LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 800 million members globally. As a professional networking site, LinkedIn allows users to make connections, search for jobs, find potential clients, read industry news, and more. While LinkedIn can be a valuable career and business tool, some users may occasionally want to take a break from the platform without fully deleting their account.
Deactivating a LinkedIn account temporarily suspends the profile and removes the user’s name and photo from search results. The account remains dormant but intact, giving the user the option to reactivate it in the future. Here is what you need to know about deactivating and reactivating a LinkedIn account.
Can You Deactivate a LinkedIn Account?
Yes, LinkedIn allows users to temporarily deactivate their accounts if they wish to take a break from the platform. Deactivating an account is different from permanently deleting it – with deactivation the account still exists in LinkedIn’s system but enters a dormant state.
Some key things to know about deactivating a LinkedIn account:
- The user’s profile and network connections remain intact but become hidden
- The user’s name and photo are removed from search results
- The user can no longer interact with connections or access LinkedIn services
- Notifications are paused
- The account can be easily reactivated at any time
Deactivating provides an alternative to completely closing an account for those who think they may eventually want to use LinkedIn again. It avoids having to rebuild connections and profile details if the user later wishes to return to the platform.
How to Deactivate a LinkedIn Account
Deactivating a LinkedIn account is simple and can be done directly through the account settings:
- Log into your LinkedIn account on the desktop site
- In the top right, click on the Me icon (your profile picture)
- Select Settings & Privacy from the dropdown menu
- On the left side panel, choose Account preferences
- Under the Account management section, click on Deactivate your account
- On the pop-up, choose if you want to provide feedback about why you are deactivating (optional)
- Enter your LinkedIn password to confirm account deactivation
- Select Deactivate
Once you go through this process, your account will immediately enter a deactivated state. You will be logged out and will no longer be able to access your profile or LinkedIn services.
What Happens When You Deactivate LinkedIn?
Here is what happens after you deactivate a LinkedIn account:
- Your profile is hidden – it will not show up in searches or feeds
- Your connections will no longer see your name or updates in their feeds
- You will stop receiving notifications from LinkedIn
- You are unable to send or receive messages
- You cannot invite new connections, update your profile, post content, or use other LinkedIn features
- Your account data remains in LinkedIn’s system but enters a dormant state
- Your profile URL remains live, but redirects to a deactivated page if clicked
Essentially, deactivating makes your account invisible and inaccessible to you and others on LinkedIn. However, it remains recoverable if you later opt to reactivate it.
How Long Does Deactivation Last?
There is no time limit on how long a LinkedIn account can remain deactivated. Your account will stay dormant until you actively reactivate it. Some key points:
- LinkedIn does not automatically reactivate deactivated accounts after a certain period of time
- Accounts remain deactivated indefinitely unless the user chooses to reactivate
- You can reactivate your account immediately after deactivating or years later – whenever you choose
- Your account data and connections remain saved in LinkedIn’s system during deactivation
In summary, a deactivated LinkedIn account persists in a dormant state unless and until the account holder decides to reactivate it.
Should You Delete or Deactivate LinkedIn?
When considering taking a break from LinkedIn, users must decide whether to permanently delete their account or temporarily deactivate it. Here is a comparison:
| Delete Account | Deactivate Account |
|---|---|
| Account removed entirely from LinkedIn | Account remains in LinkedIn’s system |
| All profile data and connections permanently erased | Profile data and connections preserved |
| Unable to recover account or data in future | Able to fully restore account |
| Must create new account from scratch if return to LinkedIn | Simply reactivate existing account |
| Permanent action | Temporary action |
In most cases, deactivating is preferable if you think you may eventually resume using LinkedIn. It avoids losing your network and the effort of recreating your profile later.
Reasons to Deactivate Instead of Deleting
- Want option to restore your account seamlessly
- Maintain profile details, connections, and messaging history
- Temporary break from LinkedIn but may return
- Preserve account data in case needed for legal/compliance reasons
Reasons to Permanently Delete
- No possibility of returning to LinkedIn in future
- Privacy concerns – want permanent erasure from system
- Will join a competing platform instead
- LinkedIn account no longer required professionally
Overall, deactivating provides more flexibility if your break from LinkedIn may be temporary. But deleting the account entirely may suit those who are moving on permanently.
Can You Reactivate a LinkedIn Account?
Yes, reactivating a deactivated LinkedIn account is simple. All of your profile data, connections, and account history remain saved in LinkedIn’s system during deactivation. So restoring your account is straightforward.
