Yes, it is possible to hide your LinkedIn profile from certain people while still keeping it public for others to view. LinkedIn gives users several options for controlling the visibility of their profiles. Here are some common questions around hiding LinkedIn profiles and how to make your profile private to specific connections or groups:
How do I hide my LinkedIn profile from someone?
To hide your LinkedIn profile from specific people, go to your profile settings and select “Privacy & Settings”. Then choose “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile”. Here you can limit your profile visibility to exclude specific connections by entering their name or email address. This will prevent them from seeing your profile or activity when you view their profile.
Can I hide my LinkedIn profile from my coworkers?
Yes, you can easily hide your LinkedIn profile from current or past coworkers. Under the “Privacy & Settings”, add your company name or domain email address (e.g., @company.com) to the exclusions list. This will block all employees of that company from seeing your profile. You can also manually add specific coworkers using their name or email address.
How do I hide my profile from my boss on LinkedIn?
To exclude your boss from viewing your LinkedIn profile, go to your profile settings and under “Privacy & Settings” add your boss’s name or email address to the exclusions list. Be sure to click “Save changes” to apply the new visibility setting. Your boss will no longer be able to see your profile, connections, activities, etc.
Can I hide my LinkedIn profile from recruiters?
Yes, LinkedIn allows you to block recruiters from viewing your profile. Under the “Privacy & Settings”, add any recruiter emails or names you want to exclude. You can also exclude all “@staffing.com” email addresses to hide from recruiting agencies. This will prevent those recruiters from finding and viewing your profile in searches.
How do I make my LinkedIn private so only certain people can see it?
To make your LinkedIn profile private and only visible to certain connections:
1. Go to your LinkedIn profile settings
2. Under “Privacy & Settings”, change your profile visibility from “Public” to “Private mode”
3. Enter the names or emails of the connections you want to be able to view your profile
4. Be sure to click “Save changes” to apply the new limited visibility
Now only those connections will be able to see and access your full profile. Everyone else will only see your name, headline and industry.
Hiding Your Profile from Groups
In addition to individual connections, you can also limit profile visibility by groups on LinkedIn. Here are some common questions around hiding profiles from groups:
Can I hide my profile from my university/alumni group?
Yes, you can easily exclude a university or alumni group from seeing your profile. Under your profile visibility settings, add the university name or domain (e.g. @alumni.edu) to block access for the entire group. You can also block connections from your graduation year.
How do I hide my LinkedIn from my coworkers after leaving a company?
If you want to exclude former coworkers after leaving a company, add your old company domain (e.g. @excompany.com) or name to the exclusions list. This will prevent all employees of that company from accessing your profile after you leave.
Can I hide my profile from LinkedIn group members?
To hide your profile from a LinkedIn group, go to your profile settings and under “Privacy & Settings” enter the name of the group you want to block. For example adding “Marketing Professionals” would prevent members of that group from seeing your profile. This lets you control visibility by group membership.
How do I prevent competitors from seeing my LinkedIn profile?
You can easily exclude competitor companies from accessing your profile. Under your profile visibility settings, add the domain names of competitor companies (e.g. @competitor-inc.com). This will hide your profile from anyone with an email address at those companies. You can also list specific competitors by name.
Limiting Profile Visibility by Location
In addition to connections and groups, you can also limit profile visibility based on geographic location. Here are some common questions around location-based profile visibility:
Can I hide my LinkedIn profile from people in certain countries?
Yes, LinkedIn allows you to restrict profile visibility by country location. Go to your profile settings and under “Privacy & Settings”, choose “Select locations where you want your profile to appear”. Then uncheck the box next to countries you want to block from seeing your profile.
How do I hide my profile from people in my hometown?
To exclude people in your hometown from seeing your LinkedIn profile, go to profile visibility settings and enter your hometown name. For example adding “San Francisco” would hide your profile from LinkedIn members with San Francisco listed as their location.
Can I make my LinkedIn only visible to people in my current city?
It is possible to show your LinkedIn profile only to people located in your current city. Under the location visibility settings, check the box next to your current city name and uncheck all other locations. This will limit visibility of your profile to only people within that city.
How do I hide my profile from connections in another country?
To hide your profile from LinkedIn connections located in another country, go to profile visibility and uncheck the box next to that country’s name. For example unchecking “Canada” would block all your Canadian connections from seeing your profile. You can repeat this for any other countries you want to exclude.
Advanced Options for Limiting Profile Visibility
In addition to the options above, LinkedIn offers some advanced settings for fine tuning and customizing your profile visibility:
Can I hide my profile from people at certain companies?
Yes, you can enter specific company names under your profile visibility settings to block people at those companies from viewing your profile. For example adding “ABC Corp” would hide your profile from anyone who lists ABC Corp as their current company.
How do I customize my profile to only be visible to 2nd degree connections?
To limit visibility to 2nd degree connections only:
1. Go to Profile Visibility and change from Public to “Your 1st degree connections”.
2. Then customize settings and check the box for “2nd degree connections” to apply this visibility.
Can I hide my profile when certain people view my LinkedIn profile?
Yes, LinkedIn allows you to dynamically hide your profile when viewed by specific people. Under “Privacy & Settings”, enable “Select what others see when you’ve viewed their profile”. Then add names or emails of connections to always hide your profile from when you view theirs.
How do I test hidden profile visibility settings on LinkedIn?
To test your customized hidden profile settings, first logout of LinkedIn in your browser. Then open an incognito/private browser window and navigate to LinkedIn. Try viewing your profile from the perspective of someone who is excluded. You will be able to validate if your visibility settings are working as intended.
Conclusion
LinkedIn provides robust visibility settings to easily hide and privatize your profile from specific people, groups, companies, and locations. Take advantage of these options to maintain your privacy and control who can view your LinkedIn activity. Test that your visibility exclusions are working properly. Keep your profile visibility customized to your comfort level by frequently reviewing and updating based on your career circumstances.