LinkedIn is a great platform for connecting with professional contacts and exposing your profile to potential networking and job opportunities. However, there may be times when you want to limit the visibility of your profile to certain connections for privacy or other reasons.
Can you hide your LinkedIn profile from specific contacts?
Yes, LinkedIn does give you the ability to customize your profile visibility settings to hide your profile from specific first-degree connections.
Hide profile from individual connections
You can hide your LinkedIn profile from individual first-degree connections by following these steps:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile page and click on the “Manage public profile visibility” link under your profile photo.
- This will bring you to the “Choose who can see your profile” page under Settings & Privacy.
- Under “Select who can see your LinkedIn profile,” click on “Customize your public profile settings.”
- This will open a menu where you can toggle visibility settings for different sections of your profile. Scroll down and click on “Your connections.”
- Here you will see a list of all your first-degree connections on LinkedIn. Uncheck the box next to any connections you want to hide your profile from.
- Scroll down and click “Save changes.”
Once you save these changes, the connections you unchecked will no longer be able to view your LinkedIn profile. You can come back to this page and update the list of hidden connections as needed.
Hide profile from all 2nd and 3rd degree connections
If you want to hide your profile more broadly from second- and third-degree connections on LinkedIn, you can do so by:
- Going to your profile visibility settings as outlined above.
- Under “Your network,” uncheck the box next to “2nd-degree connections” and “3rd-degree connections.”
- Click “Save changes.”
This will prevent all second- and third-degree connections from viewing your full LinkedIn profile. However, they may still see a limited version of your profile in search results and other areas of LinkedIn.
Hide your profile from recruiters
Many recruiters search LinkedIn to source candidates, so you may also want to limit recruiters’ ability to view your full profile. To do this:
- Go to your profile visibility settings.
- Under “Other options,” uncheck the box next to “Recruiters.”
- Click “Save changes.”
This will remove your profile from being visible in recruiter searches on LinkedIn. You can still interact with recruiters who contact you directly.
Pros and cons of hiding your LinkedIn profile
Here are some potential pros and cons to weigh when deciding whether to hide your LinkedIn profile from certain connections:
Pros
- Maintains privacy from personal contacts you don’t want viewing your full professional profile.
- Avoids awkwardness with contacting employers, colleagues, etc. outside of LinkedIn.
- Prevents existing employer from monitoring your profile and activity.
- Removes your visibility from unwanted recruiter solicitation.
Cons
- Limits networking reach and exposure of your profile to new opportunities.
- Appearing “less open” to connections who can’t view your profile.
- Need to proactively manage list of hidden connections.
- Less ability for hidden connections to endorse you or interact with your profile.
Other options for increasing LinkedIn privacy
In addition to hiding your profile from certain connections, here are some other options for increasing privacy on LinkedIn:
Turn off profile viewing notifications
By default, LinkedIn sends notifications when someone views your profile. You can disable profile viewing notifications:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Communications.
- Under “Notifications,” uncheck “Someone views your profile.”
- Click “Save changes.”
Review posts and activity for sensitive information
Periodically review your own LinkedIn activity, such as posts, articles, and comments, to remove anything sensitive you don’t want connections seeing.
Be selective with profile information
Consider leaving off any contact info like phone number and address. Only share job details or descriptions relevant to the audience you want seeing your profile.
Use visitor privacy settings
You can limit the information visitors see before connecting with you under Privacy & Settings > Visitor Privacy Controls.
Frequently asked questions
Can I prevent someone from sending me a connection request?
No, there is no way to block someone from sending you a connection request on LinkedIn. You can choose not to accept the request, at which point they will not be able to view your full profile.
What happens if I accept someone I’ve previously hidden from?
If you accept a connection request from someone you previously hid your profile from, your profile will automatically become visible to them again upon connecting. You would need to hide them again to block access.
Can I hide my profile and still see theirs?
Yes, hiding your profile only affects the visibility of your own LinkedIn profile, not others’. You can still search for and view the profiles of connections you have hidden your profile from.
Is there a way to check who has viewed my profile?
LinkedIn’s premium account levels (Sales Navigator and Recruiter accounts) provide the ability to see who has viewed your profile recently. On a free LinkedIn account, you can only see the aggregate number of profile views, not specific people.
Can I permanently delete my LinkedIn account?
Yes, you can permanently delete your LinkedIn account which removes your profile and all data associated with your account. Simply go to your account settings and select “Delete account” to begin the account closure process.
Conclusion
Managing your LinkedIn profile visibility is crucial for maintaining your professional brand and comfort level on the platform. Take advantage of settings like hiding your profile from individual connections or broader swaths of your network to limit unwanted exposure. Weigh the pros and cons, and complement selective profile hiding with other privacy best practices on LinkedIn.