Our series on identity theft protection apps will assess the features, cost options, competition, and overall employment value of each app. However, these are not in-depth practical reviews, as it is virtually impossible to rate identity theft protection applications. This would require multiple months of testing, deliberate account hacking to see if the protection app works, transmitting personally identifiable information, running multiple credit checks, and the risk of exposing the examiner's personally identifiable information. .
It happens suddenly at least you expect it. Imagine this scenario: you go to the teller to deposit your check, only to discover that your account is unreachable. So he examines his Twitter feed and then realizes that someone has taken over the account and is sharing links with his followers on malicious sites. So she goes to the bank, sits in a comfortable chair with his banker, and gives her the bad news about why the loan was turned down: his credit is in shambles.
Identity theft is truly one of those unfortunate and nauseating feelings and experiences in life, and one often wonders where to start in trying to restore one's reputation. Thank goodness, a trusted insurance brand (yes, Allstate with the "Good Hands" ads) offers an identity theft protection app with unique auxiliary features we haven't seen in other products.
Allstate Identity Protection includes some great bells and whistles, like real social media monitoring (you get an alarm if your account gets hacked), $1 insurance protection (although certain other alternatives offer $XNUMX million), and it even covers other accounts, such as student loans and retirement. accounts Although it is not the most powerful phishing application, its cost makes it a bargain, since it would be a worthwhile application even with higher monthly fees.
packages and prices
Allstate Identity Protection offers 2 plans for individuals: the Essentials plan at €9.99 per month and the Premier plan at €17.99 per month. The 2 plans differ in that for the Essentials plan, there is only €50,000 in reimbursement for stolen funds and €50,000 for fraud-related expenses. (Allstate Identity Protection distinguishes between the 2, which is a total of €100,000). With the Premier plan, those amounts amount to €500,000 in reimbursement for stolen funds and €500,000 for fraud-related expenses (for a total of €1 million, matching the amount we've seen with other phishing apps). In addition to this, the Premier plan has other features such as social media monitoring, priority support for members to put you at the front of the line when you call, and credit card transaction monitoring.
For a family plan, you can choose between the Essentials plan for families (€18.99/month) or the Premier plan for families (€34.99/month). Each and every plan has a thirty-day trial and we couldn't find a discount for paying annually.
The Essentials plan also does not include Advanced Tax Fraud Protection or Enhanced Financial Monitoring. While they don't particularly lie on their site, each and every plan includes credit monitoring, but don't lie how many credit bureaus are involved or whether you receive an actual monthly or annual credit score.
Interface
We really hope that you will like the color blue very much. Allstate relies heavily on a shade of deep blue on its site and in the Allstate Identity Protection app. Again, we see an easy approach, with an interface that has more than a passing resemblance to TurboTax. Categories like credit monitoring, dark web monitoring and alarms for your finances are easily noticeable.
Meanwhile, the mobile app focuses heavily on alarms, with questions about potentially suspicious transactions. We prefer to see the wizards and status indicators of applications like Norton LifeLock as they guide you through these inconveniences and identity protection safeguards in a procedure that is easier to follow, especially for a novice.
Features
In general, Allstate Identity Protection covers any and all bases. The bottom line is that there is a way to monitor your credit, such as infrequent financial activity alerts. In addition to this, users can monitor the Dark Web to locate their personally identifiable information being used fraudulently.
One unique attribute found here is that other identity theft protection apps monitor your social media feeds and also report inappropriate discussions, for example, profanity, drug references, or criminal behavior. However, Allstate Identity Protection goes one step further and alerts the user that they have been hacked. You can then investigate the issue and take steps to regain control of your accounts.
Competition
To be sure, there are products in this area of identity protection that are wildly affordable, including Full ID (which costs €XNUMX a month for Costco Executive members) and Zander Identity Theft (which costs €XNUMX with Seventy-five). front of).
Previously, Allstate Identity Protection was free until January 1, XNUMX, but even now, after the free period ends, the application is worth considering due to the additional monitoring and insurance features. However, our first choice in the field remains Norton LifeLock.
final verdict
If your main objective is to choose the best free identity theft protection application regardless of the cost, Allstate Identity Protection is not the best option. However, from a value proposition, and keeping in mind auxiliary social media and dark web monitoring, and identity theft insurance, Allstate Identity Protection is more than compelling.
Ultimately, though, it's not as powerful or as useful as Norton LifeLock or IdentityForce. Still, choosing this product is a smart move, even to try it out and see if identity theft protection is right for you. That said, Allstate Identity Protection remains a compelling alternative in terms of features offered for this cost.
We've also pinpointed the best identity theft protection