Personal digital data has become part of modern life – stored by apps, shared by retailers, and traded by data brokers you’ve never heard of. While it’s impossible to stop data circulation entirely, you can reduce your exposure (and probably should, considering the risk of fraud or identity theft). Two names often come up when […] The post Incogni vs Aura: Focused Data Removal or All-in-One Protection? appeared first on TechBullion.Personal digital data has become part of modern life – stored by apps, shared by retailers, and traded by data brokers you’ve never heard of. While it’s impossible to stop data circulation entirely, you can reduce your exposure (and probably should, considering the risk of fraud or identity theft). Two names often come up when […] The post Incogni vs Aura: Focused Data Removal or All-in-One Protection? appeared first on TechBullion.

Incogni vs Aura: Focused Data Removal or All-in-One Protection?

2025/11/29 18:41

Personal digital data has become part of modern life – stored by apps, shared by retailers, and traded by data brokers you’ve never heard of. While it’s impossible to stop data circulation entirely, you can reduce your exposure (and probably should, considering the risk of fraud or identity theft).

Two names often come up when you browse for privacy solutions: Incogni and Aura. Both help you take back control of your digital presence, but they work in very different ways. One focuses on keeping your personal data out of broker databases. The other combines data protection with credit monitoring, antivirus tools, and family safety features

Let’s take a closer look at which one fits your needs best.

At a Glance: Comparing the Essentials

FeatureIncogniAura
Starting price (annualized)$7.99/month$12/month
Core focusAutomated data broker removalsAll-in-one identity protection suite
AutomationFully automated, recurring requestsPartly automated, some manual approval
Broker coverage420+ public and private brokersLimited, mainly public listings
VerificationDeloitte Independent Assurance AssessmentNone
Extra toolsData exposure trackingCredit monitoring, VPN, antivirus, parental controls
SupportEmail, chat for all subscribers, phone for higher plans24/7 phone, chat, and email
Best suited forSet-and-forget privacy protectionFamilies wanting full digital safety

Information current as of October 2025)

Approaches to Privacy

Incogni is a specialist. Its only purpose is to remove your data from data brokers – the companies that buy, store, and sell personal details – and keep it that way. Once authorized, it automatically sends opt-out requests to over 420 brokers and keeps renewing them every 60 or 90 days, depending on the broker type. It’s a long-term, repeating system that maintains your privacy without you having to step in.

Aura is a generalist. It’s more of a digital security suite than a data removal service. Along with broker opt-outs, you get credit monitoring, identity theft alerts, VPN access, antivirus software, and insurance coverage, among other things. Its removal feature is less comprehensive and often requires manual approval to complete.

So, Incogni protects your data at the source, while Aura monitors what happens after your information is already out there.

Coverage

When it comes to where your data is removed from, the difference here is substantial.

Incogni reaches both public and private data brokers, covering industries like marketing, recruitment, risk assessment, and finance. This wider reach goes beyond what you can see on search engines and handles the databases that feed them.

Aura’s coverage is much narrower. Its opt-out tools target mainly public people-search sites, not the private brokers that actually distribute your data across the internet. It partially makes up for this with its other security features, though, but those don’t erase your information, so it’s up to you and your priorities.

Transparency

Privacy tools should be clear about what they’re doing with your data.

Incogni shows progress in a dashboard, where you can see which brokers were contacted and which confirmed deletion. Importantly, its processes have undergone independent limited assurance assessment by Deloitte, confirming the validity of the process. It’s the only major service in the market with this kind of assurance.

Aura, by contrast, focuses on real-time alerts. It will notify you of data breaches, suspicious logins, or compromised passwords. While this helps you react to threats quickly, its data removal feature wasn’t independently checked and doesn’t provide visibility into its effectiveness.

Subscription Pricing

Incogni keeps things simple: all plans include the same level of protection – automated removals, access to 420+ brokers, and custom deletion requests. The starting cost is $7.99 per month (billed annually), with higher tiers offering faster processing, unlimited custom removal requests, or family coverage.

