ExpressVPN Rolls Out More Data Protections With Identity Defender

ExpressVPN users in the US are getting access to a brand-new suite of personal digital protection tools, the company announced Wednesday. The new Identity Defender suite of features includes Data Removal, ID Alerts and ID Theft Insurance and is geared toward giving users practical tools to defend against and respond to associated online threats.

The Data Removal feature is designed to make the process of requesting removal of your personal data from data brokers and people search sites easy by doing the work for you. The tool scans the internet for your personal information and submits removal requests to data brokers on your behalf. It then continuously monitors the sites to confirm that your personal information has been removed and doesn't reappear. If your personal information reappears on a data broker site, then ExpressVPN says the Data Removal tool will work to remove it again.

The ID Alerts feature offers continuous dark web monitoring, change of address monitoring and Social Security number monitoring, alerting you to any suspicious activity it detects in real time. 

ID Theft Insurance offers coverage for eligible expenses related to incidents, including fraud, identity theft, embezzlement, forgery and data breach. The service is administered by Assurant and covers up to $1 million per year. 

"Discovering that your personal information has been compromised is stressful enough, but figuring out what to do next can be an even bigger challenge," Lauren Hendry Parsons, director of communications at ExpressVPN, said in a statement. "With Identity Defender, we aim to provide users with a one-stop solution that not only helps them quickly determine if their information is at risk but also guides them through effective steps to address any issues."  

Identity Defender features are currently available only to US-based ExpressVPN users on iOS and Android devices. The suite will be rolled out to desktop apps soon, but no timeline has been determined on when the features will be available to users outside of the US, according to Hendry Parsons. 

While the Identity Defender features can be helpful to lots of folks who want additional online data protections, the rollout coincides with massive price increases for longer-term subscribers. 

The base monthly plan stays static at $13 per month and includes the ID Alerts feature. If you choose to add ID Theft Insurance and Data Removal to your monthly plan, you'll pay $8 per month for each feature, bumping the price to $29 per month if you want the full set of features. 

The yearly plan includes ID Alerts and ID Theft Insurance and costs $100 for the first year, after which it renews at $150 per year. If you choose to add the Data Removal feature, the price jumps to $166 for the first year and $216 annually thereafter.

The brand-new two-year subscription plan includes all three Identity Defender features and costs $150 total for the first two years combined, but then soars to $250 per year after the initial two-year term.

This is a major price hike in comparison to previous ExpressVPN pricing, which not too long ago came in at $13 per month, $60 every six months and $100 per year. There doesn't seem to be any way to opt-out of all of the features for a cheaper price on the long-term plans. Notably, it appears as though existing long-term subscribers will automatically renew at the higher prices "per [ExpressVPN's] terms and conditions," according to an email response from Hendry Parsons on the matter.

ExpressVPN still holds CNET's Editors' Choice designation as the best VPN overall, and we appreciate all of the improvements and innovations the company has rolled out over the past few years, but the price hike is significant. As useful as the Identity Defender features are, I'd rather see them as optional add-ons for the longer-term subscription plans rather than having them forced upon users at such a high price. 

Other top VPNs like NordVPN and Surfshark offer tiered subscription models that give customers a choice in the level of protection they want. In any case, ExpressVPN is a solid product and still a great choice for anyone who wants a comprehensive digital privacy solution and is willing to spend the cash on it.