Apollo.io is a sales engagement platform powered by one of the largest B2B contact databases in existence — over 275 million professionals. If you've ever received a cold email that addresses you by first name, references your job title, and pretends to be "just following up," there's a good chance Apollo.io sold your contact details to the sender. This guide walks you through removing your profile from Apollo's database in 2026.
What is Apollo.io?
Apollo.io (apollo.io) combines a B2B contact database with sales automation tools. Customers use Apollo to pull lists of contacts matching a job title and company size, then automatically email, call, and LinkedIn-message those contacts at scale. Your Apollo profile may include your name, employer, title, work email, personal email, phone number, LinkedIn URL, and a "score" predicting how likely you are to respond.
Apollo and spear-phishing
Apollo-sourced data has been linked to several high-profile spear-phishing campaigns. Because the data includes enriched fields like "recently promoted" and "attended [conference]," attackers can craft extremely convincing lures. Removing your profile reduces both cold sales spam and targeted attack risk.
Step-by-step: How to opt out of Apollo.io
- Visit Apollo's Privacy Center. Go to apollo.io/company/privacy-center directly, or scroll to Apollo's homepage footer and click Privacy Center.
- Find the opt-out option. On the Privacy Center page, locate the section titled Submit Privacy Request or Submit opt-out request.
- Choose "Delete My Data." Select the request type that removes your profile from Apollo's database (usually labeled Delete or Erase).
- Enter your business email. Apollo uses your work email to locate your profile. Enter the email address that would appear in any Apollo record (typically your current or most recent work email).
- Complete the verification form. Provide your name, confirm your email, and explain the basis for your request (e.g., CCPA, GDPR, or general right to deletion).
- Verify via confirmation email. Apollo will send a verification link to the email address you provided. Click it to finalize the request.
How long does removal take?
Apollo's standard timeline is 24 hours to 7–10 business days, depending on whether identity checks are required. Once removed, your record is added to a suppression list that prevents re-ingestion from future scrapes. If your profile reappears, you can resubmit the same form — Apollo's suppression system will flag the repeat request.
What to do if you don't have a business email anymore
If you've left the company or your work email has changed, email privacy@apollo.io directly with:
- Your full name
- A list of companies you've worked at in the past five years
- Any old work email addresses you remember
- Your LinkedIn profile URL
Apollo's privacy team will manually search the database using these identifiers.
Your customers may be mistaking you for Apollo
If you're a business owner receiving Apollo-generated outreach, note that Apollo itself is not sending those emails — its customers are. Opting out of Apollo removes your contact from their rental pool, which stops new outreach campaigns from starting, but doesn't stop campaigns already in progress.
Why B2B opt-outs are never a one-and-done
Apollo continuously enriches its database by scraping LinkedIn, ingesting data from partners, and importing user-submitted CRM exports. Even after you opt out, your profile can reappear if:
- A new employer lists you in their public team page
- A customer uploads a CRM with your old contact info
- LinkedIn scraping catches your name on a new role
- A conference attendee list becomes public
The only sustainable defense is continuous monitoring that re-submits opt-outs automatically whenever your profile reappears.
Other B2B brokers to opt out of
Apollo is one of many overlapping B2B data brokers. If you're on Apollo, you're almost certainly on:
- ZoomInfo — the largest B2B database
- RocketReach — contact enrichment for sales teams
- Lusha — LinkedIn-scraping extension
- SignalHire — email finder
- Seamless.AI — AI-generated contact data
- Clearbit — now part of HubSpot
Each has a separate opt-out, and each needs to be revisited periodically.
How PrivacyOn handles Apollo.io
PrivacyOn includes Apollo.io in its continuous monitoring network. You enroll once, and Apollo opt-out requests are submitted on your behalf — along with requests to ZoomInfo, RocketReach, Lusha, and 100+ other brokers. When a broker re-adds your profile, PrivacyOn detects it and re-submits the removal automatically. Plans start at $8.33/month, and family plans cover up to five people — useful if your whole household is exposed.
Final checklist
- Submit Apollo's privacy request form with your work email
- Verify within 24 hours
- Follow up if not removed after 10 business days
- Repeat opt-outs for ZoomInfo, RocketReach, Lusha, and SignalHire
- Audit your LinkedIn visibility settings to reduce re-scraping
B2B data removal is an ongoing effort, but it's one of the highest-ROI privacy moves you can make. Less spam, less phishing risk, and fewer surprise recruiter calls — all from an afternoon of opt-outs.