Aura divides its pricing by the number of users and features:

  • Individual: $12/month
  • Couple: $22/month
  • Family: $32/month

There’s also a limited option for kids, costing $10/month.

Each tier bundles tools like VPN, antivirus, and credit monitoring. That’s great if you need a full digital security package, but if you only want your data removed from brokers, you’ll end up paying for extras you may never use.

Usability

Incogni is designed not to attract your attention nor take up your time. Setup takes minutes – verify your identity, sign the authorization form, and let it handle everything automatically. You can log in to check progress anytime, but there’s nothing you need to manage daily. Icogni will work quietly in the background.

Aura involves more interaction. Its platform constantly monitors multiple aspects of your digital life and alerts you when it finds potential issues. It’s informative, but it also means more notifications and tasks to review.

Pros and Cons

Provider✅Pros❌Cons
Incogni✅Fully automated and recurring data removals

✅420+ brokers, public and private

✅Deloitte-assured process

✅Simple, flat pricing

❌No free tier (there’s a money-back guarantee)

❌Phone support only with Unlimited plans

Aura✅Full digital safety suite (VPN, antivirus, credit monitoring)

✅24/7 support

✅Strong family and identity theft protection

❌Limited broker coverage

❌Partly manual removals

❌Higher cost if data removal is your only goal

Final Verdict: Depth Over Breadth

Aura offers impressive all-around digital protection, especially for families and users who want everything – credit alerts, antivirus, VPN, and insurance – in one place.

But when it comes to removing personal data from brokers, Incogni’s specialization makes all the difference. It focuses on the root of the problem, automates every step, and verifies that it’s working – all for a lower price.

Both are valuable; your choice depends on whether you want prevention or monitoring.

If your main goal is to keep your personal information from being collected and sold again, Incogni provides the most efficient and lasting solution.

Comments
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Wang Yongli, former vice president of the Bank of China: Why did China resolutely halt stablecoins?

