Quick Answer
No, when you view someone’s LinkedIn profile and then block them, they will not receive any notification or indication that you viewed their profile or blocked them. On LinkedIn, viewing profiles is anonymous and blocking is one-sided. The person you block will not know you blocked them or know that you viewed their profile.
Explanation
LinkedIn has two key features that allow you to view profiles anonymously and block connections without them being notified:
Anonymous Profile Viewing
When you view someone’s profile on LinkedIn, by default it is done anonymously without the person being notified or shown that you viewed their profile. There are a few exceptions where the profile view may show up:
– If you are in the same 1st level network, both directly connected to the same person, the profile view may show up under “Who’s viewed your profile.”
– If you clicked into their profile from the LinkedIn mobile app, the profile view may count.
– Paid Premium account holders can enable a feature to see who viewed their profile.
But in most cases, when you view a profile the person won’t know you viewed it. So if you view someone’s profile anonymously and then block them afterwards, they won’t know you looked at their profile.
One-Sided Blocking
When you block someone on LinkedIn, by default it is one-sided meaning the person you block will not be notified or know you blocked them. This allows you to prevent unwanted messages or contacts without alerting them.
Some key things to know about one-sided blocking:
– The person you block will not receive any notification that you blocked them.
– They can still view your profile normally and send you messages, but you will not receive any notifications or messages from a blocked connection.
– On your end, their profile and any future activity will be entirely hidden from your view.
So if you block someone after anonymously viewing their profile, they will have no indication they have been blocked or that you viewed their profile.
What the Person You Block Sees
To the person you’ve blocked, everything will appear normal on their end. Here are some examples of what someone you’ve blocked sees:
– They can still view your profile as normal, there is no indication you blocked them.
– They can still send you message requests and invitations, but you will not receive them.
– They will not see any of your future posts or activity updates.
– Your name still appears in their connections list, they have no way to know you blocked them.
– They could try to visit your profile and won’t know it returns a “page not found” error because you blocked them.
So from the perspective of the blocked person, they have no visibility or notification that you blocked them.
Use Cases for Anonymous Viewing and One-Sided Blocking
These two privacy features on LinkedIn enable some common use cases:
Checking Out Someone Anonymously
You can look up old colleagues, new potential employers, or industry contacts without them being alerted to your interest or aware you viewed their profile. This allows discreet research.
Blocking Unwanted Contacts
If someone is sending too many messages or unwanted invites, you can block them to avoid further contact without notifying them. This prevents potential conflict or retaliation.
Blocking After Checking Out a Profile
If you viewed someone’s profile anonymously first to evaluate if you want to connect with them, and then decide you don’t, you can block them to avoid future outreach from them without them ever knowing you looked at their profile or blocked them.
Keeping Your Activities Private
Viewing profiles anonymously and blocking one-sidedly allows you to control your networking and privacy on LinkedIn. You can research industry contacts, vet potential connections, screen employers and block unwanted contacts while keeping your own activities private.
Limitations
There are a few limitations to keep in mind:
– Premium account holders can pay to see who viewed their profile, so your views may not be fully anonymous.
– Blocking only works one way, so the blocked person can still attempt to contact you even if you can’t see it.
– On a shared 1st level network, your views and blocks may be visible to each other.
– These features may not work fully if you are directly connected already.
So anonymous profile viewing and one-sided blocking provide privacy, but not complete privacy.
Conclusion
In summary, when you view someone’s LinkedIn profile anonymously and then block them, they will not receive any notifications or indications that you viewed their profile or blocked them. The blocking happens behind the scenes without alerting them. However, there are some limitations so complete privacy is not guaranteed. But overall, their perspective will be as if nothing has changed, while you can privately control who you interact with.
Action | Your View | Blocked Person’s View |
---|---|---|
You view their profile anonymously | You can see their profile normally | No notification you viewed them |
You block them after viewing the profile | Their profile is now hidden from you | No notification they are blocked |
They send you a message | You do not receive their message | They think the message was sent normally |
Key Takeaways
– Viewing LinkedIn profiles is designed to be anonymous, though some visibility exists between close networks.
– Blocking someone only restricts their content from your view, they do not receive alerts or notices if you block them.
– From the perspective of the blocked person, everything appears normal even though you cannot see their content.
– These features allow discreet research and limiting unwanted contacts without two-way notifications or awareness.
– There are still limitations so complete privacy is not guaranteed when viewing profiles or blocking.
So in summary, when you view someone’s profile anonymously and then block them on LinkedIn, they will have no indications that you viewed their profile or blocked them. One-sided blocking and anonymous viewing allow greater privacy control in managing your own LinkedIn network and connections.