Quick Answer
Your boss may be able to see some of your LinkedIn activity, but exactly how much depends on your privacy settings. By default, your profile and activity are visible to anyone on LinkedIn. However, you can customize your settings to limit what your connections and the public see. The key things that could show your boss you’re on LinkedIn are having a public profile, appearing in their “People Also Viewed” suggestions, messaging connections, and posting articles or comments. But you can reduce your boss’s visibility by adjusting your profile and activity privacy.
Does LinkedIn Notify Your Boss When You View Their Profile?
No, LinkedIn does not notify anyone when you view their profile. LinkedIn does not send alerts or notifications when your profile is viewed by others. The only way your boss would know you viewed their profile is if they happen to notice it listed in the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” section. However, this section only shows the last 90 days of profile views, and does not specify dates or times.
Can Your Boss See Your LinkedIn Network?
Your boss can only see your connections if your settings allow it. By default, your connections are visible to others. However, you can customize this in your profile settings:
On desktop:
- Go to your profile and click “More” next to the Connections section.
- Under “Select who can see your connections”, choose an option:
- Your connections only
- Your connections and their connections
- Everyone
On mobile:
- Tap the “Me” icon at the bottom right.
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Profile visibility.
- Under “Your connections”, choose:
- Only you
- Your connections
- Public
Setting your connections to be visible to “Only you” will prevent your boss from seeing them.
Can Your Boss Tell if You Visit Their LinkedIn Profile?
No, LinkedIn does not notify users when someone views their profile. The only indication the profile was viewed is if it shows up in the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” section. However, this section does not show exact dates/times, only the last 90 days. There is no way for your boss to know specifically when or how often you viewed their profile.
Can You Hide Your LinkedIn Profile From Your Boss?
Yes, you can customize your LinkedIn settings to hide your profile from your boss or specific connections. Here’s how:
On desktop:
- Go to your profile and click “More” next to the intro section.
- Under “Select who can see your profile”, choose “Private mode”.
- Toggle “Also hide from:” and add individuals you want to block.
On mobile:
- Tap the “Me” icon at the bottom right.
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Profile visibility.
- Switch the profile visibility toggle to “Off”.
- Tap “Customize” and add individuals you want to block.
This will completely hide your profile from anyone specified.
Can Your Boss See Your LinkedIn Activity?
It depends on your settings. By default, your activity is public. But you can limit what your boss sees in your activity privacy settings:
On desktop:
- Go to the “Me” icon at the top right and click “Settings & Privacy”.
- Go to “Privacy” and click “Activity and connections visibility”.
- Under “Share job changes, education changes, etc.” select “Only you”.
- Under “Likes, comments, and shares” select “Only you”.
On mobile:
- Tap your profile photo.
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Sharing your activity.
- Switch “Activity like likes, comments, and articles you share” to “No”.
This will prevent your boss from seeing any of your LinkedIn activity updates.
Can You Unconnect From Your Boss on LinkedIn?
Yes, you can remove a connection on LinkedIn to stop them from viewing your full profile and activity:
On desktop:
- Go to your connections list.
- Hover over the connection you want to remove and click “More”.
- Select “Remove connection”.
On mobile:
- Go to your profile and tap “Connections”.
- Tap on the connection you want to remove.
- Tap “Remove connection”.
Removing the connection will also remove you from your boss’s connections list.
Can You Appear Offline on LinkedIn?
No, LinkedIn does not have an “invisible” or “appear offline” setting. Your profile and activity visibility are controlled through your account settings. The closest thing to appearing offline is setting your profile to private so no one can see your activity.
Some ways to reduce your visibility include:
- Turning off notifications and recent activity timestamps.
- Removing your profile photo.
- Turning off the ability for others to comment on your posts.
But there is no way to go completely “invisible” on LinkedIn while still having an account.
Conclusion
While your boss may be able to see some of your LinkedIn activity, you can customize your privacy settings to limit their visibility. Key things like keeping your profile private, limiting your connections, and turning off activity sharing can reduce what your boss can see. However, the only way to completely prevent your boss from seeing any of your LinkedIn presence is to not have an account at all. Overall, be mindful of what you make public, and use LinkedIn’s privacy controls to your advantage.