LinkedIn is a great platform for networking and building professional connections. However, you may sometimes come across profiles of people you don’t want to connect with or don’t feel comfortable interacting with on the platform.
In such cases, you may want to block them so they can’t view your profile or send you messages. But a common concern is that the person will know you visited their profile if you block them.
So can you block someone on LinkedIn without them knowing? Let’s find out.
Does LinkedIn notify someone if you block them?
No, LinkedIn does not send any notification when you block someone. So if you block another user, they will not know that you have blocked them on LinkedIn.
This applies whether you block them after viewing their profile or without visiting their profile. LinkedIn’s blocking feature is discreet and completely anonymous.
So you can rest assured that the other person will not find out that you blocked them on LinkedIn. They will be unaware of it.
Will they see you viewed their profile before blocking?
Whether they can see you viewed their profile before blocking depends on your LinkedIn account settings.
By default, your LinkedIn profile visibility is set to private mode. This means other users can’t see that you viewed their profile.
So if you have kept the default private mode, other users will not know if you visited their profile or not. They will simply not see any information about your profile views.
Therefore, they won’t know if you viewed their profile before blocking them. The profile view activity is anonymous.
Public profile mode
However, you can change your profile visibility to public mode on LinkedIn. This allows other users to see that you viewed their profile.
So if you view someone’s profile while in public mode, and then later block them, they will be able to see that you visited their profile. LinkedIn will show this info before you block them.
But after you block them, they will no longer be able to see any info about your profile or activity. So the profile view will not be visible to them after blocking.
How to check current profile visibility
To check your current profile visibility settings:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile
- Click on the ‘Me’ icon at the top and select ‘Settings & Privacy’
- Go to the ‘Preferences’ tab
- Under ‘Profile viewing options’, check your current status
This will show your current visibility status and who can see your profile views. You can toggle it to private mode here if needed.
How to block someone without them knowing
Based on the above information, here are the steps to block someone on LinkedIn privately without leaving a trace:
- Ensure your profile visibility is set to private mode
- Don’t view the person’s profile that you want to block
- Go to their profile and click the ‘More’ button next to the ‘Message’ button
- Select the ‘Block or report’ option
- Choose ‘Block’ to confirm blocking them
As long as you don’t view their profile and have a private account, the person will have no indication that you blocked them.
What if you already viewed their profile?
If you already visited their profile earlier while in public mode, here are the steps:
- Change your profile visibility setting to private mode
- Block them without viewing their profile again
Once you switch to private mode, they will not be able to see any subsequent profile views from you. So they won’t know you viewed again and blocked them.
What happens when you block someone on LinkedIn?
Here are the effects of blocking another user on LinkedIn:
- They will be removed from your contacts and can no longer message you
- All past conversations with them will be deleted
- They won’t be able to view your profile or posts
- They can’t add you to groups
- You won’t appear in their search results
- They are essentially hidden from interacting with you
So blocking prevents the person from contacting you further or seeing your profile and network.
Effects of blocking
In summary, when you block someone on LinkedIn:
- They don’t get notified or know they are blocked
- They can’t see you viewed them if your profile is private
- All communication with you is cut off
- Your profiles are invisible to each other
Unblocking a contact
You can also unblock contacts if you change your mind later. Here’s how to unblock someone on LinkedIn:
- Go to your profile and click ‘See all’
- Select ‘Blocked members’ from the dropdown menu
- This shows your list of blocked members
- Click the ‘Unblock’ button next to the contact you want to unblock
- Confirm unblocking to remove them from the blocked list
Once unblocked, they will be able to view your profile and send you messages again. And the past conversations will be restored.
Things to note
Here are some things to keep in mind about unblocking contacts:
- They won’t get a notification when unblocked
- Your past profile views won’t reappear
- You need to re-add them as a connection to see their updates
How to deal with harassment?
If someone is harassing you on LinkedIn or making you feel uncomfortable, block them right away.
You can also report them to LinkedIn by selecting the ‘Block or report’ option and choosing ‘Report’. This will notify LinkedIn of any policy violations.
Some tips to deal with harassment on LinkedIn:
- Set conversations to connections only
- Change profile to private mode
- Avoid accepting invitations from strangers
- Report inappropriate behaviors
- Block users at the first sign of discomfort without engaging
Your privacy and comfort should be the top priority. So don’t hesitate to block or report if faced with harassment.
Pros of blocking someone on LinkedIn
Here are some benefits of making use of LinkedIn’s block feature:
- Prevents unwanted communication – Blocks all messages so you don’t see unwanted comments or posts
- Stops harassment – Puts an end to any harassing behaviors from the user
- Limits visibility – Removes your profile and network details from their view
- Gives you control – Allows you to decide who interacts with you on the platform
- Provides peace of mind – Lets you use LinkedIn without fear of engaging with certain users
Overall, blocking gives you the ability to curate your LinkedIn connections and feed for a more productive experience.
Cons of blocking someone
There aren’t really any major drawbacks of blocking on LinkedIn. But here are a couple of points to keep in mind:
- They may realize communication has stopped and guess they are blocked
- You miss out on any useful updates they post publicly
- They can potentially create another profile and contact you
These situations are quite rare though. For the most part, blocking eliminates unwanted interactions effectively.
Conclusion
Blocking someone on LinkedIn is a discreet tool that prevents further communication without notifying the other person.
As long as you have a private profile, the other user will not know if you visited their profile or blocked them.
Blocking also removes you from their world entirely, stopping any unwanted behavior or harassment.
But use the block feature judiciously. In many cases, resolving issues amicably or reporting violations would be better than outright blocking someone.
Blocking should be used in situations where you feel truly uncomfortable interacting with the other person.
The best approach on LinkedIn is to connect only with people you know well. Be cautious about accepting invites from strangers.
Maintain your privacy settings and don’t hesitate to make use of the block and report options if faced with harassment or unwanted advances.
With the right precautions, you can benefit from LinkedIn connections while avoiding undesirable experiences.