Quick summary
Removing someone from your LinkedIn connections can be tricky, especially if you don’t want them to know. Here are some quick tips:
– Slowly reduce engagement – Like their fewer posts, comment less often, don’t view their profile as much. This makes them less likely to notice when you eventually remove them.
– Remove them from your 1st level connections but stay in 2nd level network – This removes them from your main connections list but keeps you loosely tied on LinkedIn still.
– Block them after removing – This prevents them from searching for and refriending you on LinkedIn after you remove them.
– Adjust your settings – Change your settings so removed connections get no notification. Also hide from search engines that you ever connected with them.
– Remove shared connections too – Mutual connections make it more obvious you dropped them, so prune those relationships too.
– Do a mass purge – Removing multiple connections at once hides the fact you singled them out.
Should you remove a LinkedIn connection?
Before hastily removing someone from your network, think through the implications carefully:
– Why do you want to remove them? Is it just clutter or did they do something inappropriate? Understand your reasons first.
– Are they an important contact? Don’t burn bridges with potentially valuable professional connections.
– Will it have social consequences? They may take offense if they notice, harming your reputation.
– Is there a better solution? You can mute their posts or adjust settings rather than fully disconnecting.
Removing connections is generally best avoided except for rare cases of inappropriate behavior or spam connections. Tread carefully before taking this step.
How to reduce engagement gradually
The safest approach is to slowly disengage from the connection you want to remove over time. This makes it less obvious when you eventually cut the tie. Here are some ways to do that:
– Like and comment on their posts less frequently. Don’t view their profile or content often.
– If they message you, take longer to respond or keep replies shorter.
– Decline invitations to connect via other social media or offline meetings. Claim you’re too busy.
– Unfollow them without explicitly disconnecting. You’ll still be linked but get less of their updates.
Ideally, reduce engagement over a few months. Quickly withdrawing interaction seems more deliberate. Make it a gradual process and they likely won’t notice when you remove them fully.
Remove as a 1st level but stay 2nd level
LinkedIn shows 1st level connections on your main connections list. But you also have 2nd level connections, who are connections of your connections.
You can remove someone as a 1st level connection but stay linked as a 2nd level. To do this:
– Go to your Connections list and remove them normally. Confirm removing the connection.
– Search for their profile and re-add them. But this time don’t send a connection invitation.
You’ll now be 2nd level connections. They’ll disappear from your Connections list but you still show up in each other’s networks.
This makes it far less obvious you specifically cut direct contact. You’re still loosely affiliated through mutual connections.
Block them after removing
When you remove a connection, by default they will get notified. They can also still search for and refriend you on LinkedIn if they notice.
To prevent this, block them immediately after removing them:
– From your connections page, remove them as a connection normally. Confirm this removal.
– Go to their profile and use the Block option, confirm blocking them.
Blocking prevents them from viewing your profile or posts. It also stops them sending you invitations or messages. They shouldn’t be able to tell they’re blocked.
This reduces the chances of them noticing your disappearance from their network or trying to reconnect.
Adjust profile and notification settings
You can tweak some settings to remove connections more discreetly:
– Turn off notifications – In settings, disable notices when you remove a connection. Also disable emails when your network changes.
– Remove from search engines – Settings allow hiding your connections list from web searches. Toggle this on.
– Show fewer connections – Display only your mutual connections rather than all of them.
With no notifications or visibility that you disconnected, it’s much harder for removed contacts to realize you cut ties on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn removal notifications settings
Setting | Description |
---|---|
Emails when connections change | Disable to avoid removed contacts getting emails |
Notifications when you remove connections | Turn off to prevent notices to removed contacts |
Search engine indexing | Hide your connections from web searches |
Visible connections | Only show mutual connections rather than all |
Remove mutual connections too
Having the same mutual connections makes it more obvious if you specifically cut ties with someone.
When removing a connection avoid suspicion by pruning some shared connections too:
– Sort connections by relationship and identify mutual ones.
– Remove a few mutual connections over time as well.
– Interact less with mutual connections to weaken those ties.
With fewer overlapping contacts, the person is less likely to notice your disappearance from their network as unusual.
Example summary of key mutual connections
Mutual Connection | Action to Reduce Link |
---|---|
John Smith | Unfollow and like/comment less on posts |
Lisa Wong | Decline invitations to connect on other platforms |
Mark Taylor | Remove as a connection from your side too |
Do a mass purge of connections
Removing just one connection looks deliberate. Safest approach is to do a mass purge:
– Sort connections by when you last interacted.
– Remove multiple people you rarely engage with.
– Ideally remove at least 10-20 connections in one go.
When removing groups of people, cutting any individual is much less obvious. It gets lost in the crowd of other removals.
You can claim you’re just doing a spring cleaning of inactives on LinkedIn. This adds cover for any single removal you want to hide.
Other tips when doing a mass purge
– Do it after periods of major change – after a job change or move cities. More plausible you’d prune old contacts then.
– Include connections across roles and locations – Don’t focus on just one employer or city.
– Take a LinkedIn sabbatical – Claim you are using it less and removing inactive connections because of that. Provides a believable excuse.
Alternative options beyond removing
Before fully removing connections, also consider intermediate options:
– Snooze or unfollow them – You won’t see their posts but stay connected. Less drastic than fully removing.
– Move to Restricted list – Still linked but their updates don’t appear in feed. Out of sight, out of mind.
– Update privacy settings – Customize who sees what to limit their access and visibility.
– Mute conversations – If chat is the issue, simply mute threads from them rather than fully disconnecting.
Many times these intermediate steps can achieve your goals without fully purging the connection. Tread carefully before taking that final step.
Conclusion
Removing LinkedIn connections is tricky without them noticing. Go slowly, disengage gradually, limit visibility and signals. Consider alternatives like snoozing too.
Disconnecting should be a last resort for extreme cases. Be careful when pruning connections to avoid professional blowback. With care and subtlety, it is possible to discreetly drop a LinkedIn contact when necessary.