Having a strong LinkedIn presence is important for many professionals. LinkedIn allows you to build connections, join groups, and showcase your skills and experience. This visibility can be beneficial when searching for a job or networking. However, there may be times when you want to limit who can view your LinkedIn profile.
Making your LinkedIn account totally unviewable is not possible. But there are steps you can take to make your profile more private and restrict who can see your information.
Set Your Profile to Private
The easiest way to limit visibility of your LinkedIn account is to set your profile to private. Here’s how:
- Go to your profile Settings
- Under Profile visibility, select Private mode
- Save changes
This will make your profile invisible to anyone you are not connected to. People will still be able to find your profile in search results but will only see your name, headline, company and industry. They will have to send you a connection request to view any additional information.
Customize Visibility for Sections
For even more control over what people see, you can customize the visibility section by section:
- Go to Edit profile
- Click the icon next to each section
- Select who can view it: your connections, only you, etc.
For example, you may want your Summary visible to anyone but keep Contact Info viewable only by connections. Take time to carefully consider the visibility settings for each section.
Limit Past Position Visibility
Another way to restrict access is to limit who can see your past positions. Here’s how:
- Go to your profile Settings
- Under Profile visibility, click Customize your public profile
- For Past Positions, select Only show my current position or Only show selected positions
- Save changes
This will prevent people from seeing your full work history unless connected to you. You can also individually select which past positions are shown publicly.
Remove Your Profile Photo
Having a profile photo helps make your LinkedIn account more engaging and approachable. But it also makes you more identifiable.
If you want to maintain a low profile, consider removing your profile photo. This will make it harder for people to connect your LinkedIn account with your real-world identity.
Change Your Name
Using your real name on LinkedIn can be important for professional networking. But if privacy is your top concern, you may want to use an alternate name.
Keep in mind LinkedIn does have rules around using pseudonyms. Make sure any alternate name reasonably represents your identity and does not intentionally mislead other members.
Remove Your Last Name
A less drastic option than changing your entire name is to simply remove your last name. Your profile would then display just a first name.
This achieves some added privacy while still allowing you to build professional connections under your true identity. Just be aware some users may find it strange interacting with someone who only uses a first name.
Leave All Groups
Participating in LinkedIn groups can be a great way to make connections and demonstrate your industry expertise. However, your activity in groups is public and can give away information you’d rather keep private.
If you want to minimize your LinkedIn presence, consider leaving all groups you’ve joined. This will withdraw your profile and name from the membership rolls.
Disable Activity Broadcasts
LinkedIn automatically lets your connections know about your profile updates, new connections, birthdays and other activities through notifications.
To reduce your visibility, you can turn these off:
- Go to Settings & Privacy
- Under Communications, select Sharing profile edits
- Uncheck boxes for activity broadcasts you want to disable
This prevents unnecessary announcements that draw attention to your account. Just know that connections may still notice your activity when directly visiting your profile.
Remove Connections
The more connections you have, the more visible your profile becomes within the LinkedIn community. If you want to fly under the radar, pruning your connections can help.
But be selective about who you remove – maintaining some connections is important for professional networking and access to opportunities.
Block Specific Members
Rather than removing all connections indiscriminately, you can block specific members from viewing your profile.
Go to their profile and select Block or report. This will sever the connection and prevent them from accessing your account in the future.
Turn Off Profile View Notifications
By default, LinkedIn sends notifications when someone views your profile. But you can disable this feature:
- Go to Settings & Privacy
- Under Communications, select Profile viewing options
- Uncheck the box to Turn profile viewing notifications off
This makes it harder to track who is looking at your account. You also won’t get distracted by constant view notifications.
Turn Off Google Indexing
Having your LinkedIn profile indexed by Google makes it easy for people to find you through search engines.
If you want to remove this visibility, you can prevent Google from indexing your profile:
- Go to Customize public profile
- Uncheck the box to Allow search engines outside of LinkedIn to access your public profile
This will exclude your profile from Google search results. But people can still find you through searching directly on LinkedIn.
Use a Professional Background Photo
Your profile background photo provides personality and visual interest. But it can also unintentionally reveal details about your personal life.
Consider using a more neutral, professional background image. Stock photos of office settings, landscapes or abstract designs make ideal choices.
Restrict Old Posts and Links
Previous posts and links you’ve shared on LinkedIn persist on your profile indefinitely. Some of them may no longer represent your views or professional image.
Comb through previous posts and links regularly. Delete or hide anything outdated or irrelevant from public view.
Remove Your Birthday
By default, your birthday appears on your LinkedIn profile and members receive notifications. If you want to limit personal details, removing your birthday is advised.
Simply go to your profile and delete the date under the Contact Info section. You can also hide your age so this remains private.
Summary
Here are some key tips to increase LinkedIn privacy and make your profile unviewable to the general public:
- Activate Private mode
- Customize visibility for each section
- Limit past position visibility
- Remove personal details like photo and birthday
- Leave groups and prune connections
- Disable activity broadcasts and profile view notifications
- Prevent search engine indexing
Balancing profile visibility with privacy can be tricky on LinkedIn. But carefully managing settings and selectively sharing information allows you to control what people can see.
Keep in mind that some visibility is usually desirable for professional networking and opportunity. Completely hiding all profile information will limit LinkedIn’s usefulness. Find an approach that works for your specific needs and career goals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make my LinkedIn completely invisible?
There is no setting to make your LinkedIn profile completely invisible or unviewable. Even with the strictest privacy settings, some of your information remains visible to others on LinkedIn.
Does removing connections increase privacy?
Yes, removing connections will incrementally improve privacy and limit the visibility of your profile. However, maintaining some connections is important for professional networking.
Should I remove my last name for more privacy?
Using only a first name provides some added privacy over using your full name. But it may seem unprofessional to some users. Consider your specific privacy needs.
Can I get in trouble for using a fake name?
LinkedIn prohibits using an intentionally misleading or deceptive name. Make sure any alternative name reasonably represents your identity.
Does LinkedIn notify my connections when I update my profile?
Yes, LinkedIn will automatically notify your network about profile edits and other activity. But you can disable these notifications in your settings.
Can I prevent my profile from appearing in Google search?
Yes, you can opt out of search engine indexing in your profile settings. But you will still be discoverable through searches directly on LinkedIn.
Is it bad to remove my photo for more privacy?
Removing your profile photo does provide more privacy. However, having a photo makes your profile more approachable and memorable. Evaluate this tradeoff.
Should I block recruiters to increase privacy?
Blocking recruiters could potentially reduce unsolicited outreach. However, this also cuts off a key channel for finding new job opportunities.
Table Summary of Tips to Increase LinkedIn Privacy
Tip | Privacy Level | Impact on Usability |
---|---|---|
Set Profile to Private | High | Medium |
Customize Visibility | High | Low |
Limit Past Positions | Medium | Low |
Remove Photo | Medium | Medium |
Use Alternate Name | High | High |
Leave Groups | Medium | Medium |
Disable Notifications | Low | Low |
Block Search Indexing | Medium | High |
Conclusion
Balancing visibility and privacy requires evaluating your specific needs and priorities. With LinkedIn’s flexible settings, you can find the right configuration for your professional profile.
Restricting access helps avoid unwanted attention. But some openness is usually desirable for networking opportunities. Experiment to determine the ideal privacy boundaries.
And keep in mind that your activity and connections on the platform remain visible to others, even with strict privacy settings. True anonymity is not possible on LinkedIn, but you can successfully limit your exposure and reveal only necessary information.