End spam calls once and for all: Incogni will scrub your details from data brokers' lists and sites
Advertorial by Incogni: the opinions expressed in this story may not reflect the positions of PhoneArena!
In 2023, spam calls have evolved from being a nuisance, an infuriating inconvenience, all the way up to being an extremely common and distracting occurrence. Especially since robocalling became a thing — getting a call from an unknown number now fills our minds with dread. At best, it may be a time-waster, at worst it may be some sort of scam that tries to pump up your phone bill or get some sweet, sweet bank details from you.
Introducing Incogni
Incogni is a new privacy tool developed by popular VPN provider Surfshark. Once you unleash it, it will find data brokers that have your data and automatically apply and go through their data removal processes. It will even appeal denials on its own, so you set it and forget it until the job is done.
Sign up for Incogni here
Use code "phonearena" for extra discount
See, the reason all these telemarketers and scammers have your data is because they buy it in bulk from companies called "data brokers". The latter's business model is this — they scan public records, apps, social media platforms, and other services trying to find as much details on users as possible. Obviously these often include a name, possibly a picture, your phone number, maybe even gender, hobbies, and interests.
Then, the brokers just list these collections for sale — anyone that wants to buy them has access (sometimes, your name and details may even pop up in a Google search, as these brokers don't really hide the data).
However, data brokers are businesses that fall under certain regulations. And, as businesses, they are required to allow people to request to be scrubbed from their lists, banks, and folders. Of course, each of them has a different opt-out process and, of course, sometimes it's not simple or quick to go through them.
Surfshark estimates that manually going through the brokers that most probably have your data and then requesting an opt-out would take you around 304 hours. And then, you will need to do it again the next time your details get picked up from whatever app or platform you are registered in. Such is the curse of our modern world.
How does Incogni work?
The setup process is extremely simple — once you register, you need to provide Incogni with your contact information, authorize Incogni to contact data brokers on your behalf, and confirm an email for your account management needs.
Incogni uses a mix between algorithms and a team of people to figure out which data centers are likely to have data on you, and then go through the opt-out process. From your dashboard, you will be able to follow info on which companies were contacted, and which one have deleted or are currently deleting your data.
Incogni covers
- Marketing data brokers
- Recruitment data brokers
- Financial information data brokers
- Risk mitigation data brokers
- People search sites
How much does Incogni cost?
Get a special discount with our promo code
Sign up for Incogni here
Use code "phonearena" for extra discount
Incogni is an ongoing service that you can subscribe to, so your information is always looked after and pulled from brokers' data banks. Right now, you can grab an annual subscription for 50% off. We have an exclusive 10% off code "phonearena" (valid for first 100 visitors) — if you use it for the annual subscription, you will get a -55% off your total for the first year.
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