Having a deleted LinkedIn account still visible can be frustrating and confusing. There are a few potential reasons why your profile may still be viewable after deleting your account.
LinkedIn’s Account Deletion Process
When you delete your LinkedIn account, it does not disappear right away. LinkedIn actually keeps deleted accounts in their system for 30 days before permanently deleting them. This is done for security and legal reasons.
If someone accesses your profile page during this 30-day window, they will still be able to see your profile. It will not show up in searches or recommendations, but anyone with a direct link to your profile will be able to view it.
After 30 days, LinkedIn removes all traces of your account from their system. At that point your profile will no longer be viewable.
Cached Versions in Search Engines
Search engines like Google automatically cache, or save copies of, web pages and profiles they index. This is done so the search engine can quickly load pages for users without having to access the live website every time.
So even if your LinkedIn profile is deleted, search engines may still have a cached version that they will display in search results until the cache is cleared and refreshed.
For popular LinkedIn profiles, it can take weeks or even months for caches to be completely cleared across the Internet.
Archived Links on Other Sites
Your LinkedIn profile URL may have been published online elsewhere across the web. For example:
- Shared on your own website or blog
- Listed as part of your contact info on your company’s site
- Referenced in a news article or press release
- Shared on someone else’s website or social media
Even if your profile is deleted, those third-party sites will still have your old profile URL. Anyone who clicks that link will be taken to a deleted profile page on LinkedIn.
URLs Shared Directly
If you’ve ever shared the URL to your LinkedIn profile directly with someone, they may have saved or bookmarked it. They will still be able to access your profile through that bookmarked link until the 30-day deletion period ends.
Recruiter’s Saved Profiles
Recruiters commonly save candidates’ LinkedIn profiles to refer back to later. If a recruiter had your profile saved before you deleted your account, they will still be able to access it for some time.
Even after you delete your account, recruiters have up to 90 days to transfer your saved profile to a different candidate tracking system they use.
How to Speed Up the Profile Removal Process
While you ultimately have to wait for LinkedIn’s 30-day deletion process to fully remove your profile, there are some things you can do to speed up the process of getting your profile hidden across the web:
- Remove any mentions or links to your LinkedIn profile from your own website and other social media accounts
- Use Google’s removal tools to request cached pages be cleared
- Contact any publishers that mentioned your profile and ask them to remove or update the information
- Ask connections to remove any posts, links or references to your profile
What Happens When You Delete Your LinkedIn Account
When you decide to delete your LinkedIn account, here is a breakdown of what happens:
- You request account deletion through LinkedIn’s privacy settings
- Your profile is immediately removed from search results and recommendations
- For 30 days your profile remains viewable to those with a direct link
- After 30 days, your profile is permanently deleted by LinkedIn
- It takes additional time for cached copies across search engines to be cleared
So in summary, while your account is essentially deactivated immediately, full removal of your profile across the web takes around 30 days plus any additional time needed for search engine caches to be refreshed.
Should You Delete or Disable Your LinkedIn Account?
Rather than completely deleting your LinkedIn account, another option is to temporarily disable it. Here’s a comparison:
Delete Account | Disable Account |
---|---|
Permanently removes your profile and data | Temporarily hides your profile but maintains data |
Process takes minimum 30 days for full removal | Profile is instantly hidden from search |
You lose connections and content you posted | Your connections and content remain intact |
Can never reactivate same profile | You can easily reenable your account |
Disabling your account is reversible and may be a better option if you think you may want to use LinkedIn again in the future. Just be aware your profile remains visible through direct links while disabled.
Conclusion
It typically takes around 30 days for a deleted LinkedIn account to be permanently removed from their system and other sites across the web. Cached versions, archived links, and saved profile data can cause your deleted profile to continue appearing until the background deletion process is fully complete.
The best way to expedite the process is to remove any external links and references to your profile, and request cached versions be refreshed. Alternatively, you can disable your account temporarily while maintaining your profile and connections for later use.
Be patient, and eventually your LinkedIn account will be permanently deleted. However, understand that snippets of information may continue to persist online indefinitely in search engine caches and other websites.