Cloaked vs Optery (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Optery: it is first in our ranking of data removal services, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Optery grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Cloaked
Data removal bundled with email and phone aliases and call blocking
Optery
Data broker removal with a free exposure report and screenshot proof
Which one is for you
Pick Cloaked if
- Fits if you want removal and masked emails and phone numbers in one app
- Works for a couple or a family of up to 4 sharing one plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're outside the US and Canada, where the vendor says it is available
- Not for you if you want to try before paying, since only a free scan exists
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $14.99 against $9.99 on annual billing
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say which plan includes which feature
- Watch out: Family Sharing and Cloaked Pay are marked coming soon
Pick Optery if
- Fits if you want to see where you're listed, with screenshots, before paying anything
- Works for one adult with one name and one city, on Core at $39 a year
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you've lived in several places, as Core covers one name and one city only; more starts at $149 a year
- Not for you if you live outside the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, or in Quebec
- Skip it if you want to try removals for free: there's no trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee, and none on business accounts
- Pricey if you're buying for a family: each member needs a plan, and the discount reaches 30% only at 4 plans
- Watch out: the free plan removes nothing and rescans only about every 3 months
How we grade them
| 2.0GPACloakedFair | 2.8GPAOpteryGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$9.99 per month for one person billed annually is the category's middle ($9.99). Monthly billing is $14.99, Couple $14.99 and Family $24.99. | BCore is $3.25 a month billed yearly at $39, the second-lowest price in this category, and Optery says it covers 375+ sites. But it's one name and one city and state only. Past addresses, name variations and a human agent need Extended, at $149 a year. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan or trial. The vendor offers a free exposure scan, which is not a trial. | CFree Basic gets you an exposure report with screenshots, a scan of Google and Bing results and do-it-yourself opt-out tools, rescanned about every 3 months. What it won't do is remove anything for you, and that's the job you'd be paying for. |
| Features | BRemoval from 1000+ sites plus aliases, call blocking, dark web alerts, a VPN and a password manager. The listing shows no gap in the core job, though the table doesn't say which plan has what. | BRemovals Optery says run monthly, at 375+ sites on Core and 625+ on Ultimate, before-and-after screenshot reports, custom requests on Ultimate, map blurring and a family admin. Nothing in the core job is missing, though custom requests, map blurring and the human agent sit on the dearer plans. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and removal needs your personal details before it starts. | BNo App Store rating on record, but there's next to nothing to set up. You sign up, look through the report with its screenshots and links, and a paid plan files the opt-outs for you from then on. |
| Platforms and integrations | BiPhone, Android, Mac and a browser extension, but US and Canada only and no integrations listed. | BThe web plus iPhone and Android apps. There's no computer app and no integrations on record, so it stops at B. Personal plans are only for adults in the US, Canada outside Quebec, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. |
| Best for | removal plus masked emails and phone numbers | a free exposure report, then paid removals |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Cloaked and Optery. How we grade
Price against what you get
Cloaked starts at $9.99 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Optery starts at $3.25 a month and scores 3.0.
Optery scores higher and starts $6.74 a month lower. Of the other data removal services on the chart, 2 score higher than Cloaked for less, and none scores higher than Optery for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Cloaked also covers password manager and vPN.
- Optery also covers reports.
At a glance
| Cloaked | Optery | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 per month for 1 person, billed annually ($14.99 billed monthly) | $3.25 per month, billed yearly at $39 ($3.99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Free Basic: an exposure report with screenshots, a scan of Google and Bing results and self-service opt-out tools. Optery rescans free accounts about every 3 months and removes nothing for you. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Cloaked | Optery |
| Price read from | cloaked.com | optery.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Cloaked
- The pricing page lists features in one table and does not say which plan includes which, so confirm what your tier covers before paying.
- No free tier or free trial is shown; the vendor offers a free exposure scan.
- The vendor says it is available in the US and Canada.
- Family Sharing and Cloaked Pay are marked as coming soon, and Privacy Actions is labeled new; none of them is described as part of the current plans.
Optery
- Personal plans are for residents of the US, Canada (excluding Quebec), Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and only for adults aged 18 and over.
- Core removes profiles for one name and one city and state only; unlimited name variations, past cities and a human agent start on Extended.
