Quick answer: No, your LinkedIn connections cannot see the companies and pages you follow on LinkedIn by default. LinkedIn keeps the companies and pages you follow private. However, you can choose to have this information public by updating your LinkedIn privacy settings.
Do connections see companies I follow on LinkedIn?
When you follow a company on LinkedIn, this is not shared with your connections by default. LinkedIn does not automatically notify your connections when you start following a new company or page. The list of companies and pages you follow is kept private as part of your LinkedIn activity and profile data.
So if you’re wondering “Can my LinkedIn connections see the companies I follow?”, the answer is no. Your connections will not see the full list of companies and pages you currently follow on LinkedIn.
Why LinkedIn keeps followed companies private
LinkedIn keeps the companies and pages you follow private by default as part of their user privacy policies. Your followed company list is considered personal profile activity and data. Sharing it publicly could reveal insights about your professional interests and networks that you may wish to keep private.
For example, if you follow direct competitor companies within your industry, you may not want existing business connections and contacts to see this activity. Keeping followed companies private helps prevent unwanted disclosure of your professional interests or networks.
When followed companies are visible to connections
The companies and pages you follow will only become visible to your LinkedIn connections if you specifically choose to make them public. By default they remain private, but you can update your privacy settings to share this information.
To make your followed companies list public to connections on LinkedIn:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile
- Click on the ‘Me’ icon in the top right and select ‘Settings & Privacy’
- Go to the ‘Privacy’ tab
- Under ‘Profile viewing options’, toggle ‘Show which companies you follow’ to the on position
Once you enable this setting, the list of companies and pages you follow on LinkedIn will become visible on your profile to any connections viewing your profile. However, you can toggle this back off at any time to make followed companies private again.
Limiting company followers visibility
If you want to share some but not all of the companies you follow with your connections, LinkedIn also gives you the option to showcase just a few of your followed companies separately from the full list.
To do this:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile
- In the ‘Featured’ section, use the + icon to addFeatured Companies
- Search for and select the specific companies you want to showcase
The companies you showcase in your Featured section will be visible to your connections regardless of your general company followers privacy setting. This lets you publicly showcase just your most relevant or important followed companies, while keeping your full list private.
Impact on company followers count
Making your full company followers list public will also increase your visible follower counts for those companies on LinkedIn.
For example, if you follow a company but keep that private, you will not be included in that company’s follower count. However, if you choose to make your company following public, you will then be counted as a follower of those companies on their LinkedIn pages.
Who can see followed companies on my LinkedIn profile
Here is a breakdown of who can see the companies you follow based on your account and privacy settings:
Connection to you | Can see your followed companies? |
---|---|
1st degree connections | Only if your ‘Show companies you follow’ privacy setting is ON |
2nd & 3rd degree connections | Only if your profile visibility is set to ‘Public’ or ‘Your Connections’ AND your ‘Show companies you follow’ privacy setting is ON |
Non-connections | Only if your profile visibility is set to ‘Public’ AND your ‘Show companies you follow’ privacy setting is ON |
So in summary:
- 1st degree connections can see your followed companies if you explicitly enable the privacy setting for this
- For 2nd & 3rd degree connections and non-connections to see your followed companies, your overall profile visibility must also be public or open to connections, in addition to the companies you follow privacy setting being on
- If you leave the default private visibility, only you can see the full list of companies and pages you follow on LinkedIn
Best practices for company followers visibility
When considering whether to share your company followers publicly or not, keep these tips in mind:
- Keep it private by default, and only make public if it actively helps your career goals
- Think carefully about competitors, clients/customers, and strategic relationships before making your followed companies highly visible
- Use Showcased Companies to highlight just your most relevant followed brands and organizations
- Toggle settings back to private if you change roles or professional interests over time
With the right privacy controls, you can shape company follower visibility to suit your professional profile and connections. Use specific Showcased Companies, while limiting full access to your followed company list.
Other types of profile viewers
It’s also worth noting that there are some limited cases where your followed company list could be accessible even when you choose private settings:
LinkedIn admins and staff
LinkedIn employees and admin staff may have access to view full profile data including private activity like followed companies, to provide customer support or conduct internal monitoring for abuse/risks.
LinkedIn Premium account holders
Users who have paid for Premium LinkedIn accounts can access more profile data than regular connections. Certain account types may be able to see some of your private profile activity like followed companies, even without you enabling the public viewing options.
Connections via external tools
Some external tools and browser extensions may provide enhanced LinkedIn profile viewing and network analytics capabilities. Connections using these third-party tools may be able to surface some data like followed companies even when you keep it private on your end.
Data policies for advertisers/partners
LinkedIn’s privacy policy allows some sharing of user data like followed companies with advertisers and partner companies. However this is mainly aggregated or anonymized data, not profiles specifically tied to you.
Conclusion
In summary, the default setting is that your LinkedIn connections cannot see the full list of companies and pages you follow. LinkedIn keeps this activity private as part of your profile data. You have complete control to update your privacy settings and enable public visibility of followed companies if you choose. But the standard behavior is to keep this information private to you alone, regardless of your profile visibility overall. With the right combination of privacy and visibility controls, you can shape company follower visibility to suit your specific professional needs and profile presentation.