Linking your LinkedIn account to Outlook can be useful for bringing in contacts and information to your email account. However, there may come a time when you want to unlink the two. Unlinking your LinkedIn account from Outlook is a straightforward process that can be done in just a few steps.
Overview of Linking LinkedIn and Outlook
Before going over how to unlink the two services, let’s first look at why you may have chosen to connect them in the first place. Linking your LinkedIn account to your Outlook account enables you to synchronize LinkedIn contacts and information directly into Outlook. This can save time and effort in keeping your Outlook contacts up to date.
Some of the key features of linking Include:
- LinkedIn contacts are imported into Outlook contacts
- Profile information from LinkedIn connections displays in Outlook contacts
- Outlook calendar displays LinkedIn connection’s birthdays
- You can see LinkedIn user profiles and newsfeeds directly from Outlook
While linking the two services can provide some productivity benefits, there are also reasons you may eventually want to disconnect them. For example:
- Too many LinkedIn contacts clutter up your Outlook contacts
- Profile information isn’t useful or is out of date
- You want to keep your business and professional contacts separate
- Syncing issues, errors, or other technical problems
Fortunately, unlinking your LinkedIn account from Outlook only takes a few minutes.
How to Unlink LinkedIn from Outlook
Follow these steps to remove the connection between your LinkedIn account and Outlook:
On the LinkedIn Website
The first part of unlinking is done on the LinkedIn website:
- Go to www.linkedin.com and log into your account
- Click on the Me icon at the top of the page and select Settings & Privacy
- On the left sidebar menu, choose Apps and Services
- Under “Allow LinkedIn member data to be imported by these services”, click the Revoke button next to Outlook
This disconnects LinkedIn’s access to provide data to your Outlook account. Now it’s time to remove LinkedIn from Outlook’s side.
In the Outlook Desktop App
If you use Outlook on your desktop, here are the steps to unlink from there:
- Open the Outlook desktop app
- Go to the File menu and choose Account Settings
- Select the Account Settings… button
- Choose your Outlook account that is linked to LinkedIn
- Go to the Social Connectors tab
- Delete the LinkedIn connector by clicking the Remove button
This severs the connection from within Outlook itself. LinkedIn functionality and data will no longer appear.
In Outlook Web App
If you use the Outlook web interface, use these instructions instead:
- Go to https://outlook.office.com/ and log in
- Click the Settings gear icon in the upper right
- Choose View all Outlook settings
- Go to Mail > Social Accounts
- Click the X icon next to the LinkedIn account to remove it
This will unlink your LinkedIn account from the Outlook web interface.
Important Points
Here are some additional key things to keep in mind when unlinking LinkedIn from Outlook:
- Unlinking removes the connection from both sides – Outlook and LinkedIn
- Any LinkedIn contacts or data already imported into Outlook will remain
- To completely remove imported LinkedIn contacts, you’ll need to delete them manually in Outlook
- Disconnecting takes effect immediately – no synchronization will occur after unlinking
- To link them again in the future, you’ll have to repeat the full connection steps again
Impact on LinkedIn Data in Outlook
An important question many users have is what happens to their LinkedIn data in Outlook after unlinking? Here is how disconnecting impacts different types of LinkedIn data that was imported into Outlook:
Contacts
Your imported LinkedIn contacts will remain visible in Outlook after unlinking. They are essentially like any other Outlook contact at this point. To completely remove all previous LinkedIn contacts, you will need to manually delete them from within Outlook.
Contact Profile Information
Any LinkedIn profile data that was brought into your Outlook contacts (job title, company, etc.) will remain. However, unlinking means this information will no longer update. The data will be static from this point onward unless you make manual changes.
News Feed and Share Updates
Once unlinked, you will no longer see LinkedIn News Feed or share updates directly within Outlook.
Calendar Birthdays
Birthdays imported from LinkedIn connections will remain visible in your Outlook calendar after unlinking. But any new LinkedIn connections made going forward will not have their birthdays appear in your calendar.
Pros and Cons of Unlinking
Before deciding whether to keep your LinkedIn account connected or disconnect it, consider these potential advantages and disadvantages:
Pros
- Limits access of your LinkedIn data
- Removes clutter if you have too many LinkedIn contacts
- Separates professional and personal contacts
- Fixes sync issues between the two services
Cons
- Loss of some convenience and time savings
- Outlook contacts no longer update profile information automatically
- Unable to see LinkedIn news and updates directly in Outlook
- Need to manually delete LinkedIn contacts to completely remove them
Summary of Steps
To recap, here is a summary of the steps to unlink your LinkedIn account from Outlook:
- On LinkedIn account settings, revoke Outlook app permission
- In Outlook desktop app, delete LinkedIn social connector
- Or in Outlook web app, remove LinkedIn social account
Once you’ve completed these steps on both the LinkedIn and Outlook sides, your account will be fully disconnected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Some common questions about unlinking your LinkedIn and Outlook accounts include:
Does unlinking delete imported contacts?
No, any LinkedIn contacts already imported into Outlook will remain unless you manually delete them in Outlook.
Can I still see profile info for imported contacts?
Yes, you can view profile information (like job title and company) for previously imported contacts. But this info will no longer update after unlinking.
Will birthdays still show in my calendar?
Yes, any birthdays already imported from LinkedIn will remain visible. But new connections will not add their birthdays to your calendar.
Can I link them again later?
Yes, you can repeat the connection process to link your LinkedIn and Outlook at any future time.
Will unlinking affect other Microsoft apps?
No, unlinking only affects the connection between LinkedIn and Outlook specifically. Any links to other Microsoft services will remain intact.
Conclusion
In summary, while linking your LinkedIn and Outlook accounts can provide some productivity and convenience benefits, there are reasons you may eventually want to unlink them. The process for disconnecting the two services involves simply revoking the connection authorization on both ends. LinkedIn data already imported into your Outlook account will remain after unlinking. But ongoing sync and updates will stop. Unlinking your LinkedIn and Outlook accounts takes just a few minutes and can help streamline your contacts and information if having the two connected no longer makes sense for your needs.