as powerful as some more specialized or dedicated services, it offers reasonable value for money and covers most of the ways your sensitive data can be targeted, stolen, or leaked. It also comes with Trend Micro antivirus and a VPN to help protect your privacy online.
IDShield does reasonably well in terms of protection features and alerts, excellently in terms of its recovery services, and modestly in terms of its user experience and value for money. Overall, IDShield gets 55% overall, which means that it has a lot of room for improvement but still fits in among the best identity theft protection software today.
If you don’t yet have a credit monitoring solution and you also have no cybersecurity tools of any kind, IDShield might be a “starter solution” that suits you perfectly. If you’ve got a very clear idea of your needs and requirements, you might be better served by a set of–admittedly, more expensive–dedicated tools that will do exactly everything that you need them to.
FAQ
Is IDShield worth it?
Yes, IDShield is worth your money. This is a solid identity theft protection service that can scan the web for your stolen data, monitor medical records, report credit activity, and assist you if you are ever victimized. However, other providers might also suit you if you have particular needs and use cases.
Is IDShield safe?
Yes, IDShield is safe to use. All identity theft prevention providers need to know your sensitive data to make sure that it doesn’t leak publicly or appear on the dark web. IDShield’s data collection and retention practices are broadly in line with the industry.
How good is IDShield?
IDShield is a good ID theft protection service provider. This service has an extensive list of features that monitor and protect your data, has an insurance option, and access to a private investigator who can help you get the stolen information back.
Can IDShield freeze my credit?
Yes, IDShield will provide you assistance with blocking your credit with all three credit bureaus: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
Is IDShield the same as LegalShield?
IDShield is a division of LegalShield. LegalShield sells legal plans that provide their subscribers with access to member attorneys. However, by purchasing a LegalShield subscription, you won’t get the identity protection service that is IDShield.
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