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A comprehensive approach to identity theft prevention for a reasonable price
Updated August 28, 2023
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Editor's Note: Aura recently added features that aim to proactively protect customers online. The features include anti-tracking, email masking, enhanced safe browsing, and ad blocking, which are all added to the Aura browser extension that all Aura customers have access to.
When it comes to protecting your home, you don’t just sit in your living room with your fingers crossed. No, you lock your doors and your windows. You install security cameras, motion detectors, and a security system. You think proactively to protect your property and your family. So why wouldn’t you do the same to protect your identity?
Aura’s Dashboard
If you’re looking to protect your identity in the same way you protect your home, you need to check out Aura. They handle nearly every aspect of identity theft protection and offer features that proactively protect their customers from fraudsters and scammers. They’re constantly developing new tactics and techniques, too, to stay ahead of the threats before they develop.
There are, of course, what we’d considered to be the standard protections like multi-factor identity alerts and triple-bureau credit monitoring that any worthwhile identity theft protection service would offer, but Aura also offers customers features like password managers, email masking, and virus detection to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals. They also recently added a VPN to their suite of services and Circle Parental Controls to their family plans.
We’ll get into all of that in just a bit, but suffice it to say this 360-degree, comprehensive posture helps Aura protect their customers from a diverse range of modern threats. To give you a better idea of what we’re talking about, let’s take a look at some of Aura’s best features.
If that short list has you interested, definitely head over to our Aura review. It will cover the setup process, various features, and pros and cons. If you first want to get an idea of how much all this is going to cost, though, keep reading.
Aura’s plans all have similar features – the key difference is how many individuals and devices you plan to cover. The Individual plan covers one adult and 10 devices; the Couple plan is for two adults and 20 devices; and finally the Family plan includes up to five adults, 50 devices, and unlimited children.
The plan that has a few extras tacked on is the family plan. In addition to receiving all of the benefits offered from an Individual or Couple plan, it also includes child social security number monitoring and parental controls on digital devices. These days, such protections for children are a necessity.
The final cost will depend on which payment plan you choose: monthly or annual. The monthly plans cost more, but they’re more flexible since you pay as you go. On the other hand, the annual plans are relatively cheaper, but you’ll have to pay for a whole year upfront. Here’s how it all breaks down:
| Plan | Monthly Plan | Annual Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | $15 per month | $144 ($12 per month) |
| Couple | $29 per month | $264 ($22 per month) |
| Family | $50 per month | $444 ($37 per month) |
Another great thing about Aura is the customer-friendly policies. Here are a few:
If you think Aura is right for you, we recommend purchasing a yearly plan. Even though you pay more up front, you end up saving loads in the long run. On top of that, all of their annual plans have a 60-day, money-back guarantee, which means you have plenty of time to decide if the service is right for you.
| Features | Individual | Couple | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Personal Information and SSN Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Spam Call, Junk Mail, and Search Site Removal | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Identity Verification Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Child SSN Monitoring | No | No | Yes |
| Antivirus Software | 10 devices | 20 devices | 50 devices |
| VPN | 10 devices | 20 devices | 50 devices |
| Safe Browsing | 10 devices | 20 devices | 50 devices |
| Password Manager | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Lock | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Account Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Financial Transaction Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Home Title Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Criminal Record Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Restoration Services | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Investment Account Monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Annual Credit Report | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Credit Scores | Yes | Yes | Yes |
So which Aura plan is the best? That depends on whether you’re a single adult living independently, have a spouse, partner, or a roommate, or you have a family that you want to protect. Let’s break down the plans.
Aura’s Individual plan is as comprehensive as it gets, as far as identity and credit monitoring goes. It will monitor if your online accounts, personal information, Social Security Number, bank account details, investment accounts, and home titles ever get stolen. The only thing missing from this plan is Child SSN Monitoring, which is understandable given that its target audiences are single individuals looking to protect their identities and credits.
Aura’s antivirus and VPN functions
In addition to the usual identity and credit monitoring features, the Individual plan also extends its features to device protections. That includes their anti-malware software, virtual private network (VPN), password manager, and malware site blocking. The anti-malware, VPN, and malware site blocking can be used on up to 10 devices with the Individual plan.
