Apollo.io Profited from Illinois Residents’ Personal Data Without Consent, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims Apollo.io has unlawfully used without consent Illinois residents’ personal information to advertise paid monthly subscriptions to its business intelligence database.

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The 14-page lawsuit says that despite failing to obtain proper consent from individuals who appear in the online database, defendant Zenleads, Inc.—who does business as Apollo.io—offers visitors limited free access to the consumers’ personal information in an effort to entice users to pay for a subscription. The suit alleges that, in doing so, the company has violated the Illinois Right of Publicity Act, which prohibits the use of an individual’s identity for commercial benefit without written consent.

Apollo’s database, which can be accessed through Apollo.io or its Google Chrome extension, offers a free limited version of the company’s platform, but users who pay for a monthly subscription have greater access to the information listed on over 300 million individual and company profiles, the case relays.

The platform allows visitors to search, filter and view profile information, such as an individual’s name, job title and other employment details, the complaint shares. In addition, after a user selects a profile, a tab appears listing the individual’s contact information, such as personal and business email addresses, the filing explains.

Though certain information is readily available, requesting a mobile number, for instance, requires the use of one “credit,” and a visitor using Apollo’s free version is limited to five credits per month and 25 profiles per search, the lawsuit states. However, to gain more credits, a user can pay for the “Basic Plan” at $39 a month or for the “Professional Plan” at $79 a month, both billed annually, the case describes.

The complaint argues that “[the] purpose behind Apollo’s use of individual profiles in conjunction with the limited free access to its platform is singular: to advertise and convince prospective customers to enroll in and ultimately purchase its monthly subscription services.”

Further, the filing charges that the platform, which is touted by Apollo as the “world’s most accurate business-to-business database,” hosts millions of profiles that undoubtedly provide enough data to identify the individuals listed in the online directory.

The plaintiffs, both Illinois residents with no previous relationship with Apollo, discovered in April 2023 that their identities were being used on the platform to advertise monthly subscriptions, the suit says. The consumers claim that they never provided consent for the company to use their information in any way, let alone to exploit it for profit.

The lawsuit looks to represent any current or former Illinois residents who are not subscribed to Apollo.io’s online platform and whose identities are incorporated in employee profiles used to market paid subscriptions.

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