- There is no free trial; Optery offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on individual accounts instead, not on business accounts.
- Each account covers one person, so a family buys a plan for each member; the family discount reaches 30% only at 4 plans or more.
Key features
Cloaked
- Data removal
- Removes personal details from people-search sites; the vendor says it covers 1,000+ sites, and the iOS app tracks removals.
- Email and phone aliases
- Generates unique email addresses and phone numbers for sign-ups so that real contact details are not handed out.
- Call Guard
- Blocks spam and scam calls and robocalls.
- Dark web and SSN monitoring
- Sends alerts when personal details turn up in dark web exposures.
- VPN and password tools
- The pricing page lists an encrypted VPN, a password manager, password generation and authentication codes.
- Identity theft insurance
- Lists $1 million of insurance against identity theft.
Optery
- Exposure report with screenshots
- The free account gets a report of where your name, address and phone number appear, with a screenshot and link for each profile found and a scan of Google and Bing results.
- Monthly automated removals
- Paid plans scan and file opt-outs at least once every 30 days, Optery says, and are opted out of newly supported brokers automatically. Core says it covers 375+ sites, Extended 555+ and Ultimate 625+.
- Removals reports
- Extended and Ultimate send a report about every 90 days with before-and-after screenshots showing which profiles were taken down, and assign a human Privacy Agent for cases the automation cannot handle.
- Custom removal requests
- Ultimate accepts unlimited requests for sites outside the automated list, 940+ sites in all by Optery's count, after your first 30 days. It also submits outdated pages to Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yahoo.
- Map blurring
- Extended and Ultimate request that your home be blurred on Google Maps and Apple Maps street imagery.
- Family administration
- One administrator can invite relatives and friends, see each person's exposure and removal counts, and manage their plans and billing, while each person's detailed reports stay private to them.
Plans
Cloaked
Individual$9.99
per month for 1 person, billed annually ($14.99 billed monthly)
One person. Billed $119.99 a year on the annual plan; the page shows a 40% saving against monthly billing.
Couple$14.99
per month for 2 people, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly)
You plus one other person. Billed $174.99 a year on the annual plan; the page shows a 40% saving.
Family$24.99
per month for 4 people, billed annually ($29.99 billed monthly)
You plus three others. Billed $299.99 a year on the annual plan; the page shows a 50% saving.
Optery
Free Basic$0
Exposure report with screenshots and self-service removal tools, with unlimited name variations and past cities for doing it yourself.
Core$3.25
per month, billed yearly at $39 ($3.99 billed monthly)
Automated monthly removals from 375+ sites by Optery's count (150+ without Expanded Reach), for one name and one city and state, with no human agent.
Extended$12.42
per month, billed yearly at $149 ($14.99 billed monthly)
Says it covers 555+ sites, with unlimited name variations and past cities, an assigned human Privacy Agent, removal reports about every 90 days and map blurring.
Ultimate$20.70
per month, billed yearly at $249 ($24.99 billed monthly)
Says it covers 625+ sites automatically, plus unlimited custom removal requests for 940+ sites in all after 30 days, and priority email support.
Ways to pay less
Cloaked
- Annual discount
Save 40% to 50% with annual billing
The pricing page shows annual billing at $9.99, $14.99 and $24.99 a month for Individual, Couple and Family, against $14.99, $19.99 and $29.99 billed monthly.
Optery
- Annual discount
About 17% off with yearly billing
Optery's pricing page says switching to yearly saves 17%: Core is $39 a year against $3.99 a month, and Ultimate $249 a year against $24.99 a month.
- Other savings
Family discount of up to 30% off all plans
Optery for Family lowers the price of every plan the more people you cover, reaching 30% off all plans at 4 plans or more, according to its help desk.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Cloaked or Optery?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Optery is cheaper to start with: $3.25 a month, against $9.99 a month for Cloaked. Cloaked starts at $9.99 per month for 1 person, billed annually ($14.99 billed monthly), and Optery starts at $3.25 per month, billed yearly at $39 ($3.99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Cloaked or Optery?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Optery has a free plan. Cloaked does not.
Which platforms do Cloaked and Optery run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Cloaked lists a macOS app and a browser extension and only Optery lists a web app. Both list iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.