Let’s compare two leading identity theft protection solutions: Identity Guard vs. IDShield.
Now, I know what you’re thinking—identity theft protection might not sound like the most thrilling topic. However, in today’s digital age, it’s a topic that couldn’t be more relevant or crucial for safeguarding our personal lives.
Check out the links to my most recent deals and recommendations, and to see the best way to get protected:
Sign up for IdentityGuard: https://bit.ly/IdentityGuard_igvi
Get IDShield: https://bit.ly/IDShield_igvi
Imagine you’re going about your daily routine, chatting with family on social media, managing your finances online, and ordering dinner from your favorite take-out place.
Just a regular day, right?
Little do you know, lurking in the shadows, there are criminals waiting to snatch your personal information. If you’ve ever been the victim of identity theft, I don’t have to tell you how emotionally and financially devastating it can be if your information falls into the wrong hands.

Don’t worry, though! We’re going to turn the tables on them and arm you with the knowledge to choose the perfect shield for your identity.
I’ve used seven different identity theft protection solutions to learn how they really work inside and out. So how do IDShield and Identity Guard stack up?
Let’s take a closer look at exactly what each one of these programs offers and whether or not it could be the right identity theft solution for you!
Identity Guard vs. IDShield: Overview Comparison
Today, our focus is on a head-to-head comparison between IDShield and Identity Guard. Like most protection solutions, both companies provide basic features such as personal information monitoring, credit monitoring, and dark web surveillance.
However, if we take a closer look at the specifics of each feature and how customers can access them, the differences become apparent.
For instance, while Identity Guard offers an array of features, many of them are only available in their top-tier Ultra plan. This includes perks like three credit bureau reports, monitoring your debit and credit cards, and keeping tabs on changes of address.
All important things if you want to fully protect yourself.
On the other hand, IDShield takes a different approach. They offer a more, comprehensive package that encompasses all of their features and benefits. The only potential upgrade you may consider is opting for three credit bureau monitoring.
We’re going to dive deeper into the features, benefits, and drawbacks of each company here in a minute, but before we do, let’s take a moment to discuss personal information monitoring and how IDShield and Identity Guard measure up.
Personal Information Monitoring
Let’s start with a quick overview. Personal information monitoring is the process of scanning and tracking various forms of your information to identify potential threats like unauthorized use or exposure of any personal data.
While most companies offer personal information monitoring, some truly go out of their way to provide the most comprehensive coverage possible. The good news is that both IDShield and Identity Guard go above and beyond in this area.
They both allow users to monitor basic information like email addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers, which is a common feature across most identity theft programs.
With personal information monitoring set up, both companies will perform scans of the dark web, court records, public records, and more.
So, if someone were to get arrested and use your name, you would receive an alert. Pretty impressive, right?
Both IDShield and Identity Guard also offer social media monitoring, ensuring that you’ll be promptly notified if someone attempts to take over your account.
I would feel comfortable saying that both companies are pretty equal in terms of personal information monitoring. But here’s the kicker—with IDShield, you get all of these features bundled into their individual plan for just $14.99 per month.

On the other hand, with Identity Guard, these features are spread across three different plans, and you only get access to all of them if you subscribe to their Ultra plan, which is $25 dollars a month.
While both companies excel at information monitoring, there are other factors you should consider before making a final decision. So, let’s shift our focus to credit monitoring and see how these two stack up in that department.
Credit Monitoring
Knowing that your personal information is being safeguarded is a good feeling, but what happens if your data has already been compromised?
That’s where credit monitoring comes in—with comprehensive credit monitoring, you can keep track of your credit score and scan your credit activity for any unauthorized inquiries or transactions. So even if someone already has your personal information, you can take immediate action the second they try to use it for financial gain.

