Spokeo Opt-Out
Table of Contents
What is Spokeo?
Spokeo is a provider of aggregate identity reports; they obtain consumer information from agreeable sources, then weave it together to create quick-and-dirty pastiches of credible background reports. Spokeo's briefs are a snap-shot of publicly available data regarding a specific target or person. Subsequently, consumers must refrain from using Spokeo's services for making important decisions like renting or employment.
Spokeo's services allow anyone to learn more about the people around them; for instance, checking the names of neighbors, a suspicious phone number, or the social media history of a romantic partner. A Spokeo searcher may obtain property, business, historical, or personal records from a person's name, email, phone, or address. The searcher must become a member (paid-for account or record details) to see all Spokeo's specially curated report information.
Spokeo's patchwork data reports are as accurate as their broader system. In other words, there may be instants of incorrect data within the extruded reports. Misspellings, wrong locations, phone numbers, emails, associates, and wealth information are common. Spokeo also has a unique internal combine harvester, where the data is neatly parceled, including criminal records. DUIs, arrest reports, and sex offenses are possible element results for any search. Spokeo does not guarantee or promise the accuracy of these briefs; as a byproduct, consumers must learn how to exercise their privacy rights by making valid suppression requests.
Information Requirements to Remove Myself From Spokeo
Opting out of Spokeo is not required, but the chosen method will dictate nuances. Emailing requires an email account, calling requires a callback number, and the various forms require verification steps, typically email. Opting out of Spokeo costs nothing, requires no account creation, and can be completed in a few minutes on the chosen browser.
Before starting the procedures outlined below, consider creating an alternative email or phone number. In keeping with constantly updating cybersecurity threats, alternative accounts prevent scams, halt direct marketing, and stop analytic data usage. Users can create a new Google-powered email in minutes and register a free Google Voice phone number as quickly.
Spokeo Opt-Out Preliminaries
Opting out of Spokeo has its challenges, not the least of which is a general conflation of available options. Where the average consumer may resolve themselves to calling, using the automated tool may be more appropriate; by the same token, some circumstances require one path over others. Those who request an opt out by the wrong method may find rejection, and a redirection to another track.
The guided tutorials below offer all the opt out solutions Spokeo offers, alongside screenshots and resource links whenever possible. Use the bulleted list below to determine your best route for opting out:
- Email the customer care team; best for removing records involving minors or expunged records. (Expungement record situations have a different email address.)
- Call the live representatives; best for identity verification, complex situations, and expunged records. (Additional authorization may be required to complete requests.)
- Suppress associated data from internal use; best for limited direct marketing, avoiding third-party solicitation, and helps connect actual data to people.
- Remove public listings (search results); best for those wanting to remove public search outcomes, especially records involving personal or incorrect data.
How to Remove Information From Spokeo: Guided Tutorials
Contact the Spokeo Customer Care Team for Special Circumstances
The Spokeo care team does not fulfill opt out requests for public record removal. Emailing them a request will redirect them to the opt out form page below. Instead, their customer support team can opt consumers out of sharing data with affiliates and third parties, where applicable. The average consumer can opt out using the methods below, while particular circumstances require direct communications.
Consumers who are also members of Spokeo's paid services can email customercare@spokeo.com. Consumers who are not members of Spokeo can email privacy@spokeo.com. Lastly, consumers with a valid expungement order must email proof of the order to expungement@spokeo.com; without the correct documentation, the criminal record will remain "active", similar to police blotters. The shot below comes from their privacy policy; the highlights are additions.
Call Spokeo's Live Representatives During Business Hours
Spokeo has live representatives during predictable business hours. Consumers who require multiple records to be opted out or have an expungement situation should call. Reach a live representative Monday - Friday, 5:00 am to 8:00 pm PST. Spokeo offers multiple phone numbers, depending on how you discover the information; naturally, this also means whichever is called will have different outcomes. Consider contacting one of these lines:
- 1-(888)-271-9562: found at the bottom of the main page; use this to assess their main lines. Callers hit an automated menu with an option for representative assistance. Select #5 to be dropped into the live queue for "privacy" concerns.
- 1-(888)-558-9004: found on their Contact Us page; use this to be automatically redirected to the main line. Select #5 to be redirected to the "privacy team".
- 1-(877)-864-0183: found on the Opt Out Page; call this number to access the privacy team queue immediately. Wait to speak with a representative.
Suppress Information by Association Using the Quick Form
Consumers can use the quick form option to opt out of internally selling and sharing their data. Opting out through this method limits the information Spokeo offers to third parties, and this, in turn, limits available marketing avenues. To start, open the Spokeo Privacy Control page.
Step One
Scroll more than halfway down the web page to the section entitled "Opt Out Your Information". Enter the first and last name associated with the record, then click the teal "Next" button.
Step Two
Upon hitting the button, the previously entered information will collapse and reveal options regarding location history. Enter the record's associated address into the spaces provided, then click "Next" again.
Step Three
The location history tab will close and produce the next section. This new section is for contact information, enter alternative accounts to keep good cybersecurity. When finished, click the "Next" button.
Step Four
The contact information section will collapse, as the others did. Check the box on the left of the "certification" statement, solve the CAPTCHA, then click "Continue".
The final page in the process clearly indicates completion (below). This page provides a referenceable confirmation code, which is used to check the status later. Use the link in the top paragraph to review your request status (the code is required).
Remove Public Listings Using the Spokeo Automated Tool
Spokeo offers one way to remove public listings; emailing or calling for an opt out request may redirect them to their online automated tool. If multiple reports are to be suppressed, this process must be completed repeatedly for each record. When ready to remove a public listing from Spokeo, head to their main landing page at spokeo.com.
Step One
Upon opening Spokeo's main page, click on the search bar at the top. A box containing "Example Searches" will drop; click the box again to enter target data. For this guide, first and last names and residency state are used.
Step Two
The Spokeo aggregate system builds a quick basic information report once entered. The page refreshes, returning search results related to the entered data. Locate the correct record and right-click the "See Results" button on the right. Follow this by selecting the "Copy link address" option.
Step Two Alternative
The copied link address must be pasted into a form elsewhere; alternatively, users can click the "See Results" button to access the profile directly. The URL at the top of the page can also be used in the opt out form, by copying and pasting it appropriately. The shot below shows this quick process:
Step Three
After obtaining the URL profile link, paste it into the Spokeo Opt Out form. Right-click the URL space, "paste" the link, then fill in an accessible (preferably alternative) email address. Check the box for the CAPTCHA code, then click "Remove This Listing".
The site should immediately send a verification email to the provided address. This notification appears as a pale box in-browser:
Step Four
In the email Inbox is an email from Spokeo directly (automated). This email provides two links, the top references the profile to be removed; while the bottom pushes the verification process through completion. Click the second link, denoted below by arrow or copy and paste it into the URL bar.
When the page opens, it will be the opt out form page, now with empty information bars. At the bottom of the form is another pale box verifying the completion of the process.
After Opting-Out, There's More to Do
Once the requests are made, the changes may take up to two weeks to be activated. Return to Spokeo's main page and search for the information, once the requests are completed, there should be no record result. Spokeo constantly intakes data, so return every six months to request additional opt outs as needed. This guide is up to date with the current process of opt out solutions provided by Spokeo's privacy policy (2023).
