What's New in v5

v5 is a major upgrade focused on deeper enrichment, structured identity modeling, expanded search flexibility, and built-in change visibility — delivered through a fully versioned /v5 API architecture.

1. Deeper Intelligence, Fewer API Calls

The v5 Name Search returns more structured contact enrichment data directly in the search response, thereby providing more context and details of the person that previously would have required a follow-up PID call.

• Expanded Optional Inputs: The /v5/names endpoint introduces a phone query parameter ("A 10-digit US phone number..."). This allows refinement using a phone number alongside name and location inputs to improve precision.
• Professional & Academic Context: Name Search results now include:
  • work_history[] with company_name, title, and location.
  • schools[] with name, type, and location.
• Digital Footprint: Name Search results now include usernames[] (array of strings).
  • Note: social_profiles[] is available via Phone, Email, Username, and Person ID Search.
• Structured Networks: Relatives are upgraded from v4 family_members[] (simple strings) to v5 relatives[].names[] (structured name objects).
• Contact Entity Structuring:
  • In v4 Name Search, phones[] and emails[] are simple string arrays.
  • In v5 Name Search, phones[] and emails[] are structured objects, enabling the delivery of new change and freshness flags.

2. Built-In Change Visibility (Name Search)

v5 introduces new metadata around freshness and updates on "best rank" for phones, emails, and addresses directly within Name Search responses.

• New Data Flags: Contact objects (phones, emails, and addresses) now include:
  • *_is_new: Indicates if the entity is new to the Spokeo dataset.
  • *_is_new_rank_one: Indicates if the entity has newly become the primary (rank 1) contact.
• Record & Delta Counts: New metrics provide visibility into data volume and velocity:
  • phone_record_count / phone_record_delta_count, email_record_count / email_record_delta_count, and address_count / address_record_delta_count.

3. Advanced Identity Modeling

v5 introduces a more structured identity model, with expanded profile enrichment and reliability indicators within Person ID Search.

• Multi-Record Names: v5 uses a names[] array that supports name_type (e.g., "main"), suffix (e.g., "Jr."), and full component fields (first/middle/last).
• Reliability Indicators (Person ID Search): Within Person profiles, contact objects include:
  • confidence_score, source_count, and source_date.
• Expanded Profile Enrichment (Person ID Search):
  • certifications[] and languages[] (including proficiency).
  • historical_records[] including record_type (e.g., "census") and event_year.

4. Modernized Developer Experience

• Standardized Response Structure: v5 standardizes top-level data and metadata structures across all endpoints.
• Consistent Pagination: Uses a position_token to allow users more control on which specific records to retrieve and in what sets and sequence.
• Versioned Stability: All endpoints are strictly versioned under /v5, while authentication remains unchanged via the X-api-key header.

Why Upgrade to v5

• Enhanced Precision: Pinpoint matches more effectively with the new phone input in Name Search.
• Automated Monitoring: Detect new contact points with *_is_new flags and delta count metrics.
• Stronger Identity Resolution: Leverage structured names[] and relatives[] modeling for higher-quality matching.
• Risk Mitigation: Utilize confidence_score and source_date in Person ID Search to assess data reliability before taking action.
• Integration Efficiency: Benefit from consistent top-level data and metadata structures across endpoints to simplify implementation and reduce engineering overhead.

v5 delivers deeper structured data, built-in change visibility, and expanded input flexibility — giving teams more confidence in using data in their workflows while simplifying API integration at scale.