Home Security Heroes independently tests and reviews every product. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. Read more here.
Home Security Heroes recommends Identity Guard Identity Theft Protection Service because of its comprehensive coverage and reliable service support. All plans have $1 million insurance and a US-based customer care team. Its basic plan offers top features while its Ultra Plan gives one of the most complete packages in the market.
Our identities, once confined to physical objects like pictures and paper, are now digital. We have access to our finances, information, and credit at the touch of a few buttons. Your credit is synchronized with your identity. Since your identity is digital and tied to your credit, it becomes an attractive target for thieves.
A total-life monitoring platform alerts you when any of your information, accounts, or credit is at risk.
This makes it essential to have someone help you monitor your personal information and credit because it is next to impossible to monitor yourself. If you are considering Identity Guard vs. ProtectMyID, there are important differences between the 2 identity protection providers to assess before choosing.
But First, Why Should You Trust Us?
You can learn more about our testing process here.
Identity Guard vs. ProtectMyID: Head to Head Comparison
- Available only to AAA members and their families
- Available to the general public.
- Provides you with alerts if your information was included in a data breach
- Doesn’t have alerts for data breach
- Alerts you if your accounts are monitored for high-risk validations for wire transfers or changing account holders.
- Doesn’t have high-risk transaction monitoring.
Similarities
- Providers monitor your Social Security number and other personal information across the regular internet and the dark web.
- Public records such as your home title and court documents are monitored for your name and information.
- Each provider also scans any sex-offender registries to ensure offenders do not use your data.
- Your social media accounts, and those of your family, can be monitored for changes or attempts to use them.
- Identity theft insurance covers up to $1 million in lawyer fees and other costs associated with recovering your identity.
- You can purchase protection for your domestic partner or spouse and your children (up to 10).
- Each provider has customer support agents that assist with problems and fraud resolution support specialists that walk you through the steps of recovering your identity after a theft occurs.
- All 3 credit bureau reports and files can be monitored, depending on the plan you purchase.
- Reports from all 3 bureaus give you a fuller picture of your credit.
- Your bank accounts and credit cards are monitored for any changes or attempts to use them.
- Any activity creates an alert so that you can react if you did not initiate the action.
Identity Guard Features and Services
ID Theft and Cyber-Security
As we continue to advance in technology, our information becomes more accessible to unscrupulous people. Our personal information can be stolen and sold on the dark web, so Identity Guard uses artificial intelligence and machine learning programs to scour the web. You’ll receive alerts if your information is found on any of these sinister websites.
Public records, by nature, are very accessible. In the wrong hands, your identity can be used in criminal proceedings or to alter documents. The title to your home is one of your most valuable assets, so any attempts to change information on it will trigger an alert. Any other court documents that are found with your information trigger an alert as well.
Fund Replacement and Insurance
Identity theft can cost you all of your financial assets. Your bank accounts can be emptied, leaving you with nothing while trying to recover your lost funds. You’ll need lawyers, experts, and legal documents in your recovery efforts. The costs add up, which is why you’re insured for up to $1 million in stolen funds and fees.
Credit, Bank, and Investment Monitoring
Your credit file has, unfortunately, become the ruling document for credit approval from lenders. Banks store all of your financial assets, and investments or retirement funds secure your future. If any of these are tampered with, you could feel the effects for a very long time.
All these accounts and files are monitored for you in Identity Guard identity theft protection. You’ll receive alerts for any activities so that you’ll know as soon as it happens.
Pros and Cons
- Three plans give you the option to choose the right one for you.
- The risk management report identifies identity theft areas where you are most vulnerable.
- High-risk activities such as large-sum transfers and account holder changes can be monitored.
- The list of identity theft methods continues to grow. It covers nearly all known techniques.
- You can add family members’ bank and investment accounts with the right plan.
- The app works on both Android and iOS.
- The internet and dark web are watched to ensure your information is not being exchanged.
- Social media account tampering generates alerts for you and your family.
- Technical support is not available 24 hours. You’ll have to wait for working hours.
- The safe browsing extension is only available on specific browsers.
- Browser extensions can be tampered with, increasing the risk of identity theft.
- App repositories are not very secure, and you might download a version with ransomware.
- If you have significant assets (more than $1 million), you’ll need to find other insurance.
- Mobile app technical support is lacking.
- No mobile devices or personal computer security suite, such as antivirus, is available.
- You can only receive annual credit reports. Recovering from theft might require more.
- More expensive
Plans and Pricing
- The Value plan has two options, individual or family. The individual plan is $7.50 per month, while family plan costs $12.50 per month.
- Each plan offers up to $1 million in theft insurance, the risk management report, and cyber-security features.
