Aura Review | Identity Theft Protection

Aura is an identity theft protection company that helps people monitor their personal information to protect it from hackers, data breaches, malware, phishing attacks and other threats to their digital security.

Its all-in-one service includes identity theft monitoring, financial fraud detection and device security for you and your family. Aura also offers restoration and recovery assistance, which can help you mitigate any damage caused by ID theft or data breaches.

Read on to learn about Aura identity theft protection and its suite of services.

Table of Content

• Aura’s Identity Theft Protection Overview
• Aura’s services
• Aura’s protection plans and prices
• Aura’s prices
• How to get Aura Identity Theft Protection
• Aura’s credentials
• Aura’s accessibility
• Aura’s customer satisfaction

Aura Identity Theft Protection Overview

As we spend more time on our devices and are increasingly dependent on online services, our personal information has become more vulnerable than ever. Identity theft protection provider Aura aims to offer a digital solution to this modern problem.

Boston-based Aura sets itself apart by being a one-stop shop. While many competitors offer monitoring and account tracking, Aura goes a few steps further by providing antivirus, a password manager and VPN services as well.

It offers three types of plans — an individual plan at $12 a month, a couples’ plan for $22 and a family plan for $37 per month (when billed annually). While the cost of these plans seems higher than some competitors at first glance, as we mentioned before, Aura does some things others don’t, such as antivirus and VPN.

As a drawback, Aura only offers a 14-day free trial period, while many competitors offer 30 days for free.

Aura’s services

Aura monitors your data online and alerts you if it’s exposed in any data breaches. It features antivirus software which, in addition to preventing viruses and malware, can also flag potential phishing attacks.

Aura’s app, which is available for both mobile and desktop, features near real-time alerts, a password manager and gives you access to your credit score and reports.

Aura monitors your address and can alert you if someone tries to change your home title or files for an address change with USPS to get your physical mail. Aura’s plans also support Wi-Fi security with a virtual private network (VPN) that masks your internet address, allowing you to browse privately.

Lastly, it provides identity theft insurance coverage of up to $1 million per adult to compensate for legal fees and lost wages resulting from the theft of your identity.

What Aura offers

• Identity theft protection - Aura tracks your information across the internet — including in the dark web — and alerts you if there are any data breaches or suspicious activity involving your data.

• Password manager - Aura’s password manager generates and stores strong passwords, which can help ease the burden of having to memorize unique ones for each account. Customers can add or remove passwords through the Aura website or using a web browser extension for Chrome, Firefox or Edge.

• Financial fraud protection - Financial fraud protection serves as a firewall for your finances by detecting threats quickly. Aura provides monthly and annual credit reports from all three major credit bureaus and alerts you if there are any inquiries or applications for new credit under your name. It can also help you place a freeze on your Experian credit report to prevent identity theft. To request Transunion and Equifax credit freezes, you must contact each credit bureau directly.

• Bank and investment account monitoring - Aura takes its financial protection services one step further by monitoring your 401K or other investment accounts and notifying you if any of these accounts are exposed on the dark web. It can also alert you if someone tries to make transactions or open an investment account in your name.

• Online and device security - Aura’s plans also include a virtual private network (VPN) and antivirus software. A VPN masks your personal information and location from would-be threats and antivirus software detects and removes viruses from your devices.

• Family protection - Aura’s family plan provides all the features included in the basic plan for up to five members of a household. Each person gets coverage for up to 10 devices. One of the stand-out features in Aura’s family plan is its Social Security number monitoring for children. This could prove to be a valuable feature as identity thieves often target children’s social security numbers because they don’t have credit history and parents don’t usually monitor them.

• 24/7 customer support and resolution services - In the event that you’re a victim of ID theft, Aura has a “white glove” fraud resolution team to help you contact bureaus and government institutions or freeze your credit.

