Last Updated on May 9, 2023
One of the selling points for many people for identity protection products such as LifeLock is the ability to have personal information monitored across a wide variety of locations. LifeLock not only searches the world wide web for misuse of your personal information, but they also watch the dark web. With many criminals turning to the dark web, it makes sense that your monitoring service should look here.
LifeLock also monitors more than just your name, social security number, bank and credit card accounts. They will also watch for your drivers license numbers, investment accounts and even your home’s title. These are all places where your identity can be compromised but many other products do not monitor these.
Every Norton LifeLock 360 bundles include these features:
These basic features are available on all LifeLock bundles. However, the number of devices you can protect, as well as the amount of available cloud storage does change between the bundles. For example, the base LifeLock bundle provides protection for five devices and 100 GB of cloud storage. The top level LifeLock bundle on the other hand gives you 500 GB of cloud storage and can be used on an unlimited number of devices including smartphones, computers and tablets.
Besides the great variety that you get in LifeLock bundles, they are also one of the more affordable options out there. Their base bundle starts at just $8.99 per month.
How to Use LifeLock
If you are ready to purchase a monthly LifeLock subscription, the process is fairly simple.
First, you will want to select the right plan for your needs. LifeLock offers four different plans: Standard, Select, Advantage and Ultimate Plus. The LifeLock website does a nice job of presenting each package so you can easily see the features of each.
Once you have figured out which plan is best for you, you will need to create an account. This will require you to provide an email address and create a password. You will then be asked to provide some basic information including address and phone number.
With your account created, LifeLock will then ask for specific personal information that is used for monitoring purposes. This will include things like your birth date, social security number, and account information for your banks and credit cards. If you have selected one of the higher level packages, you may also need to provide information for your investment accounts.
Features of LifeLock
When you purchase an identity protection product, there can be variability in what each feature provides. When you are considering LifeLock, these are the features you get, and a little about what each provides.
Monitoring and Alerts
No matter the LifeLock package that you purchase you will get monitoring of your personal information and alerts to any potential fraudulent activity. The difference between the lower levels of the LifeLock plans and the more expensive options is the number of areas where their program monitors. All plans do provide at least some level of monitoring and alerts.
Identity Monitoring
Criminals will use a variety of ways to try and snag your personal information for illegitimate use. The areas that LifeLock watches for potential identity theft includes:
If any of these areas should show potential compromise, LifeLock will send you a notification. Besides the monitoring and alerts, LifeLock does have features that you can tap into that allow you to take control of your personal information protection. We like their privacy monitor feature.
This feature scans the internet looking for places where your personal information may be available (data broker sites), and provides you with the company information. With this information you can call the data broker and request that your information be removed.
Credit Monitoring
LifeLock’s Ultimate Plus package offers you comprehensive monitoring of all three credit bureaus. LifeLock will keep an eye on your credit reports for any changes. They provide you a daily update of your credit score and a monthly rundown of your credit report.
This is something you can do on your own, usually for free from all three credit bureaus individually. However, this can take a bunch of time, so it is nice that LifeLock will do this for you. When it comes to credit monitoring, this is about the best you can get, and you won’t find much difference with other identity protection products.
LifeLock has partnered with TransUnion, so if you notice activity on your credit report that is not yours, you can lock your TransUnion credit report directly from your LifeLock dashboard. This is handy, and a nice feature that you don’t get with other identity monitoring products.
Keep in mind however, you will need to contact the other two credit bureaus (Experian and Equifax) directly. This can be done for free, but it will take you a bit of extra time if you notice fraudulent activity on one of your credit reports.
Financial Monitoring
There are a couple of things that go into your financial monitoring on LifeLock. First, with all levels of the LifeLock product you get monitoring of your bank and credit card accounts. Frequently this is the first and easiest way that a criminal takes control of your identity. If you have unauthorized activity on your bank or credit card accounts, LifeLock will let you know.
If you have higher levels of the LifeLock product, you will also get monitoring of your investment accounts, including your 401K account. This is a really great feature, especially if you don’t want to spend time looking at these accounts on a daily basis. If LifeLock notices unusual activity in your investment accounts or your retirement fund, it will notify you. This allows you to lock down your accounts from additional harm.
The other part of protecting your finances that is provided by LifeLock is a great insurance policy. Identity theft insurance is a great benefit, and is one that is provided by most identity protection products. LifeLock does have one the more robust insurance products. When you are considering identity theft insurance you want to have a product that provides coverage for legal expenses, losses, and reimbursement of lost funds.
LifeLock’s insurance provides all of these to their customers. At the lowest level, LifeLock provides $1 million in coverage for legal expenses, and $25,000 for stolen funds and $25,000 for personal expense reimbursement. The coverage for stolen funds and personal expenses increases to $1 million for each in the Ultimate Plus plan.
If you feel like you need more coverage for lost funds and personal expenses, you will want to consider one of the LifeLock’s upper level packages.
