IDShield by LegalShield Review 2024: Tested ID Protection That Gets It

IDShield is a comprehensive identity theft protection 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 provides licensed private investigator and other identity restoration services if you're a victim of identity theft. We were very happy with what we saw during our testing: there are many features available to protect your identity and credit. Plus, it comes with extras like antivirus software and a virtual private network (VPN).

Although it doesn't include credit reports, we were pleased with IDShield's offerings. Learn more about why we think it's one of the best identity theft protection services in our IDShield review.

IDShield review at a glance

Price	$14.95–$34.95/mo
# of people covered	1 - 2 adults, 10 kids
Types of identity monitoring	SSN, dark web, social media, public records, address change, and more
Identity theft insurance	Up to $3 million
Credit monitoring	Yes
Credit reports	No
Credit score	Yes
Identity restoration services	Yes
Extras	Antivirus software, VPN, password manager
24/7 support	No
Learn more	Get IDShield

Our experience

We've had some trouble signing up for and using IDShield in the past, but it seems like most of the issues we encountered before have sorted themselves out. There were previously two different dashboads but now there's only one, so you won't have to worry about swapping between two sites.   

The only issue we did have was trying to sign up for the free trial we found. We would click the Learn More button, but the page wouldn't budget. So we just paid for one month of the service. 

During the sign up process, you'll be required to provide your full name, phone number, last four digits of your Social Security number (SSN), and other identifying information so the service can begin monitoring. 

The portal is extremely convenient to use and navigate. All of the features are useful, well-explained, and the design is aesthetically pleasing. The main tab will show you your credit score, credit monitoring alerts, and identity protect alerts. 

Overall, all of IDShield's features worked well and were easy to use.

Who is IDShield best for?

• Recommended for straightforward identity theft protection

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 Trend Micro's antivirus software, virtual private network (VPN), and password manager. 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.

One caveat is that credit reports are not included with the service. It does provide guidance on how to request credit reports from annualcreditreport.com, at least. 

IDShield prices and subscriptions

With IDShield, you'll pay between $14.95–$34.95/mo. Your plan price depends on how many people you wish to cover and if you want one- or three-bureau credit monitoring. All plans are monthly, so there are no long-term subscriptions. 

IDShield appears to be more expensive than its ID theft protection competitors if you look at their annual costs. However, IDShield offers the same features across all of its plans and its cost doesn't rise after the first year.

Here's how IDShield's monthly individual plan compares to other services' similar monthly payment plans:

• Identity Guard Individual: Starts at $8.99/mo
• LifeLock Individual: Starts at $11.99/mo for first year
• Aura Individual: $9.00/mo (billed annually)
• IDShield Individual: Starts at $14.95/mo

Below, we break down the individual and family plan prices depending on how many credit bureaus you need included. Considering that we’ve seen family plans that easily crest over the $50 a month line, we think this is pretty good.

Plan	Individual	Family
1-bureau credit monitoring	$14.95/mo	$29.95/mo
3-bureau credit monitoring	$19.95/mo	$34.95/mo
Learn more	View plan	View plan

Plans comparison

As far as features go, the number of major credit bureaus reporting is the only difference between any of the plans. One-bureau credit monitoring includes your Experian score.

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 one of the most generous we’ve seen.

Plan	Individual	Family
Who's included	1 adult	2 adults, 5 kids
Social Security Number monitoring
Financial account monitoring
Identity theft insurance	Up to $3 million	Up to $3 million
Credit monitoring	Yes — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion	Yes — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion
Credit reports
Credit score
Credit freeze
Identity restoration services
Dark web monitoring
Social media account monitoring
Home title monitoring
USPS address change monitoring
Learn more	View plan	View plan

IDShield features

IDShield includes more features than its competitors, especially if you purchase the individual plan. All plans will include identity monitoring, credit monitoring (either one-bureau or three-bureau), and identity restoration services. Bonus features include device security like antivirus and VPN.

IDShield does lack credit reports, but you'll get daily credit score updates and a monthly credit score tracker.

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.

Identity monitoring

IDShield has an extensive list of monitoring options:

• SSN monitoring: Alerts you of any suspicious uses of your SSN
• Dark web monitoring: Monitors the dark web to ensure your data isn't being used for nefarious activities
  
• Social media monitoring: Monitors your social media accounts for suspicious activities or account takeovers
• Court records monitoring: Alerts you if your name appears on any court or arrest records
  
• Address change monitoring: Alerts you of any change of address requests
• Sex offender search and monitoring: Allows you to learn about the safety of your neighborhood and set up alerts for your address

You can also find your alerts all 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.

Credit monitoring

You credit monitoring alerts are located on the main dashboard. You can also select the Credit tab from the lefthand side bar for further details. 

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. 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.

Unfortunately, IDShield doesn't include credit reports but you can get copies of your three-bureau reports from annualcreditreport.com

Identity restoration services

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 also provides you with licensed private investigators. They'll work under a Power of Attory to restore your identity and reputation to its former position. You'll also have access to 24/7 emergency assistance. 

Bonus features

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 Trend Micro. 

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.

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:

To secure your account, IDShield offers two-factor authentication via SMS or an authenticator app. You can toggle on this setting by going to My Account > Security > Multifactor. 

We also reached out to customer support about IDShield's encryption method. They were only able to specify that it uses "military-grade" encryption, so we assume it's AES-256 but weren't able to confirm. 

IDShield compatibility

IDShield has two apps, one for iOS and one for Android. The Apple App Store lists a rating of 4.8 stars, while the Google Play Store rating is listed at 3.9 stars. There were no negative reviews for the iOS app, and the Android app only had one or two mentions of buggy update. 

Compared to other services, 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 could've been stronger. IDShield's phone support is only available Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST. It also has a live chat option, and on the site it indicates whether they're available, and email support that'll respond to you in 24 hours. 

We did reach out via live chat and it was quick the connect. The agent was friendly and helpful. 

We were also disappointed to learn that the only way to cancel an account was by calling or emailing customer service. It’s 2024; if you can build a dashboard and portal that monitors our ID across the internet, you can code in a cancel button.

Top alternatives

IDShield is a comprehensive service, but it may not check all your boxes. Here are alternatives from our list of best identity theft protection services that you can consider instead:

IDShield FAQs

Bottom line: Is IDShield good?

Yes, IDShield 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 lacks credit reports and its customer support could be better, 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're still interested in exploring other identity theft protection services, we recommend reading our IDShield comparisons: 

• IDShield vs. LifeLock
• IDShield vs. Aura
• IDShield vs. Identity Guard
• IDShield vs. IdentityForce