Bitdefender Total Security vs McAfee Total Protection Comparison

• Individual for 1 year: $109.99 billed yearly at renewal
• Individual, first year: $59.99 for the first year (intro)
• Family for 1 year: $139.99 billed yearly at renewal
• Family, first year: $79.99 for the first year (intro)

• Total Protection Essential for 5 devices, renewal: $119.99 a year after the first year; the checkout gives this as the current renewal price
• Total Protection Essential for 5 devices, first year: Intro: $39.99 for the first year, for new customers
• McAfee+ Premium Individual, renewal: $149.99 a year after the first year ($49.99 in the first year); from the plan page, not checked in the cart

The privacy policy says the products send technical data such as IP and MAC addresses and pseudonymized identifiers of devices, files, folders, apps and URLs; with email protection, header data such as sender, recipient and subject. The Windows guide says Quick Scan uses in-the-cloud scanning. Neither says whether whole files are uploaded for analysis.

The McAfee License Agreement says the antivirus protection may automatically send McAfee reports about suspected malware and unwanted software, that 'the reports may include files that contain suspected malware', that McAfee will ask permission first if it thinks a suspicious file is likely to contain personal data, and that 'You can turn off this automatic reporting from your antivirus protection in your product.' The privacy notice adds that the software collects device ID, telemetry, McAfee ID, IP address, web domains visited and web traffic data, and that the WebAdvisor browser extension collects URLs, search information and the name and size of downloaded files.

Technical data is used for security and, in the policy's words, 'for statistical purposes and improving the quality of our solutions'. The account email can be used for Bitdefender's own marketing unless you opt out. The policy says 'We do not sell your data.' Technical data may be kept for up to 10 years.

The privacy notice says McAfee does not 'sell' personal information under U.S. state law, but may share information with third-party advertising partners for cross-context behavioral and targeted advertising, that it collects mobile advertising identifiers, that mobile advertising partners may use location to target ads where location access is granted, and that it uses Meta's business tools to target ads. Opt-out is through the Individual Data Request form or Global Privacy Control. The Cookie Notice adds that free McAfee products may share device and advertising identifiers with web browsing or app usage with select partners for targeted ads, with an opt-out in the product settings.

Bitdefender S.R.L. is registered in Bucharest, Romania, and processes personal data under the EU GDPR. The privacy policy names hosting, support, e-commerce and marketing processors in the EU and the USA.

McAfee, LLC is registered in California and has its headquarters at 6220 America Center Drive, San Jose. The privacy notice names McAfee Ireland Limited as the controller for consumers in the EEA and says McAfee may disclose data to law enforcement and government authorities, including for national security purposes and in response to subpoenas.

A privately held company led by co-founder and CEO Florin Talpeș. In December 2017 the investment firm Vitruvian Partners bought about 30% from another shareholder, becoming the second-largest shareholder after co-founders Florin and Mariuca Talpeș; a group of private investors holds a minority stake. The most recent ownership details found date from 2017.

On 1 March 2022 McAfee Corp. announced the completion of its acquisition by an investor group led by Advent International and funds advised by Permira, with Crosspoint Capital Partners, CPP Investments, GIC and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority; the deal was valued at over $14 billion and McAfee left the stock exchange.