Needless to say the amount of features Aura offers is eye-watering, but one we want to call out in particular is the Email Alias feature in particular. It generates false email addresses to mask your true identity so you’re going to get less spam (bonus) while it limits your exposure to data breaches (double bonus.)
Now, for its price, we think this is a solid identity protection plan for individuals. We’ve seen services charge upwards of $20 per month for the same protections, so $15 a month or $144 yearly is pretty reasonable.
Now, take everything included in Aura’s individual plan, and hit “x 2” on your calculator — that’s the Couple plan. We will say, though, it’s a bit of a misnomer. You don’t have to be romantic partners to purchase the Couple plan — you can be roommates, siblings living together, or just friends. You’re essentially getting two individual accounts which you will manage separately, so it’s safe to share a subscription.
Now, when it comes to features, like we said, just double everything in the Individual plan. That includes device protections, so both you and your co-subscriber get access to the VPN, antivirus software, and safe browsing tool for 10 devices each. Similarly, the insurance coverage applies to each member. In case both you and your co-subscriber both fall victim to identity theft, you won’t have to share the $1,000,000 insurance limit.
At $29 per month if you pay monthly or $22 per month if you pay yearly, the Couple plan provides much value to adults living together. Rather than buying two Individual plans separately, the Couple plan will save you up to $120 yearly.
The best-value plan from Aura is the Family plan, that is, if you have a family to protect. The concept is almost the same as the Couple plan, only the Family plan provides protection to up to five adults. Each adult member still gets device protection for up to 10 devices, $1,000,000 in insurance coverage, and all the identity and credit monitoring features.
Pro Tip: Got kids? Worried about protecting their identities? Then you’re going to want to read our guide to keeping your children’s sensitive data off the dark web.
The only difference between the Family plan and the Couple and Individual plans has to do with child monitoring. As opposed to identity monitoring for adults, child monitoring only protects children’s Social Security Numbers, notifying you if your child’s SSN is used to take out loans or for other nefarious activities.
However, new to Aura’s Family plan are parental online controls powered by Circle. This feature allows parents to block and filter websites and apps, manage screen time limits, and track internet usage. It is a great addition for families. It costs $50 month to month, or $37 a month when you sign up for a year. If you don’t have your abacus handy, the year-long subscription saves you $156.
Alerts from Aura
One thing to note here, is that you can add as many children as you want to your Family plan. That’s because the five-member limit applies only to adults. Children are covered, albeit limitedly as we mentioned above. Children will also have to share device protections with adult members. If your child has a smartphone, for example, and they use the VPN and antivirus on it, that will count against the device limit of one of the adult members. The same applies to the insurance coverage.
We think the Family plan is a great identity protection plan for families, especially compared to most services that cover only two adults and a certain number of children. With Aura, if you have grown-up kids living with you and your spouse, you can still add them to your family protection. And at $50 per month at most, this plan is much cheaper than getting five Individual plans. Not to mention, the Circle parental controls make it all the more worth it.
Aura hasn’t been around for very long, but they’re already making waves in the industry with their unique approach to identity theft protection. They’re a service that understands identity theft is an ever-changing threat, and that complete protection requires a multifaceted approach.
FYI: Not convinced Aura is right for you? Not to worry because we’ve compiled a list of the 10 best identity theft protection services of the year. There you’ll find something for every need and every budget.
It may be superficial, but we also like the way Aura is designed. Its interface is sleek and functional, and while other identity theft services feel a little outdated, Aura feels modern. There’s something to be said for prioritizing design, and Aura really nails it.
That said, Aura isn’t just a sleek veneer. Their core protections and functions are rock-solid, and we feel comfortable recommending their protection to anyone. While they might be a little more expensive than their counterparts, we think the extra cost is well worth it.
Hacking is a broad term and can refer to any number of threatening activities, but Aura can prevent you from falling victim to many of these threats by providing you with malware protection and a virtual private network.
Yes, Aura keeps an eye on dark web marketplaces and forums for your personally identifying information and log-in credentials.
Yes, Aura looks for suspicious changes in your credit files at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Aura is one of the more expensive identity theft protection solutions on the market, but they are the only one we’ve found that also couples malware protection and a virtual private network.
While they are a little pricey, we think Aura’s bonus cybersecurity features make them well worth the cost.
