Our series on identity theft protection apps will evaluate the features, pricing options, competition, and also the overall value of using each app. However, these are not full hands-on reviews since evaluating identity theft protection apps is almost impossible. It would require several months of testing, purposefully hacking accounts to see if the protection app works, handing over personally identifiable information, performing multiple credit checks, and risking exposure of the reviewer’s personally identifiable information.
Trust is something you earn over time, step by step and inch by inch. When it comes to identity theft, it’s also something that’s easy to break. You sign up for a new app that seems legitimate only to discover it is capturing credit card information erroneously. You click on a link in an email that seems like it came from your bank and unknowingly install a malware client.
When trust is broken, it can be hard to find the help you need to restore it and find relief. Identity theft is a personal breakdown in trust between you and other institutions and can feel disconcerting. IdentityIQ is a comprehensive app that offers multiple pricing plans. The website includes extensive information about the identity theft field and up-to-date articles. Yet, it seems like the product is either brand new or at best poorly documented. You can’t find any concrete information about the interface or how it works, only a list of features.
It’s obvious IdentityIQ doesn’t have the name recognition of Norton LifeLock. (Both Experian and Equifax are also more well-known, although that might be due recent data breaches.) The app is part of a parent company called IDIQ that apparently protects companies against data breaches and could become more of a powerhouse, although some of the “brands” the company owns like CreditScoreIQ seem like repurposed versions of the main app.
Plans and pricing
We haven’t found an identity theft protection app with so many pricing plans. At the most basic level for only $6.99 per month, the Secure plan provides basic monitoring and alerts but no credit reporting or credit scores. Surprisingly, even this basic plan includes $1 million in identity theft protection insurance, lost wallet assistance, and a “do not spam” feature. (Most basic plans from other companies don’t provide any insurance or offer only $100,000 or $500,000 in insurance.)
Secure Plus for $9.99 adds credit bureau reports on an annual basis. This plan is a bit confusing because in one section of the IdentityIQ website it says Secure Plus includes three credit bureau agencies and in another section it says this plan only includes one agency. With the Secure Pro plan at $19.99, there are three agencies and you can review a report and credit scores twice per year. The main differentiator with the extensive Secure Max plan that costs $29.99 per month is that you can see credit reports and scores every month.
Interface
IdentityIQ is a strange app because there is so little information about it. The company website does not actually show any screenshots – and neither does Google Image Search. There is a similarly named product from Sailpoint that is actually an identity management app for IT purposes (similar to products from IBM and others).
In some of the reviews, customers complained about how they were not able to cancel the service. There are 75 complaints against the company at the BBB website, mostly related to the trial version. The only information we found about the interface was at a related partner site with a screenshot showing stock images and a registration page on an Apple iPad. There’s no additional information.
Features
Taken at face value, IdentityIQ certainly has quite a few features that match what you will find in competing apps. IdentityIQ actually lists a comparison table at their website for Norton LifeLock, which is roughly the same price. And yet, Norton LifeLock is widely known – there are hundreds of customer reviews and third-party reviews of that product. With IdentityIQ, you can barely find anything more than content aggregation sites with affiliate purchase links.
Some of the more notable features beyond the typical lost wallet assistance, credit reports and scores, and theft protection insurance includes a way to search file sharing networks for identity theft issues and a way to protect family members with an extra $25,000 in insurance.
The competition
Many other products have better name recognition and are better documented in terms of customer feedback and third-party reviews. IdentityIQ has a comprehensive website and a long list of features, but the company doesn’t include any actual screenshots to help customers evaluate the product. With competing apps like Norton LifeLock, there’s a wealth of information, screenshots, knowledge base portals, reviews, customer feedback, and other details.
Final verdict
There’s a curious feeling as you evaluate IdentityIQ. At the company website, you won’t find too many concrete details about how the product actually works. There’s a section that lists other brands like CreditScoreIQ and a related website, but that product seems identical to IdentityIQ. Another app called CreditBuilderIQ is listed as a future product without a related website or any concrete details. The main note of caution here – the customer feedback about the IdentityIQ trial version and cancelling the service is a bit alarming. It all seems risky.
