DataGuardian review: the free exposure scan, and whether monitoring is worth $19 a month
Anyone whose email has turned up in a breach, and anyone who has found their home address on a people-search site.
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DataGuardian Monthly Monitor
$19/mo
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Most privacy tools sell you a tunnel. DataGuardian does the opposite: it looks at what is already public about you — breached credentials, data-broker listings, people-search profiles, avatar and social leaks tied to your email — and turns that into a risk score with a step-by-step removal plan. The scan is free and takes under a minute, which makes it one of the few privacy products you can evaluate before paying anything.
What's good
- Free scan with a real result — risk score, breach count and named broker listings, no card required
- Assisted Removals files data-broker opt-outs for you and re-checks for relisting
- Monitoring re-scans and alerts instead of being a one-off report
- Family plan covers five people, which is cheaper than five individual removal services
- Explicit no-data-sale stance and one-button account and scan deletion
What's not
- It is not a VPN or antivirus — it does not protect your device or traffic
- Removals are opt-out requests, so timelines depend on each broker
- A clean scan means no paid plan is needed, so the upsell only makes sense for exposed users
How to choose in this category
Start with the free scan, because it decides everything else. A score in the exposed band almost always comes from two sources: an email address sitting in old breach corpora, and people-search sites republishing your address from public records. Those need different fixes. Breached credentials are fixed by you — unique passwords and 2FA on the accounts named in the report. Broker listings are fixed by opt-outs, one per broker, repeated whenever they relist. That second job is the one worth paying for: Monthly Monitor at $19 tells you when something new appears, Assisted Removals at $29 does the filing, and the $99 Family plan is the only sensible option once you are covering a partner, parents or children. Skip all of them if the scan comes back clean and just re-run it every few months.
The verdict
Run the free scan first. If it comes back clean, you do not need a subscription. If you are listed on people-search sites, Assisted Removals at $29/mo is the plan that actually changes your exposure, because relisting is the part nobody keeps up with manually.
See it nowFrequently asked
Is DataGuardian a VPN?
No. A VPN hides traffic in transit. DataGuardian scans what is already public about you — breach corpora, data brokers, people-search sites and public profiles tied to your email — and helps you get it removed.
Is the scan really free?
Yes. The free tier returns a risk score and an action plan without a card. Paid plans add re-scanning, alerts and done-for-you removals.
What does Assisted Removals actually do?
DataGuardian files opt-out requests with data brokers and people-search sites on your behalf and re-checks for relisting, which is the step that fails when people do it manually.
How long do removals take?
Each broker has its own process, typically days to several weeks. Relisting is common, which is why ongoing monitoring matters more than a one-time removal.
Can I delete my data from DataGuardian?
Yes — account and every scan can be deleted from one button in Settings, and scans are not sold or shared.