Spokeo Opt-Out Guide [2026 Update]

Spokeo is a website that collects personal identifiable information (PII) on hundreds of millions of people. Anyone can access your profile on Spokeo, including your contact information. That puts you at risk of scams, spam, and other online threats. 

Fortunately, you can opt out. Keep reading to learn how to complete a Spokeo opt-out request and make yourself safer online. 

Note: Data brokers regularly change their opt out processes. If this process is inaccurate, please contact us directly so we can update it. As of June 2026, following this guide should let you opt from Spokeo successfully.

What is Spokeo?

Spokeo is a data broker website, also known as a people search site. Its whole purpose is to collect and sell personal information, including contact info, data on your relatives, court records, social media profiles, former and current home addresses, and much more. 

The company is legally able to do this because it collects its data from public sources, such as public records and social media platforms.

Spokeo then sells this data to third parties, who will often use it for marketing purposes. 

Spokeo has been in business since 2006 and offers more than 12 billion records. Nearly 500,000 people search its databases each day. It is a registered data broker in California, and under California law and other state privacy laws, it must allow covered consumers to opt out of data collection.

Why Should You Opt Out from Spokeo? 

The real issue with sites like Spokeo starts when your personal data falls into the wrong hands and you start receiving spam, scams, and robocalls.

Without data brokers, scammers and cybercriminals would have to pay for records on the dark web, hack databases, or search through fragmented public records. Spokeo puts all the information a cybercriminal could need in one place. Bad actors can also cross reference data broker profiles with already available info from breaches and the dark web, including “anonymized” data, to more easily target their victims. 

To protect your identity and cut down on the amount of nuisance calls and potential scams, regularly remove your personal data from people search sites such as Spokeo.

DeleteMe’s Spokeo Opt-Out Review

You can complete a Spokeo opt-out request by completing an online form and verifying your email address. Once you do that, Spokeo should remove your listing within 72 hours.

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Step-by-Step Spokeo Opt-Out Guide

1. Go to the website

Search for your personal data on spokeo.com.

2. Find your listing

Look for your name among the search results and click on it to see your profile.

3. Copy the URL

Find the (web page address) of your profile page and copy it to your clipboard.

4. Go to Spokeo’s opt-out page

Head to spokeo.com/optout. Scroll down to find the Spokeo opt-out form and paste the URL of your listing. Enter an email (we recommend using a masked email), and perform the CAPTCHA.

5. Verify your email

Click the verification link in the email that’s sent to you.

6. Confirm your Spokeo opt-out request.

You will be redirected back to the opt-out page. Scroll down below the “Opt Out Your Listing from Spokeo” section to see the final confirmation.

What Happens Next?

When you remove personal data from Spokeo, you prevent other people from accessing your information on the site. In the case that you’ve been subjected to cyberstalking, removing records from Spokeo’s databases will reduce a stalker’s chance of finding more information about you. Likewise, identity thieves will find it tougher to steal your digital persona by accessing your data through this type of platform.

Who Else Is Selling Your Info? 

You’ve completed your Spokeo opt-out, but Spokeo is just one of the many people search sites and data brokers selling your personal information online. Learn more about people search sites and data brokers in our data broker guide. 

Check out our data broker opt-out guides for a list of other data brokers you should remove your personal data from, including: 

• How to remove yourself from Whitepages
• How to remove yourself from BeenVerified
• How to remove yourself from Whitepages
• How to remove yourself from PeopleFinder
• How to remove yourself from Radaris
• How to remove yourself from People Background Check
• How to remove yourself from TruthFinder
• How to remove yourself from MyLife
• How to remove yourself from Intelius
• How to remove yourself from Fast People Search
• How to remove yourself from Arrests.org
• How to remove yourself from CheckPeople.com
• How to remove yourself from Instant Checkmate

Alternatively, subscribe to a data broker removal service such as DeleteMe. Our privacy experts will remove your personal data from these sites on a regular basis to ensure your digital footprint is kept to a minimum. 

Spokeo Opt -Out FAQs

Here are some common questions that people have about Spokeo.

What information does Spokeo share?

Spokeo lets you search for people by name, email, phone number, home address, or username. 

According to Spokeo, the site has 12 billion consumer records. Spokeo personal information reports can include contact details, location history, social media accounts, criminal records, and wealth data. 

What is Spokeo used for?

Individuals can use Spokeo to look up friends, family, acquaintances, old classmates, online sellers, neighbors, dates, and unknown numbers. 

However, Spokeo can also be used by bad actors for harmful activities and behaviors, including harassment, doxxing, cyberstalking, stalking, scams, identity theft, and guessing online account login details. 

Businesses can use data brokers like Spokeo to find relatives (for example, in healthcare), locate parties (legal cases), generate leads (real estate), skip tracing (debt collection), contact donors (non-profit), and prevent fraud (e-commerce). 

At the same time, people search sites like Spokeo can also be used by retailers to target you with more personalized ads, insurers to raise insurance premiums, and employers or landlords to determine your suitability for a job/accommodation. 

While Spokeo warns on its site that it’s not a consumer reporting agency and, therefore, the information it provides can’t be used for making decisions about employment, tenant screening, or credit, the reality is that people search sites don’t usually vet their customers. 

