Is LifeLock Worth It? What You Need To Know Before You Buy

Is There a Better Option Than LifeLock?

With a claimed 80 million users across 150 countries, LifeLock has built a strong reputation as a go-to choice for safeguarding sensitive and financial information against identity thieves. 

But is LifeLock the best value for your money in 2024?

LifeLock's Standard plan is light on important features, while its feature-heavy packages cost more than many other comparable services.

Features and pricing aside, LifeLock's reputation has taken a hit in recent years due to a 2023 security breach [*] and past fines of over $100 million [*] for failing to secure customer data.

Whether you're looking for a LifeLock alternative or just the best identity theft protection for you and your family, it pays to know exactly how LifeLock measures up against its more modern competitors.

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LifeLock Review: Is It Worth the Money?

Founded in 2005, LifeLock helps protect customers by monitoring personal data, information, credit, and financial accounts for signs of fraud. In 2017, the cybersecurity company Symantec (the makers of Norton) purchased LifeLock, allowing users to add Norton360’s digital security suite to their identity theft protection services — for an additional cost. 

While this partnership made Norton LifeLock more of an all-in-one provider, it also added to the already weighty price and plan options. 

Here's a quick rundown of LifeLock's major pros and cons:

The LifeLock plan you choose will have a major impact on the features you receive and the price you pay. For example, here's a brief feature comparison of LifeLock’s Standard and Ultimate Plus plans: 

LifeLock Standard features: 

• One-bureau credit monitoring 
• Limited identity monitoring and alerts
• Minimal insurance coverage
• 24/7 member support

LifeLock Ultimate Plus features: 

• Three-bureau credit monitoring
• Regular credit reports and scores
• Comprehensive monitoring and alerts
• Identity and credit file locks
• Maximum insurance coverage
• 24/7 priority member support 

Remember, neither of these plans include digital security. For this key feature, you need to add Norton 360 to your package. If you want to protect other family members, that's another additional cost. 

Something to think about: You should really only pay for identity theft protection if you’re unwilling or unable to monitor your own credit and accounts, want insurance against losses and expenses, or require digital security tools to protect your devices (even though these features don’t come standard with LifeLock’s plans).

In reality, you can perform many of the services for free that LifeLock offers, such as:

• Monitoring your own credit reports by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com
• Freezing your credit file with the major credit bureaus
• Scanning the Dark Web for your information at scan.aura.com

LifeLock Identity Theft Protection’s Best Features

LifeLock makes bold claims about how it can protect you against identity theft, hacking, and fraud. But there are nuances and limitations that you should understand before becoming a paying customer. 

Looking more closely at its main features shows how LifeLock protects you — and where it falls short.

LifeLock identity monitoring

The best identity theft protection services constantly monitor your personally identifiable information (PII), including your phone number and Social Security Number (SSN). 

LifeLock claims to scan “hundreds of millions of data points every second” across the internet, including data breaches, court records, USPS change of address verifications, and the Dark Web [*]. If your information is at risk, LifeLock’s Dark Web monitoring should send you a notification. 

What you need to know: While LifeLock's monitoring can protect you from many types of ID theft, including criminal identity theft and USPS address changes, not all features offer such clear benefits (such as “fictitious identity monitoring”). 

One- or three-bureau credit monitoring

Identity thieves can apply for payday loans or credit cards in your name and damage your credit score and standing with financial institutions. You can review your own free credit reports by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com or you can enlist a credit monitoring service to do it for you.  

LifeLock's Ultimate Plus plan offers three-bureau credit monitoring and annual three-bureau credit reports. If suspicious activity appears on your credit file, LifeLock sends you an alert so you can investigate it. 

What you need to know: You have to pay for the most expensive LifeLock plan to receive robust credit monitoring. LifeLock’s Standard and Advantage plans only monitor your Equifax credit file — leaving you vulnerable to fraud at the other two major credit bureaus (Experian and TransUnion). Neither plan offers three-bureau credit reports.

Fraud protection with “Identity Lock” 

While most banks provide fraud detection services and alerts, you can double up your protection with LifeLock’s fraud alerts. Once you link accounts, LifeLock will notify you of suspicious transactions and signs of fraud on your credit report, bank accounts, and even your investment accounts. 

Customers on the LifeLock Advantage plan or higher also get access to “Identity Lock” — a quick way to lock and unlock your TransUnion credit file from the LifeLock app or website. 

What you need to know: LifeLock warns users about suspicious activity associated with their names and accounts, but it does not monitor the transactions within all of their accounts. Some customers have also complained about late or nonexistent alerts [*]. 

