LinkedIn is one of the most popular professional social networking sites, with over 575 million users worldwide. On LinkedIn, users create professional profiles to network, connect with others in their industry, search for jobs, and more. An important part of networking on LinkedIn is messaging – connecting directly with other users via LinkedIn’s messaging system.
But can everyone see when you send a message to someone on LinkedIn? The short answer is no, your messages are private. However, there are a few caveats to understand about LinkedIn’s messaging system and privacy settings.
Direct Messages are Private
When you send a direct message to another LinkedIn member, the contents of that message are private and confidential. Only you and the recipient can see the messages you exchange.
Unlike some other social networks like Twitter or Facebook, LinkedIn does not have a public messaging system. Everything you communicate via direct messaging remains exclusively between you and the other person.
So if you’re messaging someone to network, ask for career advice, or discuss business opportunities, you can feel secure that your conversations are not visible to anyone else on LinkedIn.
No Notification When You Message Someone
In addition to message contents being private, there is no public notification when you send a message to someone on LinkedIn. Others will not see any alert or announcement that you messaged another user.
The recipient is the only one who will be notified of your new message. Sending a message does not post or indicate anything on your profile, their profile, or news feeds for others to see.
This allows you to discreetly reach out to new connections and network without broadcasting it to all of LinkedIn.
Messaging History Visible to Sender and Recipient
While the contents of messages are private, you and the recipient will each see a history of your messaging thread. You can look back at past messages sent and received between each other.
So if you want to erase all record of a conversation, you would need to manually delete the messages from your inbox. But again, this history is not public or visible to anyone else.
Some Visibility Settings to Be Aware Of
As mentioned above, direct messaging on LinkedIn is fundamentally private. However, there are some related visibility settings worth noting:
Profile Settings
In your account settings, you can control who can send you messages directly. The options are:
- Your Connections
- Anyone on LinkedIn
If you only want to receive messages from people connected to your network, choose the “Connections” setting. But this will block unconnected LinkedIn members from messaging you.
Receiving InMail Messages
LinkedIn also has a premium messaging system called InMail, which lets you message anyone (even if you’re not connected). There are a couple settings related to InMails to note:
- As the sender, your 1st-degree connections will see that you sent an InMail to someone, but not the contents.
- As the recipient, you can control whether your connections are notified when you receive an InMail from an unconnected person.
So InMails have slightly more visibility than regular direct messages. But the contents remain private in all cases.
“Active” and “Seen” Receipts
Finally, depending on your message settings, the sender may be able to see if you:
- “Actively read” their message (opened it)
- “Seen” their message (it reached your inbox)
You can toggle these receipts on/off in your settings. But again, the contents themselves are not visible.
Best Practices for Messaging on LinkedIn
To recap, here are some best practices for privately and effectively messaging on LinkedIn:
- Remember that message content remains exclusively between you and the recipient.
- Be aware that messaging history can be retained – delete conversations if needed.
- Adjust inbox settings if you only want to receive messages from connections.
- Know that InMails have some visibility compared to regular messages.
- Disable “read” receipts if you want to message more discreetly.
Conclusion
LinkedIn prioritizes privacy for direct messaging between members. While there are certain visibility controls, the contents of your conversations remain private. This allows for more open and confidential networking compared to other social platforms.
As LinkedIn continues to grow its messaging capabilities, it’s important to understand how your conversations and connections are protected on the platform. But in general, you can feel secure directly messaging other members without your conversations being seen by others across the LinkedIn network.
