Last Updated on August 21, 2023
I spent several weeks testing Identity Guard’s services, and I liked what I saw. But, when it comes to protecting my family online, it’s not the service I would pick.
I’m sticking with Aura for family protection.
Aura offers a full digital security solution for families, including everything from award-winning monitoring to top-notch parental controls. And, when you use our discount code, you can get Aura for an exceptionally affordable price.
- Looking for the best credit monitoring, identity theft protection, and fraud alerts.
- Looking for a personalized security score to help you understand your financial security.
- If you want to access your credit score from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – for free.
- If you want an all-in-one comprehensive identity protection solution.
That said, I know choosing identity protection for your family is a personal choice, and only you can say what’s best given your family’s needs.
So, if you’re considering Identity Guard, this review is for you. I’ll explain everything I discovered while testing this service so that you can see where it excels and where it misses the mark. By the end, you’ll know if Identity Guard is worth your time or if a service like Aura is the better choice.
Fast Scores
We reviewed Identity Guard in key categories as either poor, average, great, or excellent. The results look like this:
| Monitoring Capabilities | Excellent |
| Ease of Use | Great |
| Insurance | Average |
| Customer Service and Threat Resolution | Great |
| Family Plans | Great |
| Online Privacy Features | Average |
| Value | Great |
| Final Score | Great |
Monitoring Capabilities: Excellent
Identity Guard uses the same monitoring engine that Aura does to comb the dark web for your information. So, like Aura, it excels at finding and alerting you to threats.
Identity Guard is also comprehensive – if you opt for the top-tier plan.
As you read through this review, you’ll see that there are major differences between Identity Guard’s various plans. Which one you pick makes all the difference in the monitoring services you and your family will receive.
Monitoring Services
With Identity Guard’s Ultra plan (their top-tier offering), you get the following identity monitoring services:
You’ll also get the following credit monitoring services:
This is extremely comprehensive monitoring.
However, lower-level plans don’t include nearly as much.
Identity Guard’s Value plan consists solely of dark web monitoring and high-risk transaction monitoring. In other words, it gives you the bare minimum. If you opt for it, you’ll need to utilize a separate service to monitor your credit, and you’re leaving public records entirely vulnerable.
Does Identity Guard’s Monitoring Work?
Yes, Identity Guard’s monitoring works.
Many services offer comprehensive monitoring, just like Identity Guard, but few of them can tout the accuracy and speed that Identity Guard offers.
When I tested their services, Identity Guard found just as many threats as Aura (that’s nine unique dark web alerts) within a matter of minutes.
These alerts were actionable, too. Meaning they provided the information I needed to act, like the compromised email and date of the breach.
You would be shocked at how many identity protection services fail to include this basic information when alerting you to threats. And without it, the alerts aren’t very useful.
So, regarding monitoring your and your family’s identities, Identity Guard excels – especially if you opt for their Ultra Plan.
Ease Of Use: Great
Using Identity Guard is also easy.
Signing up and running an initial scan took less than ten minutes. I didn’t even need to pull out my credit card because Identity Guard allows you to use PayPal.
They also don’t require a ton of information up front – just basics, like your SSN, address, and so forth. You can add other information for Identity Guard to monitor later (and you probably should). But the initial sign-up process is very streamlined.
Once I was in, I found the dashboard to be well-organized.
Identity Guard uses large graphics that make it easy to navigate, and they use their dashboard space well.
Is it the best interface I’ve ever seen?
No. But it’s better than most protection services, and I’m fairly certain even the least tech-savvy amongst us could figure it out.
Insurance: Average
Identity theft insurance coverage is one of the top reasons to purchase an identity theft protection service. Unfortunately, no matter how good a service is at monitoring for threats, identity theft can happen. And, if it does, theft-related damages can become expensive!
So, most identity protection services offer at least $1 million in aggregate theft insurance coverage.
Identity Guard is right in line with this standard. All plans include $1 million in theft insurance coverage to cover stolen funds, expenses related to identity recovery, and legal fees.
Identity Guard does have a few plan limits (as shown below).
These are normal, though, and in line with what most other services include.
That means Identity Guard is completely average in this area. They don’t stand out in any way.
You should know that there are better examples of theft insurance coverage available. For example, Aura increases its insurance with each plan member you add.
Aura includes $1 million per adult on the plan, which brings total coverage up to $5 million (since you can include up to five adults on your plan). But they also aren’t below the industry standard, so I can’t complain too much.
Read More: Bank Accounts Being Accessed Through SSN
Customer Service and Threat Resolution: Great
Identity Guard shares a customer service and threat resolution team with my top pick for identity protection, Aura. So, as you might guess, their service is incredible overall.
The last time I called, it was 8 am on a Friday morning. I reached a representative in under two minutes. They were knowledgeable, quick to answer my questions, and friendly.
Identity Guard is also uniquely good at lost wallet protection. If your wallet is stolen or lost, they’ll wire emergency funds if you need them too. Most services simply help you cancel and replace the contents of your wallet, which could leave you high and dry.
Just imagine losing your wallet in a foreign country! Emergency cash could make all the difference in your situation.
