IDShield is an identity theft protection product that offers identity monitoring and credit monitoring at a low price. Its parent company, LegalShield, was founded under the principle that services should be affordable and accessible to everyone. After reviewing the product, it became evident that IDShield also follows this foundational principle.

IDShield’s monitoring services can be for a single person or for a family with dependent children, and it offers identity restoration services if you are a victim of identity theft. We were very happy with what we saw: there are many features available on all the different plans, and there are also extras, such as antivirus software and a virtual private network (VPN).

IDShield review at a glance

IDShield is a little different from competitors because it includes all of its features in all its products. If you’re looking for identity theft prevention services, credit monitoring, social media monitoring, ID theft insurance, and many others, you’ll find each of those features in each of IDShield’s plans. You’ll even receive device protection in the form of a VPN, password manager, and antivirus software. For all of this, you’d expect the price tag to be hefty but even the most expensive plan can run you less than the cost of an antivirus program alone.

IDShield’s pricing tiers are determined by how many people are using the service rather than what features are included. An individual person who wants only credit reporting from one bureau will pay only $14.95/mo, whereas a family that wants credit reporting from all three bureaus will pay $34.95/mo. The features offered in both plans, with the exception of how many reporting bureaus they’ll see, are the same. It’s a straightforward approach to ID protection that makes ID protection worth it.

The one caveat is that the system is buggy and the login may be confusing. If you try to log in from IDShield’s website, IDShield.com, you’ll encounter a completely different dashboard than if you log in through the site, IDShield.cloud. The cloud version was available to us only after we verified our email, so there seems to be a bit of a disconnect for the service. Otherwise, we were satisfied with what we saw.

IDShield pros and cons

What does IDShield protect against?

IDShield, like its competitors, is an identity theft protection service that allows you to monitor your credit and financial accounts along with your identity. With these features, you can catch identity theft and other situations before they become a problem:

• Social Security number (SSN) monitoring
• Identity threat alerts
• Dark web monitoring
• Social media monitoring
• Public records monitoring
• Minor child monitoring
• Court records monitoring
• Address change monitoring
• Medical data reports

IDShield also provides you with remediation experts in the event your identity is stolen. These plans are available for individuals and families and come with mobile apps that are highly rated. IDShield comes with a slew of other features as well:

• Identity insights and tips
• Reputation management
• Sex offender search and monitoring
• Licensed private investigators

IDShield features

IDShield includes more features than its competitors, especially if you purchase the individual plan. We signed up for the least expensive option and were surprised that in addition to identity and credit monitoring, we also received a VPN, password manager, and anti-malware features. These are included through a partnership with TrendMicro. In addition, we received IDShield’s reputation management software, which allows us to monitor ourselves through our social media accounts and lets us clean up our online image.

Credit monitoring

All alerts are located on IDShield.cloud portal’s home screen. Your data is displayed in a clean manner with easily accessible controls and all in front of you so you don’t have to go searching. Best of all, the tutorial that appears when you first log in, explains where to find everything.

There’s a daily credit score tracker as well as an overall credit score tracker. As IDShield monitors your credit, it shows you how your credit score has evolved. All of this information is available right on the main dashboard, which has a clean and aesthetically pleasing design.

Credit reports and credit scores

IDShield has continuous credit monitoring, which allows you to keep a real-time record of your credit score. Your credit score is used to determine everything from getting a credit card to finding a place to live. Staying on top of your credit score can make things easier (and less expensive — think lower interest rates) in the long run.

Alerts

IDShield’s alerts are all found in one convenient place. Whether you have something reported to your credit, your information is found on the dark web, or an offender moves into your neighborhood, you’ll be notified in your portal. It’s nice seeing everything together so you don’t have to hunt for or worry about missing an alert.

Our experience with IDShield

Signing up for IDShield was frustrating, which was really disappointing because the product itself is actually pretty good. When we first tried to sign up, we filled in all our information and then proceeded to the payment page. Except it wouldn’t proceed. We tried the normal things, like disabling ad blockers and such, but it just wouldn’t move forward. We tried again the next day (hey, we’re dedicated to finding stuff out for you) and were able to purchase it but only after several errors like the one below.

