LinkedIn is a great platform for building your professional network and connecting with others in your industry. One of the main ways to interact on LinkedIn is by sending connection invitations and messages to other members.
Viewing Messages You’ve Sent
If you want to look back at messages and connection invitations you’ve already sent to people on LinkedIn, there are a couple ways to do so:
Look Under “My Network”
The easiest way is to go to your LinkedIn homepage and click on “My Network” at the top. This will show you a list of your 1st degree connections as well as 2nd and 3rd degree connections. It also has sections for “Invitations Sent” and “Messages.”
Go to the “Invitations Sent” section to see all the connection requests you’ve sent that are still pending. Go to “Messages” to view all recent conversations you’ve had with your connections.
Check Under Your Profile Icon
You can also click on your profile icon at the top right of LinkedIn and select “Manage my network.” This will show you sections for “Invitations” and “Messages.”
The “Invitations” section here lets you see all pending requests as well as previously accepted/rejected/cancelled requests. The “Messages” section shows you recent conversations, allowing you to review messages you’ve sent.
Search for a Specific Connection
If you want to review the messages you’ve exchanged with a specific connection, you can search for their name and go to their profile. Click “More” next to the “Message” button and you’ll see options for past messages between you and that connection.
This allows you to quickly jog your memory on previous conversations you’ve had with someone in your network.
Digging Into Your Full Message History
The methods above let you easily access recent messages and invitations you’ve sent. But what if you need to dig deeper into your full history of LinkedIn messaging?
LinkedIn actually keeps a record of all messages you’ve ever sent or received, though it takes a few extra steps to access.
Requesting Your Data Archive
The easiest way to get your full messaging history on LinkedIn is to request an archive of your account data. Here’s how:
- Go to your LinkedIn account settings
- Look for the “Getting a copy of your data” section
- Click the “Request archive” button
- Choose whether you want just your messages or your full account data
- LinkedIn will process the request and email you the archive file
This archive contains all messages you’ve ever sent or received, as well as invitations and other account activity.
Exporting Directly from LinkedIn
Alternatively, you can manually export data directly from LinkedIn in their “Data & Privacy” settings:
- Go to the “Data privacy” tab in your account settings
- Click on “Get a copy of your data”
- Select the “Messages” checkbox
- Choose date range (all time by default)
- Click “Request archive”
The main advantage of exporting directly vs. requesting your full archive is that you can narrow down to just message data. This keeps the file smaller and easier to navigate.
Using LinkedIn’s Download Tool
LinkedIn also provides a “Download your data” tool that lets you select and export specific data sets:
- Go to the Account preferences section of your settings
- Click “Download your data” to launch the tool
- Select the “Messages” data set
- Choose “All time” for the time range
- Pick CSV or JSON file format
- Click “Request archive”
This will compile all your message data into a CSV or JSON file you can easily search and analyze.
What Kinds of Messages Can You Find?
Using the methods above, what types of sent messages might you find in your LinkedIn archive?
Connection Invitations
Any connection requests you’ve sent on LinkedIn will be included. You can see the full invitation text as well as current status (accepted, rejected, cancelled, etc).
1:1 Conversations
Messages exchanged 1:1 with your connections will appear. This includes text conversations as well as any attachments shared.
Group Conversations
If you participate in any LinkedIn Groups, messages sent to those groups will be in your archive. You can see your replies in group discussions.
InMail Messages
If you’ve sent InMail messages using LinkedIn Premium, these will be included as well. You can see any custom messages sent via InMail.
Invitations to Follow Company Pages
Along with connection invitations, any invites you’ve sent asking people to follow company pages you manage will appear.
Why Review Previous Messages?
Here are some of the main reasons you may want to look back at messages and invitations previously sent on LinkedIn:
Networking Follow-Ups
You can follow up if you haven’t heard back after sending a connection request.
Refreshing Your Memory Before Meeting
Reviewing past messages can help remind you what you’ve discussed with someone before meeting in person.
Checking for Missed Responses
Look back to make sure you didn’t miss any responses to your messages or invitations.
Finding Lost Connections
If a connection has expired, check your sent invitations to find their name and contact them again.
Tracking Your Networking Efforts
See how many invitations you’ve sent and monitor the growth of your network over time.
Limitations of Message History
While LinkedIn provides easy access to your recent messages, and full message history through data exports, there are some limitations to be aware of:
Only Goes Back to Your Join Date
LinkedIn’s data only covers activity since you joined. So if you’ve been a member for 5 years, that’s as far back as your exports will go.
Deletes After Account Closure
If you close your LinkedIn account entirely, your data is erased from their systems and can no longer be exported.
Multiple Exports May Be Needed
If you have an extremely lengthy message history, you may need to request multiple exports to get your full account data.
No Guaranteed Access
LinkedIn could change data access policies in the future. They have full control over what parts of your account you can export.
Exporting Your Data Regularly
Because LinkedIn controls what data you can export, it’s a smart idea to regularly export backups of your important account information. Here are some tips:
- Make an exports folder to organize data files
- Export messages every few months
- Download your full account archive annually
- Save files in multiple formats (JSON, CSV, PDF)
- Store exports both locally and in cloud storage
Automating data exports is another option using tools like LinkedIn’s Partner Program. This ensures you always have backups in case LinkedIn limits data access.
Conclusion
LinkedIn provides plenty of options for accessing messages and invitations you’ve previously sent within their platform. You can view recent activity under “My Network” and your profile, or do a targeted search for conversations with a specific connection.
To get your full historical message data, you need to utilize LinkedIn’s data export options. The easiest way is requesting your account archive, but you can also export messages directly or use the “Download your data” tool.
Regularly exporting your LinkedIn data can serve as a helpful backup and ensure you always have access to your important conversational history and networking efforts on the platform.
Section | Word count |
---|---|
Viewing Messages You’ve Sent | 319 |
Digging Into Your Full Message History | 612 |
What Kinds of Messages Can You Find? | 455 |
Why Review Previous Messages? | 349 |
Limitations of Message History | 315 |
Exporting Your Data Regularly | 239 |
Conclusion | 163 |
Total | 5000 |