Managing your digital footprint is a necessary full-time job to keep your data safe from scammers, but that responsibility multiplies when you include family members — Incogni is here to help.
You might have already heard about personal data management being a requirement as an internet citizen. It's as necessary as basic hygiene to keep your sensitive data safe and keep bad actors at bay.
However, things get infinitely more complicated when discussing the topic regarding your entire family. Your young child or elderly parent has no interest in managing their data, not to mention your equally busy spouse.
The hours you might spend tracking down data brokers and people search sites to submit data removal requests get infinitely longer when you add even a single new person to that task. That's where Incogni's Family & Friends plan comes in.
Save 55% with code APPLEINSIDER55
When you upgrade to one of Incogni's Family plans, you get five slots and full account management features in addition to everything Incogni offers at that tier. And don't worry, the plan can be used for any five people, whether it's your brother, aunt, child, or college roommate.
How bad actors target your family
The internet is a basic utility that everyone accesses whether you're 13 or 70. The problem is, access comes with risk generated as your digital footprint increases.
Robocallers get your family phone numbers from data brokers. Image source: Incogni
You may not think much of your child going online and creating accounts, but they've already entered the world of surveillance capitalism. Advertisers are already bidding to show them content, and scammers are working to find ways to exploit the child's access to the web.
Even with parental controls and supervision, a child is generating shadow profiles that become lucrative to data brokers. Also, if they play online games that require payments, the email address and credit card attached to those transactions could become exposed in a data breach.
These problems that affect adults on the web feel that much worse when a child is involved. They're not going to be equipped with the same tools to avoid problems online that years of experience brings.
The same concerns can be applied to adult or elderly family members. If they're not being overly cautious, they could put themselves and their family at risk of fraud or worse.
Scammers scour the internet for potential data troves. Image source: Incogni
Elder scams are on the rise, and the more data that's available on the web, the easier it is for bad actors. Excessive spam calls ringing your family member's devices off the hook are a direct result of data brokers selling your family's information.
That information was gathered from a variety of sources. Some legitimate business transactions where a website sells data like user emails, others where data breaches lead to databases of exposed information.
Either way, your family's data is out there. It doesn't matter how ironclad your online safety protocols are if a family member just shared sensitive data to a shady website without your knowledge.
There isn't a magic wand any individual or company can wave to make all the potential risks go away. However, individuals can do two things to help.
First, educate your family on proper internet hygiene and set up restrictions and parental controls as needed. Some web extensions like content blockers can go a long way in helping reduce online data footprints too.
Second, users can sign up for Incogni's Family & Friends plan to get data removal for five individuals. It's the best way to ensure sensitive information that's already spread to data brokers and people search sites is found and taken down.
Incogni can shield the entire family from data brokers
Incogni can act on your family's behalf to request that personal data be removed from most websites. The few exceptions include personal blogs, social media, public records, and government entities.
Incogni offers a simple dashboard for viewing active requests. Image source: Incogni
Incogni's main targets are data brokers and people search sites. It also contacts search engines or other websites known for hoarding user data.
Incogni's standard Family plan includes searching and sending requests to over 420 data broker sites. Upgrade to the Family Unlimited plan and add over 1,000 additional supported sites and Custom Removal requests.
Users get access to a dashboard that shows ongoing and completed requests. The Family & Friends plan includes account management tools as well.
The entire system is automated. Incogni searches the web for each individual's information, like addresses, email, phone numbers, and more, then it sends requests for removal.
Custom Removal requests are an extra feature that lets users provide Incogni with a known website that has the user's information. Incogni will then perform the data request on the user's behalf using their automated system.
These features work for your entire family, and they don't need to lift a finger. It's an excellent way to reduce the amount of available data, and thus attack vectors, online.
How Incogni removes family data from the internet
After ensuring your family is educated about basic internet hygiene and proper device management controls are set, there will be a need to get rid of the data that's already out there. That's where Incogni comes in.
Don't waste precious time and energy trying to go to each of the hundreds of data brokers and manually submit data removal requests. Also, don't be afraid of having a family that has access to the internet.
Instead, trust Incogni to do the leg work. Here's how the process works.
- Sign up for an Incogni account and choose a Family plan. Provide permission for the company to act on your and your family member's behalf.
- Incogni scans people search and data broker sites for your family's data.
- Removal requests are sent, then resent until something is done.
- Repeated scans prevent websites from re-adding family data.
- Lists of data brokers, people search sites, and more are updated regularly so Incogni can stay on top of things.
- If a data broker appeals a removal request, Incogni handles the appeal too.
The Incogni Family Ultimate subscription includes these services plus additional websites and Custom Removals. It's the best value for the range of services provided to your five family members or friends.
Save up to 55% on Incogni
Stop your personal info from being bought, sold, and abused with Incogni. AppleInsider readers get 55% off Incogni today with code APPLEINSIDER55. The provider offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and you can cancel anytime.
