LinkedIn is a popular professional networking platform used by millions of people around the world. One of the key features of LinkedIn is the ability to search for and connect with other professionals in your industry or location. When you conduct a search on LinkedIn, the platform keeps a record of your recent searches so you can easily return to profiles or companies you previously viewed.
What is LinkedIn’s recent search history?
LinkedIn’s recent search history allows you to view the searches you have conducted on the platform over a certain period of time. This history is displayed on the searches page, which can be accessed by clicking on the search bar at the top of LinkedIn and then selecting “See recent searches”.
Your recent search history contains queries you have entered into the main LinkedIn search bar as well as searches performed within specific sections of LinkedIn, such as People, Jobs, Companies, Groups, Schools, and Content.
Viewing your recent search history enables you to quickly return to profiles, jobs, groups, companies and other content you previously found in your searches. It’s a useful feature for revisiting contacts, opportunities and information you may want to explore further.
How far back does LinkedIn show recent searches?
Currently, LinkedIn displays the last 10 recent searches you have performed. These searches go back approximately 30 days. So the recent searches that are visible will be those conducted within the last month.
LinkedIn used to provide a longer search history of around 90 days. However, in 2018 the platform reduced the days displayed down to 30 in order to better protect user privacy and data.
Some key things to note about LinkedIn’s recent search visibility:
- Only you can see your own recent search history. Other users cannot view your history.
- LinkedIn will display a maximum of 10 recent searches at one time.
- The history goes back approximately 30 days from the current date.
- Mobile apps show a shorter history than the desktop site.
So in summary, LinkedIn provides a snapshot of your most recent search activity over the past month at any given time.
Why does LinkedIn limit search history?
There are a few reasons why LinkedIn limits the recent search history to 10 searches over approximately 30 days:
- Privacy – By minimizing old searches visible, LinkedIn protects user privacy and reduces the amount of personal data stored.
- Relevance – Showing only 10-30 days focuses on more relevant, timely searches vs. outdated ones.
- Storage – Storing less historical data reduces storage needs and costs for LinkedIn.
- Simplicity – A shorter history makes it easier for users to parse and understand their key recent activity.
In many ways, LinkedIn is striving to balance useful functionality for users with data minimization and privacy best practices. The 30 day limit allows you to rediscover recent connections without keeping an indefinite record.
How to view your full search history
While LinkedIn only displays your 10 most recent searches, it does keep a longer record of your full search history over time. If you wish to view your full search log:
- Go to your LinkedIn account settings.
- Click on the Privacy tab.
- Under the Data Privacy section, click View your data.
- On the new page, select Search history under the Friends, Connections & Followers category.
- Enter your account password when prompted.
This will download a full CSV file with a lengthy record of all searches conducted from your account. You can open this in a spreadsheet program to see your search history going back much further than 30 days.
Does deleting searches remove them from history?
When you perform a search on LinkedIn, you’ll notice a small “X” icon next to each query in your recent history. Clicking this “X” will immediately delete that search from your viewable history.
However, it’s important to note that deleting a search only removes it from the visible history. The underlying search activity remains logged in LinkedIn’s systems and the full history can still be requested through a data download.
So removing a search does not erase it from existence – it simply takes it off the recent search list. The search will still be present in the full logs, but won’t display on the recent history going forward.
How to clear your LinkedIn search history
If you wish to completely wipe your LinkedIn search history, there are a couple options:
- Wait 30 days – Since LinkedIn only stores 30 days of recent searches, after 30 days inactive all your searches will roll off the visible history.
- Delete your account – Permanently deleting your LinkedIn account will erase your full search history from their systems. However, this also deletes your whole profile and network.
Other than those two options, there is no simple way to proactively “clear” your entire search history on demand. LinkedIn does not provide an interface for users to selectively delete their historical activity.
Best practices for search privacy
If you are concerned about your LinkedIn search activity being visible or stored, here are some best practices:
- Periodically delete individual searches using the “X” icon to clear your recent history.
- Avoid searches for people or companies you don’t want associated with your account.
- Use private browsing/incognito mode which doesn’t record search history.
- Consider restricting data visibility in your account settings.
- Be selective in connecting with others – this links you publicly.
You can also provide feedback to LinkedIn asking for more control over search history retention and deletion options.
The pros and cons of a limited history
Here are some pros and cons to LinkedIn only retaining 30 days of recent search history:
Pros
- Increased privacy and protection of user data
- Reduced storage needs and costs for LinkedIn
- Simplified interface showing only timely, relevant searches
- Promotes connecting directly once a profile is found
Cons
- Harder to reference older searches from past months
- Possible repetition if forgetting and re-searching for same profiles
- No self-service way to delete old embarrassing searches
- Data mined by LinkedIn even if not displayed
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn currently displays approximately the last 10 searches conducted within the previous 30 days in the recent search history view. Older searches are logged internally but not shown. The 30 day visibility window balances user privacy and convenience, although some may prefer longer histories for improved functionality.
While you can delete individual searches, there is no built-in way to proactively clear your full history on demand. Either waiting 30 days or deleting your account are the only options to completely eliminate search records from LinkedIn’s systems.
Understanding LinkedIn’s search retention policies enables you to manage expectations around what past activity is visible and what data persists internally. With informed privacy practices, you can optimize using LinkedIn’s search features while minimizing unwanted data exposure.