• ID theft insurance - All of Aura’s plans include $1,000,000 ID theft insurance per adult that covers any losses you may experience as a result of identity theft. These include the costs you incur to restore your identity, any lost wages from having to take days off from work to resolve the issue, as well as attorney fees and legal expenses.

What Aura doesn’t offer

• Variety of plans - While many competitors offer multiple plan tiers to fit different budgets, Aura offers only one comprehensive plan. Customers who would like to customize plans and therefore lower the cost of ID protection will have to look elsewhere.

• Antivirus for Apple iOS - Although people usually associate viruses and malware with computers, our phones are equally vulnerable to these threats. That is why Aura’s lack of antivirus software for iOS is a significant drawback, as it leaves your iPhone — and, by extension, your data — exposed.

• Full-featured password manager - Aura’s password manager will help you generate and save secure passwords. However, it lacks many features other password managers offer, including password import from your browser or other password managers, automated form filling and multi-factor authentication.

Aura protection plans and prices

Aura has three distinct online account options to choose from. These plans offer scaling levels of security to meet users with different needs.

Aura Individual

Aura Individual plan gives coverage to one person. It includes these protection features:

• Security for up to 10 devices
• Premium identity theft protection
• $1 million in identity theft insurance
• A white glove fraud remediation support team
• A 1 GB vault for safe data storage
• Privacy assistance

Aura Couple

Aura Couple is a plan for two adult partners. The plan is almost identical to the Individual option, except you get security for up to 20 devices (10 per adult), $2 million in identity theft insurance ($1 million per adult) and a vault for up to 2 GB of secured data storage.

Aura Family

Aura Family is a plan for up to five adults and unlimited children. With this plan, you get access to all of the previously described features; each adult will get security for up to 10 devices, $1 million in identity theft insurance and up to 1 GB of secure data storage per adult for up to five adults.

The Aura Family plan also comes with additional features that you don’t get with the other two plans, including:

• Spam call and message protection
• Child identity protection with Social Security number (SSN) alerts and credit monitoring freezes
• Cyberbullying alerts for safe browsing, social media and gaming
• Parental controls

Aura prices

The more people you have on a plan, the more you will save. Here we break down the cost of each plan:

For two adults, the Aura Couple plan saves you $1 per month per person compared to buying two Aura Individual plans. The Aura Family plan offers more significant savings, with up to $2 per adult per month saved if billed monthly or $7.50 per adult per month if paid annually.

How to get Aura identity theft protection

To get identity theft protection from Aura follow these steps:

1. Visit Aura’s web page and choose the plan option that meets your needs.
2. Click on the "Start Free Trial" button to try it for 14 days first.
3. Enter your personal information to activate monitoring and protection services.
4. Evaluate the service over the 14 days and decide whether to cancel before you’re charged for the full plan price.
5. Enjoy protection from Aura until you’re ready to cancel.

Should you still be undecided at the end of the trial, it could be beneficial to opt for a month-to-month subscription for a short time to truly assess Aura's capabilities. However, if you choose to continue with Aura, consider committing to an annual plan to minimize costs.

Aura’s credentials

Identity theft protection companies don’t need particular licenses or registrations to operate. They are, however, regulated by the Federal Trade Commission, a government agency that aims to protect consumers and prevent deceptive, unfair and anticompetitive business practices. The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998 made identity theft a federal crime and designated the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as the agency responsible for handling claims.

Licenses and registrations

Aura is a subsidiary of Aura Sub, LLC, the parent company of another identity theft protection company called Identity Guard. This parent company is registered in Delaware and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Awards and certifications

Researchers, journalists and consumers rely on certifications and reports from independent testing labs around the world to assess how well different digital security products perform. As of June 2023, Aura has not been included in any independent testing report.

Third-party ratings

Aura is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). It currently has an A+ rating and nine customer reviews. The editors of security.org, an independent non-profit consultancy group, gave Aura 9.6 out of 10.

Regulatory or legal actions

We did not find any pending government or regulatory actions involving Aura.