Both IDShield and Identity Guard have the potential to offer exceptional credit monitoring coverage. They both provide access to credit scores and monitoring from all three major credit bureaus.
Plus, with their transaction monitoring features, you can link and monitor bank accounts, investment accounts, and both credit and debit cards while also setting transaction thresholds.
At first glance, IDShield and Identity Guard seem pretty equal in terms of credit monitoring and what each company offers. However, when we dive deeper and examine how each company structures their packages, that’s when we start to see the difference between these two protection solutions, and a clear winner emerges.
So, let’s dive deeper!
With IDShield, their basic plan gives you access to all of their credit monitoring features. Plus, they throw in a nifty Vantage score from TransUnion so you can track any changes to your credit.
Here’s the catch though—the basic plan only provides credit monitoring from one bureau, and if you want credit monitoring from all three, you have to upgrade your account. It’s also worth noting that even if you upgrade your account, you still only get a VantageScore from one credit bureau.
Even though all of their features are included in their basic plan, I did find some drawbacks with IDShield. For example, they don’t offer annual credit reports, and even though their agents can help you set up freezes with credit bureaus, they don’t offer a credit lock feature, which would allow you to do it yourself with the click of a button.
Meanwhile, Identity Guard does offer annual credit reports from all three credit bureaus, and they give you keys to a credit lock feature, giving you more convenient control.
Unfortunately, though, you don’t get any credit monitoring features with Identity Guard’s stripped-down Value plan, and many of their comprehensive benefits are only included in their top-tier Ultra plan.
So while you can get more comprehensive credit monitoring with Identity Guard, just keep in mind that you’ll have to upgrade your plan.
Dark Web Monitoring
Now that we’ve explored personal information and credit monitoring, it’s time to unveil the secret ingredient that separates a good identity theft solution from an exceptional one—dark web monitoring.
But before we jump into the nitty-gritty, let me share a behind-the-scenes secret with you: I always use the same information across all of the programs that I investigate. That way, you know comparing them on a level playing field.
So, with that in mind, let’s shine a light on the dark web monitoring capabilities of Identity Guard and IDShield!
During my investigation, Identity Guard unearthed a total of 18 dark web alerts related to my personal information, and nine of those were unique. Most of the unique hits were for sites like Adobe, Dropbox, and MySpace.
You caught me; I had a MySpace account back in the day. I even had one for my band!
But moving on…

The non-unique hits were all from breach compilations, which is when someone gathers a bunch of people’s login credentials and puts them all together in a nice little package for their fellow internet pirates.
It’s basically like a one-stop shop for hackers—how convenient, right?
All in all, Identity Guard performed surprisingly well compared to other programs like IdentityIQ, which failed to turn up any alerts at all, and Norton’s LifeLock, which only turned up eight dark web alerts.
But how did Identity Guard stack up against IDShield?
Well, it’s hard to say…
Remember earlier when I said that IDShield had some pretty frustrating interface issues? This is one area where those issues become more than a little inconvenient.
Initially, IDShield detected 17 dark web hits, and I’ve received more alerts since then, but I don’t know what the alerts were for because there’s no way to go back and review the alerts once you’ve cleared them.
This limitation surprised me, and it feels like such a missed opportunity.
On the one hand, 17 alerts is actually pretty good when compared to many of the other companies that I’ve used, but if you can’t see alerts once they’ve been cleared, that’s kind of a deal breaker for me.

All things considered, both companies offer solid dark web monitoring features in their basic plans. However, Identity Guard takes the upper hand by default because of IDShield’s interface limitations.
Resolution and Customer Service
So far, IDShield and Identity Guard seem pretty evenly matched in terms of what they offer for monitoring services, but what would you do if you opened your credit report and found a list of unauthorized inquiries or newly opened credit cards?
The truth is, most people wouldn’t have a clue what to do or even where to start fixing the problem. That’s why you need more than just monitoring services; you also need the support and guidance of a good customer service team because you deserve to know that if the unimaginable does happen, someone has your back.
Both IDShield and Identity Guard offer excellent customer service from US-based agents who really know their stuff. They also both offer a one-million-dollar insurance policy, which covers various types of expenses incurred as a result of identity theft.
Furthermore, they both provide dedicated specialists who make it their mission to help you navigate through the confusing world of identity restoration.
Conclusion
So, moment of truth—which company would I recommend?
If I had to choose between IDShield and Identity Guard, I would choose Identity Guard simply because I find IDShield’s interface to be clunky and outdated.
Plus Identity Guard can be more comprehensive protection than IDShield if you opt for their top-tier plan.
But I’d highly recommend you check out Aura instead—Aura actually owns Identity Guard, and they offer comprehensive packages at great prices.
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