Yes, it is possible to remove your birthday from being displayed on your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn gives users the option to show or hide their birthday for privacy reasons. However, even if you hide your birthday on your profile, LinkedIn will still have your birthday in their records from the information you provided when creating your account.
Should you remove your birthday from LinkedIn?
There are a few things to consider when deciding whether or not to display your birthday publicly on LinkedIn:
- Privacy concerns – By not showing your birthday, you limit the amount of personal information available to strangers viewing your profile. This gives you more control over your privacy.
- Age discrimination – Unfortunately, age discrimination still exists in the workplace. Hiding your birthday prevents recruiters or colleagues from potentially judging you based on your age.
- Birthday well-wishes – Showing your birthday allows connections on LinkedIn to send you well wishes on your special day. It can be a nice way to engage your network.
- Completing your profile – Displaying your birthday helps complete your profile information. However, it’s not required and still optional.
Overall, it comes down to your own preferences and level of comfort with sharing personal information online. Many professionals choose to hide their birthday to maintain privacy and avoid potential age bias.
How to remove your birthday on LinkedIn
If you decide you want to hide your birthday on your LinkedIn profile, here are simple step-by-step instructions to do so:
- Access your account settings – On LinkedIn’s homepage, click on your profile picture in the top right corner then select “Settings & Privacy” from the dropdown menu.
- Go to profile visibility – Under the “Privacy” section on the left side, click “Edit your public profile & URL.”
- Edit profile information – This will bring you to your public profile page. Scroll down and click “Edit public profile & URL” button on the right side.
- Uncheck birthday – In the “Contact Info” section, you’ll see “Birthday” with the date displayed if you currently show it. Uncheck the box next to “Birthday” to hide it.
- Save changes – Scroll to the bottom and click “Save”.
Once you hit save, your birthday will no longer be visible to others on your LinkedIn profile. You can still go back and choose to display it again at any time in the future if you change your mind.
What happens once you remove your birthday
Here are some key things to note after you remove your birthday from your LinkedIn profile:
- It is no longer visible to others – Except you and LinkedIn, no one else viewing your profile can see your birthday date.
- Past posts stay up – If people have previously posted well-wishes on your birthday, those posts remain on your profile.
- You won’t get notifications – LinkedIn will no longer send you reminders about your birthday or messages from connections wishing you a happy birthday.
- Connections may still remember – While your birthday is hidden on your profile, connections who already knew your birthday may still personally remember it and wish you well.
- LinkedIn still has it – Even if you hide it on your profile, the birthday you gave when creating your account is still visible to LinkedIn internally.
In summary, removing your birthday only affects what is publicly displayed. The connections that matter most will still likely remember your special day even if it is no longer promoted on your profile.
How to add your birthday back to your profile
If you change your mind later on, you can easily re-add your birthday to be displayed on your LinkedIn profile by following these steps:
- Go to account settings – Follow steps 1-3 above to navigate back to your “Edit public profile & URL” page.
- Re-check birthday box – In the “Contact Info” section, check the box next to “Birthday” to display it.
- Enter birthday – Type in or select your birthday date to be shown.
- Save changes – Hit the “Save” button at the bottom so your birthday will again be visible.
Once saved, your birthday will be viewable on your profile to anyone looking at your page. You can always return and hide it again at any point if you change your mind.
Pro tips for managing your birthday
If you want more control over who sees your birthday on LinkedIn, here are some pro tips:
- Use customizations – Tailor birthday visibility to specific audiences like connections only.
- Limited profile – Have a private mode to limit profile views during your birthday week.
- Share selectively – Tell close contacts directly rather than broadcast widely.
- Check settings annually – Review settings around your birthday each year.
Taking advantage of LinkedIn’s customization and privacy settings allows you to find that right balance of birthday visibility that makes you comfortable.
Conclusion
While displaying your birthday on LinkedIn is optional, many professionals decide to hide it for increased privacy and to avoid potential age discrimination. Removing your birthday only takes a few steps in your profile settings but completely removes the date from public view. Consider your own preferences, career situation, and privacy concerns when deciding whether or not to show your birthday on your profile. LinkedIn’s customization options give you flexibility to find that ideal level of birthday visibility.