To reactivate your LinkedIn account:
- Go to LinkedIn.com and log in with your account credentials
- You will see a prompt confirming your account is deactivated and giving you the option to reactivate
- Click on “Reactivate your account” to initiate reactivation
- LinkedIn will send a confirmation email to your associated email address
- Click on the reactivation link in the confirmation email
- You will be logged back into your account, now fully reactivated
Once your account is reactivated, everything will be just as it was before deactivation – including your connections, job history, profile details, messages, and more. It is as if you never left!
What Happens When Reactivating LinkedIn
Here is what to expect when reactivating a deactivated LinkedIn account:
- Your profile visibility returns – name/photo show in searches
- Connections see your updates again in their feeds
- Resume receiving LinkedIn notifications
- Regain full access to all LinkedIn services
- Able to message connections and post updates again
- Previous profile data and history intact
In effect, restoring your account brings it out of dormancy and back to an active state, as it was before deactivation.
How Many Times Can You Deactivate and Reactivate LinkedIn?
There is no official limit to how many times you can deactivate and reactivate the same LinkedIn account. You can go through the deactivate/reactivate cycle multiple times.
However, excessive repeated deactivation and reactivation in a short span may trigger monitoring for suspicious activity. Some guidelines:
- Most users do not deactivate/reactivate more than once per year
- Allow at least 3-6 months between each deactivate/reactivate cycle
- Keep total deactivations under 3-5 per year to avoid risk of restriction
While an occasional deactivate/reactivate is fine, doing it frequently or repetitively may lead LinkedIn to suspend privileges or restrict access. Use common sense when deactivating and reactivating repeatedly.
What Happens if You Deactivate LinkedIn for Years?
Even if you deactivate your LinkedIn account for an extended period of years, you can still reactivate it and restore your profile seamlessly. For example:
- Deactivate LinkedIn in 2022, do not use it for 5 years
- Reactivate account in 2027 using original credentials
- Profile, connections, messages from 2022 still there
Because deactivated accounts remain safely stored in LinkedIn’s systems, you can recover your account even after many years. Your data persists during deactivation.
However, very old connections and past job entries may no longer be relevant after a hiatus of 5+ years. You may want to review and update your profile after a long deactivation.
Tips for Reactivation After Prolonged Deactivation
- Delete obsolete connections that you no longer recognize or interact with
- Remove or refresh outdated work history entries
- Add new positions, skills, volunteer work, certifications
- Update profile summary, headline, interests
- Expand network by inviting new connections
Though your account data remains, refreshing your profile helps revive your presence after returning from an extended deactivation.
Can a Deactivated LinkedIn Account be Hacked?
Yes, there is a possibility someone could try hacking into a deactivated LinkedIn account. Because the account still exists and contains personal data, it remains an attractive target for hackers.
Some ways hackers may gain access to a deactivated account:
- Guessing or resetting your password via the password recovery option
- Accessing your account if you stay logged into LinkedIn on a device
- Using malware or spyware to capture login credentials
- Exploiting security vulnerabilities to bypass sign-in protections
To minimize risk, it is best to:
- Use a strong, unique password for your LinkedIn account
- Implement two-factor authentication for extra security
- Never save LinkedIn login details on shared devices
- Clear browsing data/cookies when using public computers
While deactivated accounts remain at risk, robust security practices can help safeguard your dormant account.
Can You Tell if Someone Has Logged Into Your Deactivated Account?
Unfortunately, once an account is deactivated, LinkedIn no longer sends notifications about logins or other activity. So you may not know if someone gains access in your absence.
However, there are a few signs that could indicate your deactivated account was accessed:
- Profile changes during deactivation period
- New connections added or others deleted/blocked
- Suspicious messages sent to your connections
- Login location changes (check account activity)
Review your profile thoroughly after a long deactivation to spot any unusual changes. Report anything suspicious to LinkedIn right away.
Does a Deactivated LinkedIn Account Show on Google?
After deactivating your LinkedIn account, your public profile should no longer appear in Google search results. For example, searching your name should not bring up your LinkedIn profile.
However, pages you are mentioned on and some cached historical results may still show briefly. Give it a few weeks for search engines to refresh their indexes after deactivation.
Can You See Who Viewed Your Profile if Account is Deactivated?
No, LinkedIn’s profile view data does not persist if you deactivate your account. When reactivated, your profile views and other analytics will start accumulating again from zero.
You lose all visibility into who viewed your profile during the deactivated period. The data is essentially reset.
Conclusion
Deactivating your LinkedIn account provides a simple way to temporarily pause your presence while keeping your profile intact. Unlike deletion, deactivation preserves your connections, profile details, and account history – allowing you to restore your account seamlessly if you choose to return to LinkedIn.
To keep your dormant account secure, use strong credentials and authentication methods. Avoid excessive deactivate/reactivate cycles, and beware that some account activity may go undetected while deactivated. Overall, deactivation gives LinkedIn users a flexible option for stepping away temporarily if they need a professional networking break.