Do note that, although we try to include accurate and up-to-date information on regulatory and legal actions, we don’t claim this information is complete or fully up to date. As always, we recommend you do your own research as well.

Aura’s Accessibility

Aura offers its services to all U.S. citizens, whether they live in the U.S. or abroad.

Aura has 24/7 customer support by phone, email and web chat. It also includes “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 and help you resolve the issue.

Availability

Aura customers can access its services through its desktop and mobile apps. Its mobile app has a user-friendly interface that allows you to track your transactions and secure your online activity. It also notifies you of suspicious activity and provides your credit scores and reports.

Contact information

Customers can call +1-833-552-2123 or email support@aura.com for support. The site has a pop-up web chat feature on the Digital Security 101 page. On this page, customers can also learn more about preventing identity theft.

Aura’s help center has answers to frequently asked questions. This section includes information on credit protection, credit locks and bank account monitoring.

User experience

The Aura site is easy to use and provides detailed service and pricing information. Additionally, the site has an FAQ page and a Digital Security 101 section, which provides general digital security education.

Aura’s iOS app is rated 4.5 out of 5. Some customer reviews mentioned issues with notifications, where the app keeps flagging recurring “over limit” charges and doesn’t have a hide option for these types of notices.

Its Android app has 4.4 out of 5 on the Google Play Store. Customers on this platform reported different issues than iOS users, with many claiming the app sometimes crashed and they had to go through the hassle of having to log in again.

Limitations

Aura offers antivirus protection for Mac desktops, but not for Apple mobile devices.

Another drawback is the cost of Aura's service. An Individual identity protection plan costs $12 per month —other similar services cost less than $8 per month. Aura's plan is very comprehensive, including additional features like dark web monitoring, credit monitoring and identity theft insurance. However, Aura does not offer plan options with fewer features.

Aura’s customer satisfaction

Aura gets mostly positive reviews online. Some consumer complaints were related to how some services worked, specifically the password manager and account monitoring. The other complaints involved issues with the iOS and Android applications.

Customer complaints

Some customer reviews of the Aura iOS and Android apps mentioned that although they like the password manager, they had trouble logging into sites when using devices without the Aura app installed. Others noted how Aura couldn’t monitor financial accounts if you use two-factor authentication and disconnects these accounts from the service.

Third-party ratings

Aura has a grade of A+ with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB also gives the company a 1.44 out of 5 stars and shows Aura has had 47 complaints filed in the last three years.

Many of these complaints mention the default auto-renewal option when signing up for a free trial with no reminder or fast customer service option to cancel it before it renews.

In 2019, iSubscribed and partners WndrCo and General Catalyst completed the acquisition of Intersections Inc. — Identity Guard’s parent company — and became Aura. So although these complaints involve Identity Guard, they were filed after the merger and rebranding.

Aura’s iOS app is rated 4.5 out of 5 and its Android app has 4.4 out of 5 on Google Play Store. Both of these ratings are based on customer reviews of the apps and are not a rating of the service as a whole.

How we evaluated Aura identity theft protection

We evaluated Aura’s identity theft protection services and compared these to a list of the best identity theft protection services.

We looked at the plan’s features and the number of people and devices included in the coverage, and compared those to Aura’s main competitors.

Finally, we researched and read customer reviews to measure their satisfaction with the service as well as their opinion of software and apps offered by the company.

Summary of Money’s Aura identity theft protection review

Aura offers a comprehensive suite of products and services that protect your personal information online and across all your devices.

Its main services are identity monitoring, financial fraud detection and device security for you and your family. Aura also monitors customer’s home titles, bank accounts and credit card accounts. It also provides personalized fraud resolution services in the event that there is a breach of your information online or on the dark web.

Aura stands out from its competitors because its plans offer many additional features, such as a VPN and password manager for up to 10 computers or mobile devices per plan member. If customers add children to their Family plan, they’ll also get access to parental controls and SSN monitoring for each child.