What's the difference between a footprint scanner and a data removal service?
A digital footprint scanner looks you up the way a stranger would and shows you what it finds: social profiles, old accounts, news mentions and search results. A data removal service works on one source: data brokers, the companies that collect people's names, addresses and phone numbers and sell them. It sends each broker an opt-out request in your name, then checks back and asks again if your listing returns.
With a scanner, you delete or lock down what it finds yourself. A removal service does the paperwork, but only for the brokers on its list.
Are there data brokers in South Africa?
South Africa has data brokers, but far fewer than the US. California alone had 581 registered data brokers in June 2026. Optery, which sells removal in both countries, lists 625+ sites on its top US plan and 48+ on its top South African plan. The South African list is mostly international marketing and sales-contact databases, such as ZoomInfo and Apollo.
South African law also limits the trade. Under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), a company may market to you by email, SMS or automated call only with your consent, or if you're already its customer. You can object to other direct marketing at any time, and the company must then stop processing your details.
So broker listings are likely a smaller share of a South African's footprint than an American's, leaving more weight on social profiles, old accounts and mentions. Optery's South African list does include a people-search site, PersonLookup South Africa.
Source: California Privacy Protection Agency, “Privacy momentum builds”, 2 June 2026
Source: Optery, South Africa pricing and data broker coverage, checked November 2026
Source: Optery, US pricing, checked November 2026
Source: POPIA section 69, direct marketing by electronic communication
Source: POPIA section 11, consent, justification and objection
What do Incogni, DeleteMe and Aura offer?
Incogni, DeleteMe and Aura send removal requests to data brokers on your behalf, and none of them lists South Africa among the places it serves.
Incogni covers 420+ data broker sites and serves the US, Canada, the UK and much of Europe. Its Standard plan costs US$7.99 a month billed yearly (US$95.88), or US$15.98 month to month. Its removals recur: a listing that comes back gets another request.
DeleteMe's one-year plans are for US residents only, and it runs separate sites for Canada, Australia and the UK. Every plan includes a personal DeleteMe expert, quarterly privacy reports, and custom removal requests on top of the automated ones.
Aura is a US identity protection bundle. Its Individual plan costs US$12 a month billed yearly, or US$15 month to month. It combines data removal from 425+ sites with credit monitoring at the three US credit bureaus, identity theft insurance and a US-based fraud team.
Source: Incogni pricing page, checked November 2026 (US dollars)
Source: Wikipedia, “Incogni”, countries served, checked November 2026
Source: DeleteMe plans page, checked November 2026
Source: Aura pricing page, checked November 2026 (US dollars)
Which data removal service has a South African plan?
Optery is the one service in this guide with a South African plan, priced in rand. Its free Basic plan scans Google, Bing and data broker sites for your name, and gives you tools to opt out yourself. Core costs R54 a month, or R540 a year, and sends removal requests to 27+ sites. Ultimate costs R339 a month, or R3,390 a year, and sends them to 48+.
Broker sites are where Optery beats a footprint scan: its paid plans check them and send the opt-outs every month.
Source: Optery, South Africa pricing, checked November 2026 (rand)
What does the free Loomis footprint scan show?
The free Loomis footprint scan takes a username and lists the sites it turns up on. There's no sign-up. Malwarebytes' free scan does something Loomis's free scan doesn't: it checks a confirmed email address against data breaches and the dark web.
Loomis Personal is a paid plan, billed in rand. At its launch price on 1 November 2026 it cost R49 a month or R490 a year, half its normal R99 a month or R990 a year. That is close to Optery Core's R54 a month, but the two do different jobs: Optery removes broker listings, and Loomis Personal finds your accounts and mentions. It checks your usernames on more than 600 sites and searches the open web and news under your name. Every month it looks again for new mentions and accounts, and it alerts you when your email turns up in a breach. It links you to old accounts it finds so you can close or keep them.
Source: Malwarebytes, free Digital Footprint scan, checked November 2026
When is a data removal service worth paying for?
A data removal service is worth paying for when your home address or phone number is listed on broker sites. Loomis doesn't remove broker listings or send opt-out requests. Loomis Personal shows you where each thing is, so you can tidy or delete it yourself.
Run two free checks first: a footprint scan for profiles, old accounts and mentions, and Optery's free plan for broker sites. Pay for removal only if Optery finds your home address or phone number listed.
You can also ask a South African company yourself, for free. Write to object to its use of your details for direct marketing (POPIA section 11), or withdraw consent for email and SMS marketing. Under section 24, you can ask it to delete anything it holds about you that's inaccurate, out of date, excessive or collected unlawfully.
Source: POPIA section 11, consent, justification and objection
Source: POPIA section 24, correction of personal information