However, there are a couple of reasons Identity Guard doesn’t have an excellent rating in this category, while Aura does.
- Identity Guard doesn’t offer 24/7 customer service. Their hours are Monday – Friday from 8 am to 9 pm and Saturdays from 8 am-6 pm. While these are more generous than some other services, the best identity protection companies offer 24/7 availability.
- Identity Guard only offers white-glove restoration with its Ultra plan. Lower-tiered plans don’t come with any kind of identity restoration services. That means you’ll be on your own if something happens, which can cost you a lot of time and energy.
Read More: How Does Identity Theft Happen
Family Plans: Great
Identity Guard’s family plans are better than most, but they’re not the best.
Let me explain.
With Identity Guard, as with Aura, you can add up to five adults and unlimited children to any family plan. That’s an incredible feature because it allows you to protect everyone you need to, including your spouse, your parents, your college-aged kids – even your siblings!
This makes Identity Guard above average, but if you have a family to protect, it’s not the service I would pick. It’s missing key features that other, more family-oriented services offer.
Just so you get a sense of what I mean, let’s look at some of the features Aura includes with its family plans.
With Aura, you get:
These are tools that families can use to better shield themselves from online predators, cyber thieves, and fraudsters – and unfortunately, Identity Guard doesn’t include any of them.
Online Privacy Features: Average
Identity Guard offers solid identity protection services, but it doesn’t include many extras. As far as online privacy features go, Identity Guard offers a minimal amount, including:
And that’s it.
Some identity protection services don’t include any privacy add-ons, so this isn’t a fireable offense.
But, if you want to protect your family on the Internet in full – not just from identity thieves but also from fraudsters, scammers, and online predators, you’ll want more comprehensive digital privacy inclusions.
Ideally, your identity protection service will come with online privacy features such as:
You could purchase these separately to protect your family online, but you don’t have to. By opting for a service like Aura instead of Identity Guard, you get all of the above.
See how Aura compares to its alternatives and competitors. And why at the end of the day we still choose their service.
Value: Great
Identity Guard offers three plans:
They also run regular discounts, which reduce these prices significantly. When those discounts are available, Identity Guard’s value is great.
The Value plan is an exceptionally low-cost way to protect your family. But, as with most things, you get what you pay for.
Identity Guard’s Value plan offers minimal protection and will require extra effort on your part. You’ll have to seek out a separate credit monitoring service and will be responsible for taking steps to restore your and your family’s identity if you become victims of theft.
If you want full-fledged identity theft protection and credit monitoring, you’ll need to opt for Identity Guard’s Ultra plan. And at that point, the value vs. price equation starts to look less favorable.
You can get far more for a comparable price from other services, like Aura.
Final Score: Great
Identity Guard is a respectable identity protection company. My experience testing its services led me to believe that its reputation is well-deserved.
It offers accurate monitoring and excellent customer service. Its Ultra plan, especially, includes everything a straightforward identity protection service should.
But it fails to go above and beyond, especially when it comes to family protection. That’s why Aura remains my top pick for families.
Aura offers award-winning identity theft and credit monitoring with all the extra tools like an Experian credit lock and a credit score tracker included standard. You don’t have to navigate a tiered pricing structure like you do with Identity Guard.
Aura also includes several digital protection extras that help families stay safe online. With features like safe gaming and parental controls, Aura ensures your children are protected from more than just cyber thieves – they’re also better protected from bullies and sexual predators.
And while Aura could demand a much higher price than Identity Guard, given its inclusions, it doesn’t. At least, it doesn’t when you use our discount code. With that in place, Aura costs less than Identity Guard’s Ultra plan.
All of this is to say Identity Guard isn’t a bad service – it’s one of the best. But you can do even better for yourself and yours by choosing Aura.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Identity Guard protect your social security number?
Identity Guard monitors your social security number. That means it will let you know if your SSN shows up on the dark web. If that happens, Identity Guard will also give you recommendations on what to do to protect yourself.
Technically, though, only you can protect your social security number. By practicing good digital hygiene, you can help ensure personal details (like your SSN) don’t end up in the wrong hands.
How does Identity Guard compare to LifeLock?
Identity Guard and LifeLock are both well-known identity protection services. On paper, it seems like LifeLock offers more for a comparable price, but after testing both services, I’m not so sure that’s true.
LifeLock has major flaws in its services – its pricing increases on renewal, its monitoring isn’t as accurate as Identity Guard, and its customer service is subpar. If you’re curious, you can read more about LifeLock in our in-depth review.
Can I cancel Identity Guard at any time?
Yes, if you’re not happy with Identity Guard, you can cancel through your dashboard or by giving their customer service team a call. They also provide a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Other Articles You Might Like:
- Comparison Between Identity Guard and IdentityForce
- Identity Guard vs IDShield – Prices, Plans, and Features
- How to Prevent Medical Identity Theft
- Identity Theft Committed By a Family or Relatives
- Common Types of Identity Theft
- How to Avoid Phishing Email Scam
- Can Someone Defraud Me With a Sim Card
- Famous Identity Theft Cases and What We Can Learn From Them
