Identity Force's privacy policy is essentially TransUnion's privacy policy. This means the data you provide for identity "protection" joins TransUnion's existing credit data about you and can be shared across their entire partner network. Credit bureaus have some of the most permissive data sharing practices allowed under law.
| Data Type | Collected | Shared | Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Security Number | Yes | TransUnion Network | Yes (FCRA permitted) |
| Financial Information | Yes | TransUnion Partners | Yes (FCRA permitted) |
| Credit Report Data | Yes | Lenders, Employers, etc. | Yes (core business) |
| Identity Verification Data | Yes | TransUnion Products | Yes (verification services) |
| Alert Preferences | Yes | Marketing, Affiliates | No |
TransUnion's business is selling data. Your Identity Force subscription data joins their consumer file, which is shared with thousands of creditors, employers, landlords, and other "permissible purposes" under the FCRA. You're paying to add more data to their saleable profile of you.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows credit bureaus to share your data without consent for "permissible purposes" including credit decisions, employment screening, insurance underwriting, and government benefits. Identity Force data becomes subject to these rules.
Your Identity Force data and activity can be used to market other TransUnion products and services. TransUnion offers numerous B2B products using consumer data - your protection service feeds this ecosystem.
TransUnion sells identity verification services to businesses. The identity data you provide for "protection" can be used to verify your identity when businesses query TransUnion - effectively monetizing your protection data.
Understanding the credit bureau model is essential:
Unlike standalone identity protection services, data deletion from TransUnion/Identity Force is extremely limited:
Identity Force scores a failing 22 on privacy - the worst in the category. The fundamental conflict of a credit bureau offering "identity protection" means your protection data simply becomes more data for TransUnion to monetize.