LinkedIn is a popular professional networking platform used by millions of people worldwide. Making connections is a key part of using LinkedIn, but it raises questions around privacy – who can see your connections, and what information is shared when you connect with someone?
Quick answer
In short, your LinkedIn connections are not completely private. While your full connections list is not public, some information about your connections is visible to others, and your connections can see each other. However, you do have some control over this through your privacy settings.
What your connections can see about you
When someone connects with you on LinkedIn, they can see some limited information about your profile and activity. Here’s an overview of what your connections can view:
- Your profile information – Connections can see the details on your profile including your work history, education, skills, accomplishments etc. You can control what sections are visible to your connections.
- Your connections – They can see your shared connections but not your full list of connections.
- Your activity – They can see posts you’ve shared, articles you’ve liked, comments you’ve made etc. You can limit some of this through your activity privacy settings.
- Your updates – They see updates you post to your connections, such as new jobs or education.
So in summary, your connections have visibility into selected areas of your profile and activity, but your full connections list remains private.
What you can see about connections
Likewise, when you connect with someone, you gain access to certain information about them. Here is what you can view about your connections:
- Their profile information – You can see details about their work history, education, skills, accomplishments etc. They control what sections are visible to connections.
- Shared connections – You can see connections you have in common.
- Their activity – You can see their posts, shared articles, comments etc. limited by their privacy settings.
- Their updates – You see updates they post to their connections.
So you have visibility into selected areas of their profile and activity, but not their full list of connections.
Are my connections visible to others?
Your full list of connections is not public information. However, some information about your connections is visible outside your network:
- Shared connections – If someone is connected to one of your connections, they can see you are mutually connected.
- Profile visitors – If someone views your profile, they may see which of their connections also viewed your profile.
- Search appearances – If someone searches for your connections, you may appear as a shared connection.
So parts of your connection network are discoverable, but your full list remains private. You do have control over this visibility through your privacy settings.
Can my connections see each other?
Yes, your LinkedIn connections are also visible to and discoverable by each other. Here are the ways your connections can interact and share information:
- Shared connections – Your connections can see other connections you have in common.
- Profile viewing – Your connections can see if other connections have viewed your profile.
- Search – Your connections can find each other through searching LinkedIn.
- Posts/activity – Connections can interact with and see each other’s posts and activity.
So your connections network is not isolated – connections can find and interact with each other on LinkedIn through a variety of mechanisms.
How to control the visibility of your connections
If you want to limit the visibility of your LinkedIn connections, here are some steps you can take:
- Adjust profile visibility – Restrict which profile sections are viewable by your connections.
- Limit activity sharing – Change preferences for sharing posts, articles, updates etc.
- Customize profile viewing – Limit what connections see when they view your profile.
- Target posts – Carefully choose who can see your posts and updates.
Using available privacy controls, you can dial up or down the amount of information visible to your connections and their connections.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn connections are not completely private. Your full list of connections is not public, but your connections can see limited information about you and interact with each other. However, you do have options to control the amount of information visible through your account and privacy settings. Understanding what connections can see – and adjusting settings as needed – can help you manage your professional network and presence on LinkedIn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my LinkedIn connections see my full profile?
No, your full profile is not visible to all of your connections. When someone connects with you, they can only see limited profile information based on your privacy settings, such as your current position, education, skills, and endorsements. You can control exactly which sections they can access. They cannot see your full profile unless you change the visibility settings.
Can I see the full profiles of my LinkedIn connections?
No, you can only view limited profile information for your connections as well. You will be able to see details like their current job, education, skills, and endorsements, but you won’t have access to their full profile views. The visibility depends on their own privacy settings.
Is my LinkedIn network completely private from people not connected to me?
No, some information is still publicly visible. While your full list of connections is private, 3rd degree connections and profile viewers may still be able to see some details and connections in common. But the majority of your connections information will not be accessible to the public.
Can I choose which parts of my profile are visible to my connections?
Yes, you can customize exactly which profile sections are visible to your LinkedIn connections. Under settings, go to the “Privacy” section. Here you can set visibility for sections like your education, positions, skills, accomplishments, interests etc. You can make sections public, visible to only connections, or private.
Can I prevent my connections from seeing my activity and posts?
You have some control over this as well. Under privacy settings, go to the “Sharing profile edits” and “Activity broadcasts” sections. Here you can limit which activity like posts, article likes, comments etc. is shared with your network. You can also adjust visibility settings when making individual posts.
Table showing key information about LinkedIn connection visibility
Information Type | Visible to 1st Connections? | Visible to 2nd Connections? | Visible to Public? |
---|---|---|---|
Full connections list | No | No | No |
Shared connections | Yes | Yes | No |
Profile details | Limited | No | No |
Activity/posts | Limited | No | No |
Updates | Yes | No | No |
Can my competitors or colleagues see my LinkedIn network?
They cannot see your full connections list, but may have visibility into parts of your network. For example, they may be able to see shared connections you have in common, or see that contacts mutual connections viewed your profile. But your entire list of connections will remain private unless you choose to reveal it. You can also further limit visibility of your connections through your account settings.
Is there a way to check what my connections can see?
Yes, LinkedIn provides a couple options to check your visibility from your connections’ point of view:
- “View As” – You can toggle a view as perspective to see your profile as a connection sees it.
- “Privacy Checkup” – Review and adjust privacy settings for what different audiences can see.
- “Activity checklist” – Get an overview of visibility of your recent activity.
Using these tools, you can proactively audit and adjust the information connections have access to.
What steps can I take if I want my network to be completely private?
It’s difficult to make your LinkedIn connections 100% private, but you can take steps to restrict visibility:
- Connect only with contacts you trust. Be selective about who you add.
- Customize privacy settings to limit profile, activity, and visibility views.
- Be selective in what activity you share publicly vs privately.
- Use anonymous mode to view profiles without it showing to connections.
- Block specific connections from seeing your activity.
Combining these steps will help maximize the privacy of your connections and limit exposure to your network.
Best Practices for LinkedIn Connection Privacy
Managing privacy for your LinkedIn connections involves being mindful in a few key areas:
Be selective with connections
Carefully consider who you allow into your extended network. Keep it focused on contacts you want to collaborate with versus build an indiscriminate list of connections.
Customize visibility settings
Use available privacy controls to limit visibility of your profile details, activity, shares and updates with your network.
Be discreet in sharing updates
Avoid oversharing personal or confidential information via posts and updates to your connections network.
Manage company profiles
Monitor whether you need to unlink your personal profile from current/past company pages.
Check your visibility
Regularly audit what your profile and activity looks like from your connections’ perspective.
Leverage account security
Use two-factor authentication and strong passwords to help prevent unauthorized access.
Be aware of policy changes
Stay updated on evolving LinkedIn privacy controls in case further customization is needed.
Disconnect dormant contacts
Prune stale connections that you are no longer actively collaborating or engaging with.
Conclusion
In summary, while LinkedIn connections are not completely private, you do have multiple options as a user to take control of the visibility and reach of your network. By understanding what is shared by default, customizing privacy configurations, and being selective in how you engage your connections, you can find the right balance of leveraging LinkedIn while still maintaining boundaries.
Ongoing awareness and proactive management of your settings and activity can enable you to maximize the benefits of connecting professionally on LinkedIn, without compromising your preferred level of privacy.