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VPN and other identity questions
My husband and I are mostly retired. We are not particularly technically inclined. But we have been gradually been transitioning our financial management on line, which does worry me about security.
We get our internet from Verizon FIOS. We use Windows, Chrome and Android phones and have no Apple products.
I have been wanting to signup for a VPN. I am a retired government worker. 10 years ago there was a significant data breach and the government ‘gave’ me a monitoring service which I was just notified is expiring. It was MyIDCare powered by IDX. As far as I know, it was only monitoring… it did not ‘clean-up,’ so I have been considering Ingognti (based on newsletter recommendation… and seeing it elsewhere.) NORD VPN products seem to be affiliated with incogniti as you can add it if you subscribe to one ofbtheir plans.
So here is my dilemma. I want to include both my husband AND I. Although most of our finances are intertwined there are a few instances where we have separate accounts etc. And of course he has his own SSN. I saw that NORD protects up to 10 devices… which is fine, but does that mean a second person.
I currently have, and actively use, 1Password. I have a single plan which my husband accesses… but it occasionally causes friction has he has to log into accounts using my email rather than his. I originally did not get a family plan because of cost. (It’s not prohibitive, but I didn’t think it was necessary.) I have recently considered adding him and sharing all the 1Password data, but truthfully, i don’t think he would persevere through the learning curve. I think the Nord plans also have password info, but at this point I’m happy with 1Password.
So here i am. Ready to take the plunge… I know we need the protection and I will be (solely) responsible for setup and maintenance, but what product(s) do I want? And how do I include him in a way that it isn’t unnecessarily costly… nor require additional work on my behalf. And, there is the legacy issue. Is it something he can assume responsibilty for if I can no do it.
Thanks!
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1 Reply
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Hi Elyse, this is a great question, and you’re already thinking about it the right way. Let’s break it down piece by piece.
VPN + data removal (NordVPN + Incogni)
Good news: you likely don’t need two separate subscriptions for this. NordVPN plans cover up to 10 devices under a single account, so you and your husband can both be protected under one plan, each using it on your own phone and computer, without extra cost.
Incogni (the data-removal service) works a little differently since it’s tied to submitting removal requests using each person’s personal details, not just devices. Since you and your husband have separate identities to protect (his own SSN, his own footprint across data broker sites), you’ll want to check whether your Incogni plan covers two people under one subscription or requires adding him as a second profile. Worth a quick look at their plan details or a call to their support to confirm before you buy.
One important distinction: Incogni removes your existing personal information from data broker sites. It does not monitor for new fraud or breaches. Since your MyIDCare/IDX monitoring service is expiring, you may want to pair Incogni with a separate credit monitoring service (many banks and credit card companies now offer this for free, and it’s worth checking there first before paying for a standalone one).
Password manager
You’re already on the right track. Rather than sharing your single login with your husband, upgrading to a families plan might be the better fit for both cost and function:
- Modest additional cost (typically just a few extra dollars per month total)
- He gets his own login and can access shared accounts without having to log in as you
- You can set up shared vaults for the joint accounts and keep separate ones for anything individual
- Built-in emergency access and account recovery features, which also solves the concern below
On the “what if I can’t manage this anymore” question
This is smart to think about now rather than later. The most practical answer: most password manager services have an emergency kit and recovery process built in, so your husband wouldn’t be locked out if something happened to you. Since your VPN and data-removal subscriptions don’t have that kind of handoff feature themselves, the simplest fix is to store those login credentials inside your shared password manager vault. That way everything he’d need to take over is in one place, with one system he already has access to.
Bottom line: one NordVPN plan covers both of you, check Incogni’s per-person coverage before assuming it’s included, and a password manager plan upgrade solves both the daily friction and the legacy planning in one move.
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