Written by: Wang Yongli , former Vice President of Bank of China China's policy orientation of accelerating the development of the digital yuan and resolutely curbing virtual currencies, including stablecoins, is now fully clear. This is based on a comprehensive consideration of factors such as China's leading global advantages in mobile payments and the digital yuan, the sovereignty and security of the yuan, and the stability of the monetary and financial system. Since May 2025, the United States and Hong Kong have been racing to advance stablecoin legislation, which has led to a surge in global legislation on stablecoins and crypto assets (also known as "cryptocurrencies" or "virtual currencies"). A large number of institutions and capital are flocking to issue stablecoins and invest in crypto assets, which has also sparked heated debate on whether China should fully promote stablecoin legislation and the development of RMB stablecoins (including offshore ones). Furthermore, after the United States legislated to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing digital dollars, whether China should continue to promote digital RMB has also become a hot topic of debate. For China, this involves the direction and path of national currency development. With the global spread of stablecoins and the increasingly acute and complex international relations and fiercer international currency competition, this has a huge and far-reaching impact on how the RMB innovates and develops, safeguards national security, and achieves the strategic goals of a strong currency and a financial power. We must calmly analyze, accurately grasp, and make decisions early. We cannot be indifferent or hesitant, nor can we blindly follow the trend and make directional and subversive mistakes. Subsequently, the People's Bank of China announced that it would optimize the positioning of the digital yuan within the monetary hierarchy (adjusting the previously determined M0 positioning. This is a point I have repeatedly advocated from the beginning; see Wang Yongli's WeChat public account article "Digital Yuan Should Not Be Positioned as M0" dated January 6, 2021), further optimize the digital yuan management system (establishing an international digital yuan operations center in Shanghai, responsible for cross-border cooperation and use of the digital yuan; and establishing a digital yuan operations management center in Beijing, responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the digital yuan system), and promote and accelerate the development of the digital yuan . On November 28, the People's Bank of China and 13 other departments jointly convened a meeting of the coordination mechanism for combating virtual currency trading and speculation. The meeting pointed out that due to various factors, virtual currency speculation has recently resurfaced, and related illegal and criminal activities have occurred frequently, posing new challenges to risk prevention and control. It emphasized that all units should deepen coordination and cooperation, continue to adhere to the prohibitive policy on virtual currencies, and persistently crack down on illegal financial activities related to virtual currencies. It clarified that stablecoins are a form of virtual currency , and their issuance and trading activities are also illegal and subject to crackdown. This has greatly disappointed those who believed that China would promote the development of RMB stablecoins and correspondingly relax the ban on virtual currency (crypto asset) trading. Therefore, China's policy orientation of accelerating the development of the digital yuan and resolutely curbing virtual currencies, including stablecoins, is now fully clear . Of course, this policy orientation remains highly debated both domestically and internationally, and there is no consensus among the public. So, how should we view this major policy direction of China? This article will first answer why China resolutely halted stablecoins; how to accelerate the innovative development of the digital yuan will be discussed in another article . There is little room or opportunity for the development of non-USD stablecoins. Since Tether launched USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, in 2014 , USD stablecoins have been operating for over a decade and have formed a complete international operating system. They have basically dominated the entire crypto asset trading market, accounting for over 99% of the global fiat stablecoin market capitalization and trading volume . This situation arises from two main factors. First, the US dollar is the most liquid and has the most comprehensive supporting system of international central currencies, making stablecoins pegged to the dollar the easiest to accept globally. Second, it is also a result of the US's long-standing tolerant policy towards crypto assets like Bitcoin and dollar-denominated stablecoins, rather than leading the international community to strengthen necessary regulation and safeguard the fundamental interests of all humanity. Even this year, when the US pushed for legislation on stablecoins and crypto assets, it was largely driven by the belief that dollar-denominated stablecoins would increase global demand for the dollar and dollar-denominated assets such as US Treasury bonds, reduce the financing costs for the US government and society, and strengthen the dollar's international dominance. This was a choice made to enhance US support for dollar-denominated stablecoins and control their potential impact on the US, prioritizing the maximization of national interests while giving little consideration to mitigating the international risks of stablecoins. With the US strongly promoting dollar-denominated stablecoins, other countries or regions launching non-dollar fiat currency stablecoins will find it difficult to compete with dollar-denominated stablecoins on an international level, except perhaps within their own sovereign territory or on the issuing institution's own e-commerce platform. Their development potential and practical significance are limited . Lacking a strong ecosystem and application scenarios, and lacking distinct characteristics compared to dollar-denominated stablecoins, as well as the advantage of attracting traders and transaction volume, the return on investment for issuing non-dollar fiat currency stablecoins is unlikely to meet expectations, and they will struggle to survive in an environment of increasingly stringent legislation and regulation in various countries. The legislation on stablecoins in the United States still faces many problems and challenges. Following President Trump's second election victory, his strong advocacy for crypto assets such as Bitcoin fueled a new international frenzy in cryptocurrency trading, driving the rapid development of dollar-denominated stablecoin trading and a surge in stablecoin market capitalization. This not only increased demand for the US dollar and US Treasury bonds, strengthening the dollar's international status, but also brought huge profits to the Trump family and their cryptocurrency associates. However, this also posed new challenges to the global monitoring of the dollar's circulation and the stability of the traditional US financial system. Furthermore, the trading and transfer of crypto assets backed by dollar-denominated stablecoins has become a new and more difficult-to-prevent tool for the US to harvest global wealth, posing a serious threat to the monetary sovereignty and wealth security of other countries . This is why the United States has accelerated legislation on stablecoins, but its legislation is more about prioritizing America and maximizing American and even group interests, at the expense of the interests of other countries and the common interests of the world. 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