Aura Identity Theft Protection Review

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One of the leading brands in the identity theft protection space, Aura stands out in a crowded market by offering one all-inclusive plan for individuals, couples or families — a model that eliminates feature paywalls and simplifies coverage. This means its core identity monitoring and restoration features are present in all of its standard plans, regardless of user count.

Read on to learn more about Aura, including what sets it apart, its plans and the service’s company information.

Aura Identity Theft Protection pros and cons

What sets Aura apart

Comprehensive monitoring for the whole family

Aura keeps an eye on a wide scope of information and documents, from account breach and Social Security Number monitoring, to more targeted types of monitoring such as auto title, bank fraud, court record and investment account monitoring. These identity monitoring services are present across all three of the company’s standard plan options.

Extensive suite of cybersecurity tools

Each Aura plan comes with a VPN, antivirus software, password manager, email alias generator ad blocker and safe browsing tools. The Family plan extends this protection for up to 50 devices. Although not a part of traditional identity theft protection, cybersecurity tools have become increasingly important to safeguard your identity and information online.

3-bureau credit monitoring on all plans

Most identity theft protection companies only include credit monitoring from TransUnion, Equifax and Experian on their highest service tiers (and at a hefty cost). Because all Aura plans come with the same main features, you can get this highly sought-after feature regardless of your chosen plan.

Lengthy money-back guarantee

Aura’s regular money-back guarantee is 14 days — a reasonable policy in the context of monthly plan payments. However, those who pay for annual billing net a much longer 60-day money-back guarantee. It’s one of the longest in the industry, which gives you ample time to figure out whether to stick with the service or not.

Where Aura falls short

No social media monitoring

While Aura scans for threats across the dark web and financial records, it doesn’t monitor your social media accounts — a notable omission in the company’s otherwise thorough identity monitoring service (especially for adult users). The company’s Family plan does have cyberbullying alerts, but this only applies to children while they are gaming.

Plans lacking in flexibility

Aura advertises plans with a large number of features, but you may not actually need everything being offered. In fact, the company’s all-in-one model means you may end up paying for services you don’t need. In that case, Aura can turn out much more expensive than the competition since you can’t pick and choose features or opt for a more affordable plan tier.

Aura Identity Theft Protection plans and pricing

Unlike competitors that scale features across pricing tiers, Aura’s plans primarily differ by the number of users covered (one, two or up to five adults) and the scale of certain benefits like insurance limits and the size of encrypted storage. The only exception to this is the Kids plan, which focuses solely on features and tools to protect children.

Aura Individual

The Aura Individual plan provides one adult with the following:

• Identity theft protection (monitoring for account breaches, SSN and personal information, home and auto titles, identity verification, criminal and court records, 401k and investment accounts, financial transactions and bank fraud)
• $1M identity theft insurance policy
• 3-Bureau credit monitoring
• Instant credit lock
• Financial transaction alerts
• Antivirus, VPN and safe browsing tools for up to ten devices
• Password manager, encrypted online storage and email aliases
• Anti-track and ad blocker
• People search sites and spam lists removal
• 24/7 customer support
• U.S.-based expert fraud and lost wallet remediation
• Your monthly credit score and annual credit reports

Aura Couple

The Couple plan offers all the features from the Individual plan but for two adults instead of one. The $1M identity theft insurance policy goes up to $2M, accordingly, and users on the plan may download the antivirus, VPN and safe browsing tools on up to 20 devices instead of 10.

Aura Family

The Family plan not only expands coverage to up to five adults and an unlimited number of children, but it also comes with a host of additional features. These include:

• Spam call and message protection (also available as an add-on for other plans)
• Online trend and routine tracker for children (for iOS devices only)
• Parental controls
• Safe gaming and cyberbullying alerts
• Family fraud alerts sharing
• Child SSN monitoring
• Child 3-bureau credit freeze
• Child sex offender geo-alerts

Each adult in the plan gets up to $1M in identity theft insurance, meaning the plan offers a total $5M in insurance. It also allows you to download the antivirus, VPN and safe browsing tools on an unlimited number of devices.

Aura Kids

The Kids plan differs from all other Aura plans in that it does not offer any identity theft protection for adults. Instead, it comes with some of the device tools and monitoring services in the family plan, specifically those that safeguard the identity and digital footprint of children. This includes the online trend and routine tracker for iOS devices, safe gaming and cyberbullying alerts, parental controls and child sex offender geo-alerts.

Below is a quick breakdown of the cost of each Aura plan:

Aura Identity Theft Protection financial stability

Aura is a subsidiary of Aura Sub, LLC, the parent company of Identity Guard, another id theft protection service. It was formed as a result of the merger between Intersections Inc. and a joint venture entity composed of iSubscribed, WndrCo and General Catalyst. The combined businesses rebranded under the name Aura to create a unified digital threat protection platform.

There is little-to-no public information regarding the company’s financials, and it does not appear to be rated by any of the major credit rating agencies as of August 15. However, we also did not find any pending government or regulatory actions involving Aura.

Aura’s Accessibility

Customers can access Aura’s services through its desktop and mobile apps. Plans may be bought directly online or over the phone.

Availability

Aura’s plans are available across all U.S. states and territories. The company provides 24/7 customer support by phone number, email and live chat.

Aura also offers “white glove” fraud resolution, a service that provides personalized assistance to victims of identity theft or financial fraud. Should you need it, Aura will assign you a dedicated case manager to contact credit agencies and government institutions to help you resolve the issue.

Contact information

Customers can call +1-833-552-2123 or email support@aura.com to get in touch with Aura’s customer support team. The site also has a pop-up web chat feature on the Digital Security 101 page. On this page, customers can learn more about preventing identity theft.

User experience

The Aura website is easy to use and provides detailed service and pricing information. It hosts a help center with answers to frequently asked questions and information on how to get started with the service, data breaches, credit, family protection and more.

As of August 15, Aura’s iOS app is rated 4.7 out of 5 based on 68,678 ratings, while the Android app is rated 4.5 out of 5 based on 22,463 reviews on the Google Play Store. The Aura app can send you alerts for suspicious activity and display your credit information, plus it provides easy access to many of the service’s tools, such as the instant credit lock, VPN and transaction tracker.

Aura Identity Theft Protection customer satisfaction

Aura gets mostly positive reviews online. Consumer complaints are mostly related to billing issues and how some services worked, specifically the password manager and antivirus. Other complaints mention issues with the iOS and Android applications.

Aura is accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and currently shows an A+ grade on the site. Reviews on the BBB, where it has received 164 complaints in the last 3 years and closed 64 of them in the last 12 months, add up to a total rating of 1.06 out of 5 based on 64 customer reviews.

How we evaluated Aura identity theft protection

To evaluate Aura’s identity theft protection service, we first compiled a list with each of its plans and the included features. Then, we compared them to those of the best identity theft protection services, evaluating them side by side. Finally, we considered online opinions to measure satisfaction with the service, as well as its software and apps.

Summary of Money’s Aura identity theft protection review

Aura is a strong option for individuals and families seeking comprehensive identity protection and online security. Its long list of tools and monitoring, simplified pricing model and strong refund policy make it stand out from the competition. However, one of its greatest strengths can serve as a drawback: it may not be the best option if you are looking for an affordable service without all the bells and whistles.