When you post something on LinkedIn, you may be wondering who exactly will be able to see it. The visibility settings on LinkedIn can seem a bit confusing at first. The short answer is that your connections, their connections, and sometimes the general public can see your posts, depending on your settings.
In this article, we’ll go over exactly who can see your various posts and content on LinkedIn and how to control the visibility settings. Read on to learn how to manage your privacy and target your LinkedIn posts to the right audiences.
Who Can See Your LinkedIn Posts?
The visibility of your posts on LinkedIn depends on your account settings and the type of post. Here’s an overview of who can see different types of posts:
Public Profile and Posts
Your public profile is viewable by anyone on LinkedIn. This includes your name, headline, current position, education, skills, endorsements, and industry. It does not include your connections, contact info, feed, or full work experience.
Any posts you share to LinkedIn as public posts can be viewed by anyone on LinkedIn as well as search engines. Public posts appear on your profile and in the feeds of your connections. Use public posts when you want maximum visibility.
Connections’ Posts
When you post an update that is visible only to your connections, it will appear in the feeds of all your 1st-degree connections. Your 2nd and 3rd-degree connections will not see these posts.
Connections’ posts are a good option when you want to share news, ideas, or questions with your network instead of the entire LinkedIn community.
Group Posts
When you post in a LinkedIn group, it is visible to all members of that group. Your connections will also see group posts in their feeds. Group members can further share your post so that their own connections see it.
Posting in niche industry or interest groups allows you to target your messages to a more specific audience on LinkedIn.
How to Change the Visibility of Your Posts
When you share a new post on LinkedIn, you can choose who sees it by clicking the dropdown next to “Post visibility.” The options include:
Public
Everyone on or off LinkedIn can see your post. It will appear on your profile and in your connections’ feeds. Public posts may also show up on Google and other search engines.
Connections
Only your 1st-degree connections will see this post. It will appear in their feeds but not search engines or people outside of your network.
Group
Select a specific LinkedIn group to share your post with only members of that group. Your 1st-degree connections will also see it.
Selected individuals
You can enter specific LinkedIn members to send your post as a direct message. Only those individuals will be able to view the post.
Other Ways to Control Post Visibility
In addition to post visibility, LinkedIn offers other privacy controls to manage who sees your activity and content:
Turn Off Activity Broadcasts
Activity broadcasts automatically share your LinkedIn activity with your network, such as when you like or comment on a post. Turn these off and your connections won’t get notified every time you interact with content.
Anonymous Profile Viewing
Enable anonymous profile viewing in your account settings. This stops others from seeing that you visited their profile.
Restrict Profile Viewing
Adjust your settings to exclude your current connections from seeing your full profile to limit visibility. Or restrict old co-workers and classmates from seeing your full profile after you disconnect.
Private Mode
LinkedIn’s private mode lets you browse privately without alerting others that you’ve viewed their profiles or posts. It also stops notifications when you visit someone’s profile.
Who Can See Your LinkedIn Activity?
Here is a summary of what different types of LinkedIn members can view in your account:
| LinkedIn Member | What They Can See |
|---|---|
| You | Full access to all activity, posts, profile info |
| 1st Connections | Name, headline, current position, education, connections, posts set to connections |
| 2nd & 3rd Connections | Name, headline, current position, industry |
| Group Members | Posts and discussions within shared groups |
| Public Visitors | Name, headline, current position, public profile info, public posts |
As you can see, your visibility on LinkedIn ranges from full account access to just basic public profile info depending on the audience.
Tips for Managing Your LinkedIn Visibility
Here are some best practices for controlling your LinkedIn visibility:
Showcase Your Expertise Publicly
Build out your LinkedIn profile completely with skills, accomplishments, certifications, publications, volunteer work, and other content that displays your professional capabilities. This offers value whether someone is your connection or just viewing your public profile.
Be Selective About Connections
Don’t connect with just anyone on LinkedIn. Build relationships with those you know and trust so that your private connections’ posts don’t go to unintended audiences.
Use Targeted Posts
Toggle your post visibility setting based on your goals. Want feedback from your network? Stick to connections-only posts. Hoping to establish thought leadership? Share insight publicly.
Restrict Old Connections
When you leave a company or disengage with certain connections, use the relationship settings to limit their visibility into your full profile and activity.
Be Wary of Public Sharing
Think carefully before posting anything publicly that you wouldn’t want spread widely or viewed out of context. Keep personal details, controversial opinions, and confidential information out of public posts.
Conclusion
Mastering LinkedIn’s visibility controls allows you to engage on the platform while still maintaining your privacy. Be strategic about what you share and with whom. Use targeted posts, anonymous browsing, private mode, and profile restrictions to deter unwanted attention.
With the right balance of open professional sharing and limited personal visibility, you can derive maximum value from LinkedIn for your career while minimizing risks. Keep your connections and activity broadcasts limited to trusted relations only. Think carefully before interacting publicly or enabling full profile views.
While profiles and public posts are visible to all, you can still control what you share and with whom by using LinkedIn’s robust privacy tools. Restrict old connections, use private mode, limit activity broadcasts, and toggle visibility settings on your posts. That way you can focus your sharing for the right audiences.
With these tips in mind, you can feel confident posting and engaging on LinkedIn knowing exactly who can see your content. Use the platform’s privacy controls to your advantage as you expand your professional network.
Key Takeaways:
– Your public profile is viewable by all LinkedIn members but your connections and feed remain private.
– Post visibility can be restricted to connections only, groups only, public, or private messages.
– Identity and activity are more private via anonymous browsing, restricted profiles, and disabling notifications.
– Be cautious about sharing personal opinions publicly or granting profile access to old contacts.
– Balance public professional branding with targeted private sharing using LinkedIn’s tools.