LifeLock Pricing
With LifeLock you get three plan options. Each plan gives you a different level of coverage for the monthly subscription price. We’ll give you a basic rundown of the price of each level as well as a few features that make the plan different from the other LifeLock offerings.
The prices noted here are for an individual membership. However, LifeLock does offer these same three plan levels for couples and families. If you are looking for this product for your family, you will want to reach out to LifeLock directly.
LifeLock Standard
This is the base LifeLock Plan. The Standard plan gives you the basic features including antivirus software, personal information monitoring and basic financial monitoring. The LifeLock Standard package monitors Equifax only. It also only provides $25,000 in coverage for personal expenses and $25,000 in lost funds reimbursement. This is the most affordable of the LifeLock packages. The initial cost is $8.99 per month for the first year. After the first year of coverage it will auto-renew at $11.99 per month.
LifeLock Select
This second level of LifeLock gives you Norton 360 cybersecurity, and features like a VPN for up to five devices, a password manager, and cloud backup storage for your Windows devices. This level of LifeLock protection starts at $9.99 per month for the first year of service, and then increases to $14.99 per month in your second year of coverage.
LifeLock Advantage
This is the most popular level of the LifeLock packages. It gives you all of the basic monitoring, the Norton 360 cybersecurity, a VPN for up to 10 devices, and an additional $75,000 in reimbursement coverage (total of $100,000). The price for this package starts at $19.99 per month for the first year. The price of this package increases to $24.99 in the second year of service.
LifeLock Ultimate Plus
The highest level of protection from LifeLock comes with all of the features of the Standard level package. It also includes the Norton 360 cybersecurity, credit monitoring of all three credit bureaus, a VPN for up to 10 devices, and a maximum reimbursement coverage of $1 million. This package starts at $29.99 per month, and then bumps up to $34.99 at the end of the first year of coverage.
Remember these are the prices for each package for a single adult. If you are looking for coverage for your family, these prices will change.
User Reviews of LifeLock
When selecting an identity theft protection product, it is helpful to consider reviews of the product from other customers or experts in the identity protection field. In our research we found that LifeLock has a 4 star rating on a typical 5 star scale.
While most users had a favorable opinion of LifeLock, there were some negative things that were noted by current customers.
Alternatives to LifeLock
Identity Guard
Identity Guard uses the AI platform, Watson, from IBM to boost their scan of internet sites including news articles, social media posts and other internet sites that may not be considered by other monitoring platforms. LifeLock will provide this level of internet monitoring in the Ultra plan, ($24.99 per month).
LifeLock does provide more robust digital security features than Identity Guard, but you will pay an extra cost. These features include a VPN, cloud backup storage for Windows information, antivirus protection and parental controls. We like the offerings of the LifeLock product over Identity Guard. However, the partnership that Identity Guard has with IBM does give this product a leg up over every other identity protection product.
IdentityForce
IdentityForce is one of the most basic identity protection products on the market. This product offers you monitoring of your credit reports and scores from all three credit bureaus. Beyond that you don’t get much else from IdentityForce. One of the big missing features from IdentityForce is the reimbursement of lost funds and personal expenses in their insurance product.
LifeLock Security
LifeLock provides a range of security features across all four of their package levels. Not only do they provide web and dark web monitoring for your personal information, but LifeLock also keeps an eye on your social security number, data breaches, helps you lock your credit file, and protects against unauthorized payday loans.
Higher level packages from LifeLock give you added security with VPNs and access to Norton 360 cybersecurity products. This is one of the best ways to keep your personal information safe.
LifeLock Customer Support
LifeLock is one of the few identity monitoring products that offers 24/7 customer support. If you need assistance with an incident of identity theft or fraud, LifeLock’s representatives will assist you, and you will have a designated representative who will handle your case. You can also access helpful information and answers to frequently asked questions on your personal dashboard.
Frequently Asked Questions About LifeLock
Does LifeLock Offer Insurance?
All of the LifeLock plans offer some level of identity theft insurance. For all plans, you will get $1 million in legal expense coverage. Each plan then offers an increasing amount of coverage for personal expense and lost funds reimbursement starting at $25,000 and increasing to up to $1 million.
How do I cancel LifeLock?
This is one of the features of the LifeLock product that is a bit underwhelming. While they generally provide good customer service, canceling your subscription is a bit on the tedious and difficult side.
To cancel your LifeLock subscription you will have to either submit a request through your dashboard or call LifeLock directly. Unless you request a refund for any unused time, LifeLock will keep your subscription open until the end of the period for which you have already paid. This is great if you pay month to month.
However, if you pay for your entire subscription in a single annual payment, you will likely want a refund. LifeLock will give you a refund for the remaining period, prorated to your next renewal date. This can be a bit challenging, and many users have noted that it is difficult to work with LifeLock when requesting a refund, even if you are within the documented refund period.
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