LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 660 million members. With so many professionals on the platform, LinkedIn can be a great place to reconnect with old contacts and expand your professional network.
A common question is whether you can find someone’s phone number or other contact information on LinkedIn. The short answer is no – LinkedIn does not allow members to share personal contact information like phone numbers, email addresses, or mailing addresses on their profile.
What contact information is available on LinkedIn?
While you can’t find direct contact details like phone numbers on LinkedIn, members can share some contact information publicly on their profile:
- Name
- Location
- Current and past positions at companies
- Education history
- LinkedIn profile URL
- Links to any websites listed on the profile
So while you can’t get someone’s personal phone number or email address, you can find details about where they work and what their role is. This can still be helpful for contacting them professionally.
Why you can’t see phone numbers on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has some restrictions on sharing personal contact information in order to protect their members’ privacy and maintain a professional environment:
- Phone numbers, personal email addresses, and mailing addresses can be abused by spammers or bad actors.
- LinkedIn wants to facilitate professional networking – not random solicitation.
- Individuals may not want to be contacted directly outside of LinkedIn.
While some members choose to share an email address or website URL publicly, this is optional. Phone numbers are never an option to display on your profile.
How to find someone’s phone number on LinkedIn
While you can’t directly get access to someone’s phone number, there are a few ways you may be able to find it indirectly through LinkedIn:
Check their employer on their profile
Most LinkedIn profiles list a member’s current employer and position. You may be able to call the company’s general phone number and ask to be connected with that employee. Of course, the company will only connect you if you have a legitimate business reason for contacting the employee.
Look for any publicly listed business numbers
Some members choose to list phone numbers publicly on their LinkedIn profiles, but these are typically business phone numbers – not personal cell phone numbers. You may find a business phone number listed for the member’s company or in the contact details for their website.
Ask for an introduction through a shared connection
If you share a LinkedIn connection with the member you want to contact, you can ask that mutual connection to formally introduce you. This may get you the member’s direct business contact information like their work email or phone number.
Here are the steps to asking for an introduction on LinkedIn:
- Go to the profile of the member you want to contact.
- Select “See connections in common” under their profile photo.
- This will show you any shared 1st degree connections.
- Select the shared connection and send them a message asking for an introduction.
Use LinkedIn features to indicate you want to connect
LinkedIn has some built-in features to help facilitate networking between members, even without contact info:
- You can send InMail messages to members you’re not connected to if you have a paid LinkedIn account.
- Select “Connect” on a member’s profile to send a connection request.
- Use profile badges like “Open to Work” to indicate you want to connect.
Using these options signals you want to get in touch and may prompt the other member to reply and provide contact information.
Third party tools and workarounds
There are some third party websites and tools that claim to help you find a member’s phone number or email address on LinkedIn when it’s not listed publicly. However, it’s important to use caution with these as some scrape data in violation of LinkedIn’s terms of service.
Examples include tools like RocketReach, Anymailfinder, and VoilaNorbert. But LinkedIn actively works to block scraping of their members’ data, so these tools may have limited success or stop working.
Some basic workarounds like googling the person’s name and company or checking their social media profiles may surface a phone number or email address publicly listed elsewhere online. But again, caution should be used to avoid contacting someone who has not authorized you to have their direct contact information.
When is it appropriate to seek out someone’s number from LinkedIn?
In general, you should only try to get access to someone’s direct contact information from LinkedIn if:
- You already have a relationship with them personally or professionally outside of LinkedIn.
- You have a legitimate business reason to contact them directly.
- Your intended use of their contact information is professional in nature.
Randomly seeking out phone numbers or email addresses for solicitation or non-business purposes would be inappropriate. Always respect someone’s privacy and preference to only connect through LinkedIn.
Alternatives to finding a phone number on LinkedIn
If you need to get in touch with someone but can’t find their phone number on LinkedIn, there are a few professional alternatives you can try:
- Send them an InMail message explaining why you want to connect.
- Ask shared connections for an introduction.
- Politely reach out to their company to be connected.
- Connect with them on LinkedIn and build rapport before asking to continue the conversation offline.
With persistence and a focus on networking, you may be able to eventually get a phone number or email address from a new LinkedIn connection for further communication.
Conclusion
While LinkedIn provides excellent professional networking opportunities, you typically won’t find direct personal contact information like phone numbers on member profiles. The platform is designed to facilitate engagement between members while respecting their privacy.
If you have a legitimate need to contact a LinkedIn member outside of the platform, focus first on using LinkedIn’s built-in tools to connect. With rapport established, you may then be able to get access to a business email or phone number for further communication.
But if the member has not authorized you to have their direct contact info, avoid using questionable third party tools to get their number. Be patient forming relationships through LinkedIn and respect people’s boundaries to connect professionally.
Contact info available on LinkedIn | Contact info not available on LinkedIn |
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Key takeaways
- You can’t directly access someone’s personal phone number or contact info on LinkedIn.
- The platform restricts sharing of some contact data for privacy reasons.
- Use LinkedIn’s built-in tools to connect professionally with members first.
- With an established relationship, you may then be able to request contact info offline.
- Only seek someone’s number if you have a legitimate business need and existing relationship.