$1 million+ identity insurance

It can cost a lot of time and money to recover from identity theft. You may spend months or even years fighting court battles to clear your name with banks and debt collection agencies. 

LifeLock's services provide insurance for victims of identity theft — including money for lost wages and expense compensation. For example, if your identity is stolen while you’re a LifeLock member, the company offers up to $1 million to pay for lawyers and fraud experts to resolve your case.

What you need to know: Your insurance coverage will vary greatly depending on what plan you choose. For example, LifeLock's standard plans only include $25,000 in personal expenses and stolen funds reimbursement. To get the $1 million coverage for stolen funds that the company promotes, you need to pay for the most expensive Ultimate Plus plan. 

24/7 identity restoration and support

Dealing with the impact of fraud can be confusing and stressful. The best identity theft protection apps ensure that you aren't alone, offering expert guidance to help you navigate each step of the resolution process. 

LifeLock advertises 24/7 support from a U.S.-based team of fraud restoration specialists. These experts offer advice and support to help you deal with banks, vendors, and legal counsel when you fall prey to identity theft. 

LifeLock also provides stolen wallet protection, which helps you cancel and replace stolen credit cards, Social Security cards, and driver’s licenses.

What you need to know: Despite its claims of round-the-clock U.S.-based assistance, LifeLock only provides “priority” support to Ultimate Plus plan members. Furthermore, many customers have complained about sub-par support from seemingly foreign call centers [*].

Family plans and child protection

Many ID theft protection plans offer family plan options, which extend the coverage from individual plans to adult family members and children. 

LifeLock's family plans include child identity and SSN alerts and child credit file detection. For members who get the Norton 360 add-on, LifeLock offers parental controls, such as content filters, screen-time limits, and online surveillance tools. 

What you need to know: LifeLock provides industry-standard protection for families, but its family plans are expensive and somewhat limited. Compared to Aura’s family plans that cover up to five adults (who can reside in different households) and unlimited children, LifeLock only covers two adults and five children.

Optional digital security (from Norton)

Digital security can help protect you from malware, hackers, data breaches, and other suspicious activity that could expose you to fraud.

If you bundle LifeLock with Norton 360 (for an additional price), you receive antivirus software for smartphones, laptops, and tablets. LifeLock also offers a “virus protection promise,” which qualifies you for a refund if LifeLock’s support can’t remove the virus from your device.

LifeLock's additional privacy and digital security tools include a secure VPN to encrypt your online activity, a privacy monitor, a password manager, a “SafeCam” for Windows PC, at least 100 GB of cloud storage, and phone takeover monitoring. 

What you need to know: While LifeLock provides digital security that is comparable to many of its competitors, the company doesn't include online and device protection on its standard plans. To get what other providers build into their services, you need to pay extra with LifeLock.

What Are the Downsides of Using LifeLock?

Despite its reputation as a leader in identity theft protection, LifeLock is not without its shortcomings.

Here are some of LifeLock's biggest drawbacks:

Complicated and expensive plans

LifeLock has a dizzying number of plans, each offering different features and levels of protection. Unless you know exactly what you want from an identity theft protection provider, more options may not be better. 

According to Security.org [*]:

Once LifeLock’s one-year promotional period expires, prices go up significantly. For example, the top-level plan for families with kids is $40.99 per month for the first year. It renews for $68.33 per month, a monthly increase of over $25.

Here’s a basic look at LifeLock’s pricing when you sign up and then after your first year of service (as of August 2024):

NOTE: The table above examines only LifeLock's individual plans without Norton 360. LifeLock's pricing for plans including digital security for couples and families can cost up to $192 more per year.

Limited protection on lower-priced plans

LifeLock's lower-tier plans may feature competitive prices, but they lack the coverage and protection provided by competitor packages in this price range. In fact, LifeLock's Standard plans may still leave you vulnerable and unsupported when dealing with credit or financial fraud. 

Here are some of the shortcomings that could affect the lowest-paying customers:

• One-bureau credit monitoring
• No credit reports
• Only $25,000 in stolen funds reimbursement 
• No digital security
• Non-priority member support

Recent security incident that exposed nearly one million passwords

Early in 2023, Norton LifeLock informed customers that nearly one million user accounts were potentially at risk after a significant password leak [*]. According to TechCrunch, at least 6,450 accounts were confirmed compromised in the subsequent attacks [*]. 

