Can I change the email on my LinkedIn profile?

Quick Answer

Yes, it is possible to change the email address associated with your LinkedIn profile. However, changing your email on LinkedIn can be a bit tricky. Here are the key things to know about changing your LinkedIn email:

• You need to add the new email address to your LinkedIn profile first before you can make it your primary email.
• You can only change your email address once every 60 days.
• Verify your new email address when you add it to your profile.
• Go to your account settings to make the new email primary after it’s been verified and added to your profile.
• Your existing email address will become an alternate email address.

So in summary, you’ll need to add the new address, verify it, then switch it to primary in your account settings. It’s a multi-step process and there is a 60 waiting period before you can change it again.

Adding a New Email to Your LinkedIn Profile

The first step to changing your LinkedIn email is to add the new email address to your profile. Here is how to do that:

1. Go to your profile page and click “View profile” to edit your profile.
2. Scroll down and click “Contact info.”
3. Under “Email addresses” click the “+” icon to add a new email address.
4. Type in your new email address and click “Add”.

Once you add the new email address, LinkedIn will send a verification email to that address. Click the verification link in the email to confirm that you own that email.

You need to verify the email before you can make it your primary email for LinkedIn.

Verifying Your New Email Address

Here are the steps to verify your new email address after adding it:

1. Go check the email inbox for the new email address you just added.
2. Open the verification email from LinkedIn.
3. Click the verification link in the email.
4. A page will open on LinkedIn indicating your email has been verified.

Once verified, the new email will display a “verified” icon on your profile page. Verification is required before you can make it your primary email.

Making Your New Email Primary

After you’ve added and verified the new email, you can change it to your primary email through your account settings:

1. Click on your profile picture and select “Settings & Privacy”.
2. Go to the “Email” section.
3. Under “Primary Email Address” click the dropdown menu.
4. Select your new verified email to make it primary.
5. Click “Save Changes” at the bottom.

Your previous primary email will now become an alternate email address on your account.

Keep in mind you can only change your primary email once every 60 days on LinkedIn. So choose carefully!

What Happens to Your Old Email Address?

When you change your primary email on LinkedIn, your old email doesn’t disappear – it just becomes an alternate email for your profile.

Here’s what happens to your old primary email when you switch it:

• It remains associated with your profile as an alternate email address.
• You can still sign in with your old email.
• Emails from LinkedIn will start going to your new primary email.

So your old primary email basically switches over to become a secondary, alternate email on your account.

How Long Does it Take to Change Your Email?

Changing your LinkedIn email address can take a few days to fully take effect. Here is the timeline:

• Adding new email – Instant
• Verifying new email – Usually instant after clicking verification link.
• Making new email primary – Instant
• Seeing changes across LinkedIn – 24-48 hours

While making the actual email change is immediate, it takes 1-2 days for the new primary email to fully propagate across all of LinkedIn’s systems and apps.

So if you don’t see your new email reflected everywhere right away, give it a day or two.

Does Changing Your Email Affect Your Connections?

Changing your primary email address does not affect your LinkedIn connections or network in any way.

Here is what happens to your profile when you change emails:

• Your profile URL remains the same.
• All your connections remain intact.
• You remain a member of the same groups.
• You still follow the same companies.

The only thing that changes is which email address is considered your “primary” login email for LinkedIn.

So you can change your LinkedIn email without having to start over or impact your network!

Can You Change Your Email Back to the Old One?

If for some reason you want to change your primary email back to your old address, you can. But you have to wait 60 days before changing your primary email again.

Here are the steps to change back:

1. Make sure your old primary email is still associated as an alternate email.
2. Wait 60 days from the last primary email change.
3. Go to LinkedIn Settings and switch primary email back to the old one.
4. Verify the old email if prompted.

Just keep in mind this 60 day waiting period every time you want to change your primary email.

Should You Update Your Email on LinkedIn?

Here are some good reasons to update your LinkedIn email address:

• You no longer have access to your old email – Updating lets you regain access to your LinkedIn account.
• Your old email was a work email – Changing to a personal email gives you ownership.
• You want recruiting emails to go to your new address.
• You’ve changed your name and want your email to match your name.

And reasons you may want to keep your old LinkedIn email:

• You still need access to that email address.
• You don’t want to break connections with existing contacts.
• It’s tied to too many other accounts to change easily.

Overall, updating your LinkedIn email to your most current, frequently used email address is recommended to stay current.

But change it cautiously since you can only change it once every 60 days!

Can You Delete an Email Address from LinkedIn?

While you can change your primary email on LinkedIn, you cannot delete email addresses from your profile altogether.

Here’s what happens when you try to “delete” an email address:

• Primary email – Cannot be deleted, only switched out for a new primary email.
• Alternate email – Can be “removed” but it is only deactivated, not permanently deleted.

Removing an alternate email merely dissociates it from your profile. But it still remains on LinkedIn’s systems.

The only true way to remove an email is to delete your entire LinkedIn account. And even then LinkedIn keeps your data in its systems.

So in summary, you cannot selectively delete email addresses from your LinkedIn profile. Both primary and alternate emails will persist in some form.

Should You Have Multiple Emails on Your LinkedIn Profile?

You can have up to three email addresses associated with your LinkedIn profile:

• 1 Primary Email
• Up to 2 Alternate Emails

Here are some cases where having multiple emails on your LinkedIn makes sense:

• You have both a personal and work email you use.
• You have an old email you may still need access to.
• You have multiple work emails from different jobs.
• You maintain professional and personal accounts.

However, having too many emails on your profile can be confusing and messy. Ideal is 1-2 max.

Only add multiple emails if you actually need ongoing access to those inboxes for professional reasons.

Can You Change Emails on a LinkedIn Company Page?

For LinkedIn Company Pages, only admins can change the primary email address by going into Company Settings:

1. Go to your Company Page.
2. Click on “Admin Tools.”
3. Go to “Email Addresses.”
4. Enter a new Primary Contact Email.
5. Click “Save Changes.”

This will update the primary notification email for your company.

Adding alternate emails or removing emails works similarly to your personal profile.

Conclusion

The key takeaways for changing your email on LinkedIn:

• Add your new email and verify it first.
• Change your primary email to the new address in Settings.
• Your old email remains as an alternate address.
• You can only change your primary email every 60 days.
• Changing emails doesn’t affect your connections or network.

Updating your LinkedIn email keeps your account current and ensures you get important notifications. Just make sure to follow the proper steps when making the change.