Overview
Apollo helps you find and engage the right people — and helps you respect when someone asks to be removed from the Apollo database.
When a person requests removal, Apollo deletes their profile and prevents them from appearing in future prospecting results. However, you may still have that person's data in saved contacts, CRM records, exports, enriched files, API workflows, MCP or AI integrations, or other third-party systems where Apollo data was previously used and can't be automatically updated.
To help you identify and act on these requests, Apollo provides a dedicated removal requests list. This rolling 30-day view shows contacts saved in your Apollo account who later requested removal from the Apollo database, so you can review and remove matching records from your systems unless you have an independent legal basis to keep them.
Check out the following sections to understand removal requests and what actions you should take to stay compliant when prospecting and managing data on Apollo.
What is a Removal Request?
When a person requests removal from Apollo, Apollo deletes their profile and prevents it from appearing in future prospecting results.
However, because you are an independent controller of data you previously paid for and accessed from Apollo, Apollo doesn't automatically remove these individuals from your saved records. This means they may still exist in your contacts, sequences, CRM, MCP and AI integrations, or other downstream apps.
In these cases, you're responsible for reviewing your data and removing the contact if you don't have a separate legal basis to keep storing or using their data.
For your saved contacts, Apollo clearly identifies people who have requested removal with a banner on their contact profile:
You shouldn't contact people who have requested removal unless you have an independent legal basis to do so, such as an existing business relationship.
Review Removal Requests
To access removal requests, you need to be an admin on Apollo.
Apollo provides a centralized view of removal requests over a rolling 30-day timeline so you can identify saved contacts in your Apollo account who later requested removal from the Apollo database and take appropriate action across your workflows.
The removal requests list is provided solely to help you identify and honor deletion requests. Do not use this list for prospecting, enrichment, or any other purpose.
To review removal requests:
- Navigate to Settings > Removal requests.
- Apollo shows a list of saved contacts in your Apollo account who requested to be removed from the Apollo database.
- Each removal request includes available details like date removed from the Apollo database, email address, professional social media, jurisdiction, and contact ID so you can identify matching records in Apollo and downstream systems where the contact data may still exist.
Removal requests may not include complete contact details in every case. When a person requests removal, Apollo deletes their profile and retains only the minimum information needed to honor that request and prevent the record from being reprocessed.
Because of this, some records in the removal requests list may contain limited details. Use the available fields to identify matching records in your systems as best as possible and remove any records that you can confidently identify unless you have an independent legal basis to retain them.
- Click Export CSV to download a CSV of the removal requests. Wait for the file to download then click Download.
- Use the removal requests list to stay compliant:
- Review saved contacts in Apollo that appear on the removal requests list and delete their profile if you don't have an independent legal basis to retain or contact them.
- Identify downstream records that may have been created or updated through CRM syncs, enrichment, imports, API workflows, MCP, or AI integrations, and remove or remedy them as appropriate.
- (Recommended) Export this list on a regular cadence — approximately every 30 days — and review it as part of your normal data hygiene process.
FAQs
| Frequently asked questions | ||
|---|---|---|
| How do I identify contacts who requested to be removed from Apollo? | How can a person claim or remove their profile from Apollo? | How do I delete a contact from my Apollo account? |
How do I identify contacts who requested to be removed from Apollo?
Navigate to a contact profile. Apollo shows a banner if the person requested removal from the database. This is also noted on the contact's activity log.
Alternatively, go to Settings > Removal requests to view a rolling 30-day list of saved contacts in your Apollo account who requested removal from the Apollo database.
How can a person claim or remove their profile from Apollo?
Accurate data also means compliant data. Apollo takes removal requests and regulations seriously and has implemented the following practices:
- A clear, transparent, and consumer-friendly opt-out request process. You can learn more about how people can request removal on Apollo's Privacy Center. Apollo processes removal requests promptly to ensure its data is up-to-date with consumer opt-out rights.
- Once a removal occurs, Apollo deletes the contact from its database. Apollo retains their email address solely to respect their opt-out preference and ensure they don't reappear in the database.
- You can and should filter data based on location. In Apollo, you can target your prospecting to certain locations, industries, people, or businesses where you have a legitimate interest in reaching out and where your outreach is compliant with local law.
How do I delete a contact from my Apollo account?
To delete a contact:
- Navigate to the contact profile and click Delete contact.
- Click Delete to confirm.
You have now deleted a contact.
Next Steps
Keep up the momentum with these next steps:
| Apollo Data overview | Get to know data on Apollo to understand how Apollo collects, verifies, and maintains data so you can prospect with confidence. |
|---|---|
| How Data Sharing Works with Apollo's Living Contributor Network | Learn how Apollo blends multiple sources—contributor network, email signals, crawlers, and partners—to build its living data engine. |
| Use CRM Enrichment | Automatically or manually update CRM records with Apollo data on people and companies. |
| Enrichment Overview | Understand the different enrichment types Apollo supports: CSV uploads, job changes, waterfall enrichment, and APIs. |
| Waterfall Enrichment | Learn how Apollo finds missing data by cascading through multiple sources automatically using waterfall enrichment. |
| Data Health Center | Use Apollo's Data Health Center to detect stale records, track job changes, and ensure your data stays current. |