Perhaps most alarming, Norton informed customers of the breach on January 9, 2023: 

• More than five weeks after the leak
• Nearly one month after the attacks were first detected
• 18 days after the breach was confirmed

💡 Related: How Much Does LifeLock Cost For Seniors? (2024 Price Breakdown) →

Questionable alert system

Speed and accuracy are crucial for fraud alerts, yet LifeLock has encountered issues in both areas. Delayed or vague alerts make it difficult for customers to combat identity theft. Conversely, frequent false alarms can desensitize users, leading them to potentially ignore genuine threats.

Here are some Trustpilot user reviews for LifeLock's alert system [*]:

• "The email notifications that we receive are typically days old and we hear about the risk from other sources."
• "They are sending out false alerts. Customer service said that the alert sent to me was not based on someone actually applying for a loan using my credit. Rather a notification that it’s a possibility. I get one of these every year and have found them to be a ploy to get me to upgrade or buy add on services."
• "The alerts I get are worthless. The emails, calls, and texts provide no data or details of things they find. Even when I log in to review, the data is vague at best. If I’m paying for a service, I shouldn’t have to do the additional legwork to figure it out."

$100 million FTC fine for not protecting user data

Identity theft protection providers store a significant amount of personal customer information. Although LifeLock assures users that it safeguards their data [*], it hasn't always lived up to that promise.

After a 2018 website bug [*] exposed LifeLock’s customer emails to anyone with a web browser, security expert Brian Krebs said the creators of LifeLock, “lacked a basic understanding of website authentication and security.” [*] 

Here are some of LifeLock's other past data protection controversies:

• In 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined LifeLock $12 million, partially for false data security claims and its vulnerable data security system [*]. 
• In 2015, the FTC fined LifeLock $100 million for failing to secure user data as ordered in 2010 [*]. 

Complaints about poor customer service

LifeLock promotes 24/7 live member support and U.S.-based identity restoration specialists, but customers have reported a different reality. In fact, many users complain that human support is difficult to access, based overseas, and unhelpful overall.  

Here are some Trustpilot user reviews for LifeLock's customer service [*]:

• "The web site claims to offer support access via 24 hour chat or a phone number. But in reality neither is reachable from the web site. Terrible customer support!"
• "I spoke to some foreign guy who couldn't answer my question, I don't believe he knew what he was doing. He kept telling me what to do and I was already doing it. He also kept putting me on hold so he could ask his supervisor. I requested an US customer service rep, but he said he couldn't transfer me."
• "I have been on the phone multiple hours with level 1 and level 2 support, creating logs and troubleshooting. Neither level 1 nor level 2 can resolve the issue. It has been escalated to level 3 and they were supposed to call me within 48 hours. They did not call."

💡 Related: How To Cancel LifeLock (and Get Your Money Back) →

LifeLock vs. Aura: Feature, Pricing, and Protection Comparison

LifeLock has been around for many years, but the competition has caught up and there are now numerous LifeLock alternatives that offer similar or better protection — often without the downsides. 

Aura comes with advanced features built specifically for the digital age and provides users with robust coverage (including three-bureau credit monitoring, online security, and more) no matter what plan they choose. 

Aura has also been rated as the #1 choice for modern identity protection by Money.com, TechRadar, USNews.com, Forbes, and more.

Here’s how Aura and LifeLock compare head-to-head:

While some of the Aura and LifeLock features are comparable, Aura stands out in a few critical areas:

• Faster fraud alerts. Speed is critical when stopping identity thieves. In a 2022 mystery shopper survey, Aura’s credit fraud activity alerts were found to be the fastest in the industry — up to 250x faster than competitors such as LifeLock³.
• Included online security. Aura prioritizes online security, offering strong protection against malware, fake and malicious websites, and phishing calls and emails — without the need to upgrade to a more expensive plan.
• Simple and transparent pricing. Unlike LifeLock’s convoluted pricing, Aura offers simple plans based on the number of people you want to protect — just you, you and your partner, or your entire family. 
• More robust family protection. Aura's family plans extend identity protection to family members in multiple households. This makes Aura a more cost-effective solution for large families that include aging grandparents, college students away from home, and children who are not yet cognizant of internet dangers.
• Better support (that’s available when you need it). Aura offers 24/7 support from a dedicated team of U.S.-based support specialists to provide help when you need it most.

LifeLock is backed by a popular brand name and a long history, but it's not the best option for everyone. If you're still unsure that Aura can outperform LifeLock, sign up for a free Aura trial and see for yourself. 

Get peace of mind against fraud, scams, and identity theft. Try Aura free for 14 days.