AI, Cryptography & Cybersecurity Advisory
Abine Product Review: Blur & DeleteMe
1st of September, 2015
Abine
Abine is a privacy company based in Boston. Their goal, similar to our own, is to create easy-to-use, accessible privacy solutions for the everyday internet user. There are two main products offered by Abine: DeleteMe and Blur — two previous products, MaskMe and Do Not Track Me, are encompassed within Abine’s powerful Blur product.
DeleteMe
Abine’s DeleteMe is a service that tries to get a handle on the mass of your information online. They aim to accomplish this task by assigning users a DeleteMe advisor who removes your public profile from leading data sites; this includes your contact information, personal information, social information, as well as photos of you, your family, and your home. Abine provides this service for $129/person/year or $209/person/2years. If you wish to purchase DeleteMe for two people, the pricing changes to $229/year and $349/2years.
Some criticism of DeleteMe is how expensive it is and there is no guarantee your information will not return: some cases revealed that their re-established anonymity only lasted 4 months. The price is particularly problematic for more experienced internet users to accept, as DeleteMe is a service that, while difficult, you can do yourself. The video below provides more insight into DeleteMe and why a tool like it is necessary when protecting your online privacy.
More reviews for delete me can be found by The Wall Street Journaland Mashable
Blur
Blur is an application that works with popular web browsers as well as Androids, iPhones, and iPads. There are 4 main features that Blur uses to aid its customers: password creation and management, an email masking system, a credit card masking system, and a browser extension that blocks websites from tracking users.
Password creation creates unique passwords for all your online login needs, and then then syncs your passwords across your devices. Second, email masking will mask your email address by creating aliases that forward to your real address. Third, similar to email masking, credit card masking is a service that allows Blur to create unique credit card numbers to keep your purchases and credit card information private. Finally, Blur’s last, self-explanatory feature blocks websites that attempt to track you, protecting your anonymity. As a whole, Blur provides users with a well-rounded online
privacy tool that clearly works on many fronts to protect user privacy.
All these features to protect your private information with Blur do come with risk, as you must give up a lot of your personal information to Blur for their protection. However, it is a great buy at a cost of $39/1year, $59/2years, $79/3years — only a few dollars a month. Watch this video titled “Blur” in one minute for more info.
About Ryan Jeethan
Ryan is a graduate of the University of Waterloo’s Arts & Business program focusing on UW’s unique Speech Communication program.