Afterward, we were confused by the different login methods and various differences in portals. As we mentioned earlier, you’re going to get a different dashboard depending on if you log in through IDShield.com or IDShield.cloud. We prefer the IDShield.cloud dashboard because it’s easier to navigate to all the features. Once in, we did find the portal to be a little buggy. When we tried accessing the registered offenders’ feature, for example, the portal froze and we had to restart our browser.

When the portal is running well, it’s extremely convenient to use and navigate. All of the features are useful, well-explained, and the design is aesthetically pleasing. Overall, even with the issues we encountered, we would use this product. We just want to make sure you’re well informed so you can decide if these little inconveniences are a deal breaker for you.

Does IDShield keep your data safe?

You know we love a privacy policy here, and this one makes us happy. Essentially, IDShield doesn’t share your personal information unless it’s necessary. If your data does need to be shared, IDShield obtains a confidentiality agreement from the third party. This is a privacy policy we can get behind:

“Information We Share

We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our customers, past or present, to any third party except for a business purpose and otherwise permitted by law. As needed, we may disclose information we collect, as described above, to Provider Law Firms and companies that assist us in the servicing or administration of the product you have requested or authorized.

We also contract with a third-party service provider that solicits review of LegalShield from our customers. The service provider is subject to appropriate confidentiality and use restrictions. As part of this contract, we disclose members’ names, membership numbers, and email addresses, which are necessary to provide these services. Members can opt out at any time by contacting the email address or phone number listed at the bottom of this page.

When information is shared with companies that perform services on our behalf, we protect against the subsequent disclosure of that information with a confidentiality agreement or other protective measures.

In no event do we disclose your personal information to companies that will use that information to contact you about their own products or services.”

IDShield compatibility

IDShield has two apps, one for iOS and one for Android. Apple’s App Store app has a rating of 4.8 stars, while the Google Play store has the app listed at 4.6 stars. Compared to competitors, this is really good. We’ve seen a lot of products with subpar mobile apps. It’s nice to see one that actually works and is well-received.

IDShield customer support

When testing IDShield, customer support was one area we weren’t thrilled about. When we were registering, the website wouldn’t accept our address (it’s not an address you’d normally see.) Since the only way to get in touch with support is to call, we decided to reach out to make sure our address was listed correctly. We weren’t thrilled with the person who helped us.

He was short with us and just asked us to give our information. We tried to explain that we’d had issues submitting our address, and instead of listening, he cut us off. Considering how well everything else works with this service, we were disappointed.

We were also disappointed to learn that the only way to cancel an account was by calling customer service. It’s 2023; if you can build a dashboard and portal that monitors our ID across the internet, you can code in a cancel button.

IDShield prices and subscriptions

IDShield’s prices are straightforward and there are four options available. Individuals who want one or three bureaus monitoring their credit can have either option for less than $20 monthly. Families who want the same, including measures to prevent child identity theft, come in at under $35 monthly. Considering that we’ve seen family plans that easily crest over the $50 a month line, we think this is pretty good.

As far as features go, the number of major credit bureaus reporting is the only difference between any of the plans. With family plans, the number of people covered changes, but you’ll receive the same features no matter which one you choose. So far, it’s the most generous we’ve seen.

IDShield plans comparison

IDShield FAQs

Bottom line: Is IDShield good?

Yes, IDShield identity theft protection is a good product. Between a stellar privacy policy and all features available on all plans, we were really impressed with what IDShield had to offer. The product can be a little buggy and the customer support experience we had wasn’t great, but all in all, we were pleased. This is a product we would use ourselves.

If you’re concerned about monitoring your privacy or your family’s privacy, this is a good product for you and your peace of mind. It’s budget-friendly and accessible from multiple devices. We would feel comfortable recommending IDShield to anyone looking for identity protection services. If you are still interested in exploring other identity theft protection services, we recommend reading our Norton LifeLock review.

4.7

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On IDShield's website

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IDShield

• Lots of included features
• Lower cost than most ID theft protection
• Can be buggy

Author Details

Mary James

About the Author

Mary lives in Los Angeles and has been a cybersecurity writer for over five years. With a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Clarion University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, her career in online security began in sales and content creation for a private cybersecurity firm.