- The Total Plan is Identity Guard’s second-tier plan and can be purchased for $16.67 per month.
- A family plan can also be purchased for $25 per month, protecting your children and domestic partner or spouse.
- The Total Plan adds bank account monitoring, a monthly 1-bureau credit score, and Identity Guard credit monitoring of 3 bureaus.
- The Ultra plan offers the most coverage for individuals and families.
- For $25 per month (individual) or $33.33 (family), you’ll receive all of the lower-tier packages’ benefits plus address change monitoring, investment and retirement account monitoring, tracking of court records and documents, and more.
ProtectMyID Features and Services
ID Theft and Cyber-Security
ProtectMyID identity theft protection covers a broad swath of activities known to be frequented by thieves. Its artificially intelligent platform scans the dark web and internet for your information and sends you alerts if it is found.
Included in the scans are the social media accounts of your family (if purchased) as well as scanning public court records. If anyone tries to change your address or use your name in criminal proceedings, you’ll be alerted.
Your bank accounts are monitored for changes or access attempts in the top 2 plans. If someone tries to use your information to open new bank accounts, credit cards, or take over your accounts, you’ll be notified.
Fund Replacement and Insurance
Like other providers, ProtectMyID offers insurance to cover expenses and stolen fund replacement. Costs for lawyers, experts, and records can quickly add up during a recovery process, so you get up to $1 million to help you recover from an identity theft.
Credit and Bank Accounts
Your credit file is monitored in real-time for changes. If there are requests for credit in your name, you’ll receive alerts. ProtectMyID gives you access to your credit report in all plans so that you can view your credit history, open and closed accounts, and more.
Your bank accounts can be monitored for changes or withdrawals, which will all trigger alerts.
Pros and Cons
- 3-bureau credit monitoring with the Deluxe and Platinum plans.
- The app sends account alerts to your devices.
- Dormant account and credit card monitoring of your unused accounts.
- Plans make monitoring your credit and accounts convenient if you are short on time.
- Identity restoration experts walk you through the process of regaining your identity and assets.
- Locking your credit file from an app makes it easy to keep thieves out of your file.
- Make your credit file accessible when you need it, then lock it back up.
- Good news is always nice. You’ll receive positive credit change notices via the app.
- Much of what is provided can be done by consumers but is time-consuming.
- There is no monitoring of your investment accounts included with the financial account monitoring.
- Placing fraud alerts assumes that you trust the lenders to verify your identity thoroughly.
- You’ll need other theft insurance if you have greater than $1 million in assets.
- There is no device security or antivirus included in any of the packages.
- Fraud resolution customer service is not available 24 hours a day.
- The price of coverage rises significantly as you add family members.
- Some of Experian’s identity theft services are used in this plan, focusing more on credit.
Plans and Pricing
- Essential is the lowest-tier package. Free to AAA members, it includes monitoring of the dark web and internet, lost wallet help, and ID theft insurance.
- If you’re an AAA member, you’ll receive everything in the Essential package, in addition to monitoring social media and financial accounts for $10.95 per month.
- If your information is entered into court records or used for payday lending, you’ll be notified via the app.
- Deluxe lets you use the app to place fraud alerts on your credit file to signal lenders to use extra identity verification measures.
- In the Deluxe family plan, you can also add up to 10 children for an additional $3.95 per month.
- The Platinum plan costs AAA members $15.95 per month.
- It includes all the features and benefits of the lower tier plans but adds monitoring of payday lenders, sex-offender records, and credit limit and usage alerts.
Final Verdict: Identity Guard
If you’re looking for an identity theft plan to fit you and your family’s growing needs, look no further than Identity Guard for your security and peace of mind. Your future, and that of your family, depend on your ability to combat identity theft. Identity Guard is a great choice to protect your identity from identity thieves.
Both ProtectMyID and Identity Guard have excellent identity protection plans. All of the essential identity monitoring tasks are included. ProtectMyId has some great benefits for AAA members; however, if you’re not a AAA member, there are significant differences that make Identity Guard stand out.
Identity Guard monitors changes in all of your financial accounts, not just your bank account. Investments and retirement funds are the basis for your future financial security, so you need them watched as closely as your credit, checking, and savings.
All providers may not monitor high-risk transactions, but Identity Guard stands out from other competitors here. If you store your information at retailers and merchants, data breaches are happening more and more. Identity Guard’s data breach notification allows you to prepare to deal with a data breach along with identity theft.
Additionally, Identity Guards’s customer support agents and fraud resolution agents are ready to help you challenge an identity breach when it happens so you can restore your accounts.
Read More Comparison:
Last Updated on