24/7 Vodafone ID monitoring service costs only £1 per month

In the fight to outdo their rivals and convince gamers to choose their network, mobile operators are increasingly moving beyond the price war for data, calls and minutes.

Whether it’s freebies, discounts, or access to other services, there’s usually a sweetener that draws you in.

Vodafone’s latest offer may not sound as enticing as free coffee or getting priority on those exclusive event tickets, but it can save you a lot of hassle.

Coinciding with Safer Internet Week, it has updated its Secure Net app to include 24/7 ID monitoring so you’ll get early warning if your personal data is exposed online. This helps prevent identity theft, which can lead to all sorts of trouble for the victim, as criminals open bank accounts in your name, take out loans, and leave you to clean up the mess.

This, unfortunately, is much more common than you might expect. In the 12 months to March 2022, more than 5.5 million smartphone users in the UK were victims of identity theft, according to PRnewswire.

Nearly half (44%) of them had their bank account stolen, and 23% had their name used to open a new bank or credit card account.

Vodafone’s service isn’t free, but at just £1 a month, it’s cheaper than other ID security services from Norton, Experian and McAfee, which typically cost three times as much, if not more. You can keep track of your name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, credit and debit card details, but it’s up to you how much of that you give Vodafone to keep track of.

To sign up for a free trial of Secure Net, go to Vodafone website.

In addition to identity monitoring, the app gives you a “digital safety rating” indicating how safe you are online. This will give you a score from weak to strong depending on your device’s setting, which, if not already strong, can be improved by increasing your settings and removing any identified threats.

The app will also protect you from potentially dangerous websites and phishing attacks while you’re connected to the Vodafone network, helping you stay safe when you’re shopping or just browsing the web.

Secure Net is available on the iPhone, but if you have an Android phone, you’ll also get a cleaning tool to detect threats detected over Wi-Fi.

Parental controls include the ability to filter websites on mobile devices for specific age groups, as well as block certain sites you don’t want your children to have access to. It also lets you schedule downtime and pause mobile data at specific times, a useful feature that means kids can’t just switch to mobile data if you pause home Wi-Fi.

Finally, real-time malware protection means Android phones in particular are protected from viruses or other nasty things in downloaded apps and other sources.

“Our new and improved security offering provides customers with affordable protection to keep their devices and personal information as secure as possible. This cost-effective, simple and easy to use application will save customers the one problem they need to worry about when they are online.” said Max Taylor of Vodafone.

In addition, Vodafone launched Digital Parenting ProAn online resource that helps parents and guardians understand the threats posed by popular social media apps, games, and learn how to use parental controls across devices.