Guides · 20 October 2026 · 6 min read

How to Remove Personal Information From Spokeo

A step-by-step guide to removing your personal information from Spokeo using its opt-out page, plus what to expect after you submit the request.

To remove your personal information from Spokeo, find your profile on the site, copy its web address, and submit that link through Spokeo's opt-out page. Spokeo processes the request and removes the listing, usually within a few days. You do not need to pay or create an account.

Below is the full process, along with what to expect afterwards.

Before you start

Two things are worth knowing up front.

First, removal is not permanent. Spokeo builds its profiles from other sources, including other data brokers and public records. Once you remove a listing, the underlying data still exists elsewhere. Spokeo can rebuild your profile from those feeds, so the same information often reappears within a few months. This is normal across all people-search sites, not a failure on your part.

Second, some of the data cannot be removed at all. Court filings, property records, corporate registrations and voter rolls are public by law. Spokeo may surface them, but it does not own them, and no opt-out will erase the underlying public record. You can ask Spokeo to stop displaying its copy, but the source remains.

With that in mind, here is the process.

Step 1: Find your Spokeo listing

You need the exact web address of your profile before you can opt out.

1. Search for your own name on Spokeo. Adding your city or an old address helps narrow the results.
2. Open the result that matches you. Check the age, location history and relatives listed to confirm it is actually you and not someone with the same name.
3. Copy the full web address from your browser's address bar. This is the link you will submit.

If you find more than one profile for yourself, note each address. You will need to repeat the opt-out for every separate listing.

Step 2: Open the Spokeo opt-out page

Spokeo provides a dedicated opt-out page for removal requests. You can reach it from the link in the site's footer, usually labelled with wording about privacy or opting out, or by searching for "Spokeo opt out" and going to the page on Spokeo's own domain.

Do not use a third-party site that offers to do this for you in exchange for payment on this step. The official opt-out is free.

Step 3: Submit your profile link

On the opt-out page you will be asked for two things:

1. The web address of the profile you want removed. Paste the link you copied earlier.
2. An email address where Spokeo can send a confirmation message.

Use an email address you can access easily. Spokeo sends a verification link there, and the removal does not proceed until you confirm it.

You may also be asked to complete a check to prove you are not an automated bot. Follow the on-screen prompt.

Step 4: Confirm the request from your email

Open your inbox and look for the message from Spokeo. Click the link inside to confirm the removal. If you do not see it within a few minutes, check your spam or junk folder.

Until you click this link, the request is not active. This step is where many opt-outs stall, so do not skip it.

Step 5: Repeat for any other listings

If you found several profiles in Step 1, submit each one separately. Spokeo treats every listing as its own record. Removing one does not remove the others.

It is also worth searching again a week later. Variations of your name, a maiden name, or an old address can produce profiles you missed the first time.

What to expect after removal

Once confirmed, the listing is usually taken down within a few days. You can check by searching for yourself again.

Keep a record of what you submitted and when. A simple note with the profile link and the date is enough. If the listing is still live after a reasonable period, you have a reference for following up.

Why your details may come back

As noted earlier, Spokeo rebuilds profiles from upstream data. If your information is still held by the brokers and public sources that feed Spokeo, a new profile can appear weeks or months later. Removing it is not a one-off task. Most people who want to stay off these sites recheck every few months and re-submit when a listing returns.

Your rights under CCPA

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act gives you the right to ask businesses to delete personal information they hold about you. Data brokers like Spokeo fall under this. The opt-out above is the practical route, but you can also make a formal deletion request citing your CCPA rights if the standard process does not work.

Residents of some other regions have similar rights under their own laws. Even where you have no specific statutory right, Spokeo's opt-out is open to everyone, so the steps above still apply.

Doing this at scale

Spokeo is one site. Your information is likely duplicated across dozens of other people-search services, each with its own opt-out process. Removing yourself from all of them by hand is repetitive and, because listings reappear, never truly finished.

This is the gap Vanish is built to fill. It is a Mac app that scans data brokers to find where your personal information is published, then sends CCPA deletion demands on your behalf and tracks the responses. It automates the manual loop described above across many sites at once. You can do everything on this page yourself for free; Vanish simply saves you from repeating it.

Summary

Find your Spokeo profile, copy its link, submit it on the official opt-out page, and confirm the request from your email. Repeat for every listing you find. Expect the data to return over time, and recheck periodically. Public records cannot be erased, only hidden from Spokeo's display of them.