LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 810 million members worldwide. As a platform built on establishing professional connections and relationships, LinkedIn allows users to control how much of their profile and activity is visible to others.
Overview of LinkedIn Privacy Settings
LinkedIn offers three main privacy settings:
- Public – Your profile and activity is viewable to all LinkedIn members.
- Private – Your profile is viewable only to your 1st-degree connections.
- Anonymous – Your profile is viewable only to 1st-degree connections, but your name and photo do not appear.
In addition to these baseline settings, LinkedIn users can further customize visibility by tweaking individual profile sections and activity sharing preferences.
Public Profiles
With a public profile, any LinkedIn member can view your full profile and activity without needing to connect with you first. Public profiles have the widest visibility and allow you to be discovered by recruiters, new connections, and anyone searching LinkedIn.
Private Profiles
Private profiles limit visibility to only 1st-degree connections on LinkedIn. Your profile and activity will not appear in searches, and only people you have connected with can view your full profile. This allows for some privacy while still allowing your network to see your professional details.
Anonymous Profiles
Anonymous profiles further limit visibility to just 1st-degree connections, and remove identifying details like your name and photo. You appear as “Anonymous User” without a profile photo. This allows you to freely browse LinkedIn without revealing who you are.
Premium Accounts on LinkedIn
In addition to the free account option, LinkedIn offers premium subscriptions that provide additional features and services. There are two main premium account types:
Premium Career
- Lets you see who viewed your profile
- Provides salary data and career coaching
- Unlocks up to 15 personalized profile recommendations per month
- Includes additional profile visibility controls
Premium Business
- Lets you search profiles without appearing in “Who Viewed You”
- Provides messaging capabilities and expanded network visibility
- Offers company page analytics
- Lets you post premium job listings
Private Mode on LinkedIn
In 2022, LinkedIn launched a new “Private Mode” for premium subscribers. This optional setting prevents your own activity on LinkedIn from being visible to others. For example, normally when you view someone’s profile it appears in “Who’s Viewed You.” With private mode, your profile views do not show up for others.
Private mode also stops your activity like profile views, reactions, comments, etc. from appearing in notifications or feeds. You can browse anonymously without others being alerted or informed.
Can Premium Members See Anonymous Profiles in Private Mode?
The short answer is no. Premium members in private mode cannot see the full profiles of members using LinkedIn’s anonymous viewing setting. Here are the key points:
- Anonymous profiles only show limited info to 1st-degree connections
- Private mode only hides your own activity, not others’
- Premium services don’t override other members’ privacy settings
So a premium account holder browsing in private mode would see the same limited profile as any other 1st-degree connection viewing an anonymous profile. The anonymous user’s name, photo, employment details, etc. would not be visible.
Example Views of an Anonymous Profile
Here is an illustration of what different LinkedIn members would see viewing an anonymous profile:
Viewer | Connection Type | View |
---|---|---|
Public member | No connection | Error message: “Profile unavailable” |
1st-degree connection | Connected to anonymous member | Limited info showing “Anonymous Profile” |
Premium member in private mode | No connection | Error message: “Profile unavailable” |
As this table demonstrates, the premium account and private mode settings do not grant additional access to view anonymous accounts fully. The anonymous user’s privacy controls override the special privileges of premium status.
Privacy Considerations for Anonymous LinkedIn Use
While anonymous profiles provide more privacy, there are some important limitations to consider:
- 1st-degree connections still see you have a profile
- Your name and photo may have been seen previously
- Former connections may recognize your limited details
- Your network activity can still be identifiable
For maximum privacy, even anonymous accounts may want to:
- Remove former connections to erase ties to your name
- Change jobs/locations from those previously shared
- Be cautious sharing opinions or personal details
- Limit network activity that could reveal your identity
Conclusion
Premium accounts do not override individual privacy controls on LinkedIn. Anonymous profile settings specifically limit visibility to only partial information for even 1st-degree connections. Premium members, even using private mode, do not have special access to view the full profiles of anonymous users.
Anonymous profiles provide moderate privacy protections, though still allow some network visibility. Truly anonymous LinkedIn use would require more careful precautions to minimize identifiable information and activity.
In summary, premium account holders browsing privately cannot see the full profiles of members utilizing LinkedIn’s anonymous viewing option. LinkedIn’s privacy settings give members, both free and paid users, granular control over what parts of their profile are visible to different audience segments.
Key Takeaways
- LinkedIn anonymous profiles only show limited info to 1st-degree connections
- Premium accounts do not override other members’ privacy settings
- Private mode only hides a premium member’s own activity, not others’
- Premium members cannot see full anonymous profiles, even in private mode
- Fully anonymous and unidentifiable use would require strict precautions