McAfee Total Protection

McAfee Total Protection is a security plan for Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone from McAfee, a company in San Jose, California, founded in 1987 and owned since 2022 by a group of investment firms led by Advent International and Permira. The Essential plan covers five devices and includes an antivirus for PCs and Android phones, web protection, a VPN, a password manager and identity monitoring for $39.99 in the first year and $119.99 a year after that.

In 2026 tests the Windows app scored the maximum 6.0 out of 6 for protection at AV-TEST in every round and blocked 99.97% of malware samples and 98.5% of real-world attacks in two AV-Comparatives tests, with the lowest system impact of 20 products. Its privacy notice allows targeted advertising with partners. There are no recent independent results for Mac, and the iPhone app has no antivirus scanner.

What the built-in protection of Windows, macOS, Android and iPhone already covers, and what a paid plan adds, is covered in Do You Need an Antivirus?

Lab Results

AV-TEST tests McAfee Total Protection on Windows 11 every two months. In July and August 2026 it gave the maximum 6.0 points for protection, speed and usability; the 0-day attack result was 99.3% in July and 100% in August, against an industry average of 99.9%, and there were no false warnings or false detections. In May and June 2026 the result was 100% in both months, with 6.0 in each category. Every 2026 round gave 6.0 for protection, and so has every round since June 2020. On Android, AV-TEST tested McAfee’s app, Mobile Security, in September 2026 and gave it 6.0 in each category, with 99.9% in the real-time test and 100% of recent widespread malware.

AV-Comparatives has tested McAfee in its main series since 2004. In the September 2026 malware test on Windows it blocked 9,997 of 10,000 samples, a 99.97% protection rate in the top group, but raised 36 false positives, tenth of 13 result groups, and the lab, whose awards weigh false alarms as well as protection, gave it the STANDARD award, its third level. In the real-world test from February to May 2026, which uses malicious websites and downloads, it blocked 394 of 400 attacks, a 98.5% protection rate in the second group, with 4 false positives against a test average of 8, and received the ADVANCED award.

No recent lab results exist for the Mac app, and the iPhone app has no antivirus scanner to test: McAfee’s Android listing says its antivirus is available only on PCs and Android devices. AV-TEST has no Mac report for McAfee, and AV-Comparatives’ last Mac review of McAfee dates from 2016. That lab has not reviewed McAfee’s Android app since 2019, apart from a 2025 test of stalkerware detection.

What the Software Sends to McAfee

McAfee’s License Agreement says the antivirus automatically sends the company reports about suspected malware and unwanted software, and that these reports may include the suspicious files themselves. If McAfee thinks a file is likely to contain your personal data, it says it will ask your permission before the file is sent. You can turn this reporting off in the app. Because the reports can include whole files, this is cloud scanning that can upload files.

The privacy notice adds that the software collects a device ID, telemetry, your McAfee ID, IP address, the web domains you visit and web traffic data. The WebAdvisor browser extension also collects the addresses you visit, your searches and the name and size of files you download. The notice names no setting that stops this part of the collection, so it counts as telemetry that is always on.

The scam protection in the phone app reads your text messages once you turn it on, and if you connect your email account it reads the subject, content, links and attachments of your emails. McAfee says it may store some messages for analysis and to train its detection models after removing personal details, and that it does not link stored messages to your account. Its deepfake video check runs on the device and stores no audio or video.

Account and Data Use

The privacy notice says McAfee does not “sell” personal information under U.S. state law, but that it may share information with advertising partners for targeted advertising across sites and devices. It collects mobile advertising identifiers, uses Meta’s business tools to target its own ads, and lets mobile advertising partners use your location to target ads if you gave the app location access. The cookie notice adds that free McAfee products may share your device and advertising identifiers, together with your browsing or app usage, with partners for targeted ads, with an opt-out in the product settings. You can opt out of the sharing for advertising through McAfee’s data request form or with Global Privacy Control. This data use goes beyond protection.

McAfee, LLC is registered in California and has its headquarters in San Jose, so U.S. law applies to it; for customers in the EU, McAfee Ireland Limited is responsible for their data. The privacy notice says McAfee may give data to law enforcement and government authorities, including for national security purposes and in response to subpoenas. Since March 2022 McAfee has been owned by investment firms led by Advent International and Permira, with Crosspoint Capital, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, GIC and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, in a deal valued at over $14 billion.

Data Breach and Incident History

At the end of July 2009 the details of delegates to McAfee’s security conference in Australia, including staff of government departments and large companies, were sent in a bulk email to an unknown list of recipients. McAfee’s Asia Pacific president said in a podcast interview that the company had a “high social responsibility” to tell those affected, then said “I don’t think we would send that email”; a delegate told the press he had not heard from McAfee. The leak concerned conference delegates, not data collected by the antivirus, and the sources describe no change McAfee made afterwards. It is the incident on record for McAfee’s data breach history.

Renewal Practices

In June 2009 McAfee agreed with the New York Attorney General to pay fines, shared with another antivirus vendor, to settle charges that it had not clearly told customers their subscriptions would renew and be charged automatically; it agreed to clearer disclosures and to refund renewal charges within 60 days. In 2017 a federal court in California gave final approval to a settlement of two class actions which alleged that McAfee renewed subscriptions at higher prices than customers had paid and how it advertised discounts and reference prices. Today the checkout states the renewal price, says you must cancel at least 31 days before the term ends, and promises an email 30 days before the charge.

Audits and Vulnerabilities

There is no published independent security audit of McAfee’s consumer product. McAfee runs a vulnerability disclosure program instead of a paid bug bounty: researchers who report a confirmed flaw receive a certificate and a digital badge, on the condition that they never publish details of what they found. The program page lists no published security bulletins.

What Is Included

Total Protection Essential covers real-time antivirus with cloud and offline detection, web protection that warns about risky sites, links and downloads, Scam Detector for texts, emails and videos, a VPN, a password manager and identity monitoring with alerts. Personal information scans, social media privacy checks, identity theft insurance and credit monitoring come only with the McAfee+ plans, which cover unlimited devices. With the VPN and password manager in the base plan, it is a bundled security suite.

Prices

Total Protection Essential costs $39.99 for the first year for new customers and $119.99 a year after that for five devices. The subscription renews automatically, the charge comes 30 days before the term ends, and McAfee says renewal prices may change. McAfee+ Premium, which covers unlimited devices and adds personal information scans, costs $49.99 in the first year and $149.99 a year after that. McAfee refunds a purchase within 30 days and a renewal charge within 60 days, except for monthly subscriptions.

McAfee’s “free antivirus” page offers a 30-day trial of Total Protection, which turns into a paid subscription unless you cancel up to 7 days before it ends. The only free version is the Android app’s free plan, which scans a single device on request, a limited free tier; on a computer the offer is the trial.

Pros and Cons

Our Rating

Total Protection suits people who want lab-tested protection with little slowdown for several Windows computers and Android phones, and who want a VPN and password manager in the same subscription. It does not suit anyone who wants an antivirus that keeps their data away from advertising partners, who needs lab-tested protection on a Mac or iPhone, or who does not want to pay three times the first-year price from the second year.