Does Spokeo show dating profiles? 

Yes, Spokeo shows dating profiles from sites like Tinder and OkCupid. Spokeo has a dedicated landing page where you can enter someone’s name or email address and find their dating profile. 

According to Spokeo, they will check 120+ social and dating sites to see if there’s a match.

On the same landing page where you can find out if someone has a dating profile, you can also “find out who they’re texting behind your back” by entering the “cheater’s number” in Spokeo’s reverse phone number search bar. 

What does Spokeo show you? 

A typical Spokeo report shows you the following information:

• Contact information: Names, aliases, phone numbers, and email addresses.
• Location history: Current address, past addresses, residents, and neighbors.
• Family and associates: Family members, household demographics, birth records, and marriage records.
• Social media accounts: Social media, usernames, dating sites, and gaming and music accounts.
• Personal details: Birth information, marital status, education level, and hobbies and interests.
• Wealth data: Property owned, lifestyle data, investments, and estimated salary.
• Criminal records: Criminal records, DUIs, and sex offenses. 

Spokeo can also notify you when a person’s report is updated with new personal information. 

How did Spokeo get my information? 

Spokeo gets your information from various sources, including but not limited to public records, public social media accounts, surveys, and mailing lists. 

Why does Spokeo have my information?

Spokeo has your information because it is publicly available elsewhere. Spokeo is a personal information aggregator that compiles personal data from sources like public records, public social media profiles, and other data brokers into comprehensive profiles.  

Is Spokeo legit?

Spokeo is legit in that it actually provides personal information about individuals. However, the accuracy of this data can vary. 

Is Spokeo free?

No, Spokeo is not free. You must pay a monthly fee to see someone’s personal information. That said, you can usually get a 7-day trial and pay less than $1 for a personal information report. 

Is Spokeo accurate?

Not always. Spokeo says, “It is possible in some cases that outdated or incorrect information can be incorporated into a report along with up-to-date, correct information.” 

In the past, Spokeo was fined for marketing people’s data to recruiters and employers without making sure the data it sold was accurate (as well as for not verifying who the buyers were and why they bought the data and for not notifying the person whom the information belonged to). 

Spokeo was also taken to court by a man who said that Spokeo had inaccurate information about him, which caused him to lose out on job opportunities. 

In general, about 40% of data that people search sites and data brokers have on individuals is inaccurate. 

Inaccurate information on people search sites and data brokers can have many negative consequences, including higher insurance premiums, denial of rental applications, lost job opportunities, and wrongful arrests. 

Is Spokeo legal?

Spokeo’s business model is legal. This is because Spokeo mostly gathers data already in the public domain. 

There are currently no laws in the US at the federal level that would regulate data brokers. That said, many states are putting in place their own laws, making it easier for consumers to remove their information from data brokers. 

Does Spokeo work?

Spokeo works in the sense that it provides personal information about people. However, not all of the data it has may be correct. 

Is Spokeo dangerous?

Yes, Spokeo is dangerous. Spokeo and other people search sites and data brokers expose your personal information on the internet. 

Anyone can see this information, including your full address, marital status, and location history, for a small fee (and in the case of some other people search sites, for free). 

Since Spokeo doesn’t vet its customers, your personal data could end up in the hands of bad actors who may use it for harassment, doxxing, stalking, identity theft, scams, and other criminal purposes. 

Is Spokeo a scam?

Spokeo is not a scam in that it does what it says: It sells people’s personal information to those willing to pay for it. Not all of the information it provides might be correct, but that’s the case with all people search sites and data brokers. 

Does Spokeo post info on minors? 

Spokeo says that it does not knowingly post information on minors but acknowledges that it can be difficult to distinguish who is a minor and who isn’t on the internet. 

Does Spokeo work for cell phone numbers? 

Yes. Spokeo’s reverse phone number lookup tool lets you search for people both by their cell phone and landline numbers. 

Does Spokeo notify the person you’re looking up? 

No. Spokeo does not notify the person you’re looking up. All searches on Spokeo are confidential. 

How do I contact Spokeo? 

You can contact Spokeo by calling them at 1 (888) 558-9004 between 5 am and 8 pm PT daily. You can also email Spokeo at [email protected] or chat with their virtual assistant through their contact page: https://www.spokeo.com/contact. 

If you want to remove your personal information from Spokeo, you can fill out Spokeo’s opt-out form or email [email protected]. 

Do I need to remove myself from Spokeo?

Yes. Anyone can find your personal information on Spokeo, from friends and family members to stalkers and criminals. 

If you care about your online privacy and want to reduce the risk of malicious acts like harassment, doxxing, stalking, identity theft, and scam emails and texts, you need to complete a Spokeo opt-out. 

Can you delete yourself from Spokeo?

Yes, you can delete yourself from Spokeo. To do that, you must first find your Spokeo profile and complete a Spokeo opt-out form. 

How do I remove info from Spokeo?

To remove your personal information from Spokeo, you’ll need to first find your profile on the Spokeo site and copy the URL. Then, complete the Spokeo opt-out form and verify your opt-out request via email. Your personal data should be removed from Spokeo within 72 hours.