diff --git a/changelog.d/7606.bugfix b/changelog.d/7606.bugfix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6c488c39966f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/7606.bugfix
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Remove `user_id` from the response to `GET /_matrix/client/r0/presence/{userId}/status` to match the specification.
diff --git a/synapse/rest/client/v1/presence.py b/synapse/rest/client/v1/presence.py
index eec16f8ad829..7cf007d35e79 100644
--- a/synapse/rest/client/v1/presence.py
+++ b/synapse/rest/client/v1/presence.py
@@ -51,7 +51,9 @@ async def on_GET(self, request, user_id):
                 raise AuthError(403, "You are not allowed to see their presence.")
 
         state = await self.presence_handler.get_state(target_user=user)
-        state = format_user_presence_state(state, self.clock.time_msec())
+        state = format_user_presence_state(
+            state, self.clock.time_msec(), include_user_id=False
+        )
 
         return 200, state