Quick Answer
Yes, you can still use LinkedIn Premium for a limited time after canceling your subscription. When you cancel Premium, LinkedIn gives you access until the end of your current billing period. So if you pre-paid for a full year and cancel halfway through, you’ll still have Premium benefits for the remainder of that year.
After your access expires, you’ll revert to a free LinkedIn account. You won’t be able to use Premium features anymore unless you reactivate your subscription.
Explaining LinkedIn Premium Access After Cancellation
LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s subscription service that unlocks additional features beyond the free version of LinkedIn. With Premium, you get benefits like being able to see who viewed your profile, unlimited search filters, expanded InMail messaging, and access to online courses.
Premium is paid on either a monthly or yearly basis. When you cancel, LinkedIn does not immediately revoke your access. Instead, you retain your Premium privileges until the end of the billing period you already paid for.
Here are some examples to illustrate:
- If you pay monthly and cancel mid-month, you keep Premium for the rest of that month.
- If you pre-paid for an entire year and cancel halfway through, you keep Premium for the remaining 6 months.
- If your renewal date is coming up and you cancel before you are charged again, your access ends on your renewal date.
So in summary, canceling ends your Premium subscription going forward, but does not take away benefits you’ve already paid for through the end of your current billing period. LinkedIn continues to grant access rather than cutting you off immediately.
Using Premium Features During Cancellation Period
While you have this extended Premium access after canceling, you can continue using all the same Premium features as before. It functions identically to still having an active subscription.
Some of the key Premium features to take advantage of during this time include:
- Seeing Who Viewed Your Profile: This allows you to see the last 90 days of visitors to your profile, so you can get insights into who is looking at your profile and follow up with them.
- Unlimited Search Filters: Premium removes search filter caps, so you can deeply refine searches to laser target the profiles you want to find.
- InMail Messaging: Reach out directly to anyone on LinkedIn, even if you’re not connected. Great for recruiting.
- Online Courses & Certifications: Take LinkedIn Learning courses for professional development.
The goal is to maximize these benefits while you still can, before reverting to a standard free account when the cancellation period ends.
What Happens When Access Expires
After your Premium cancellation period concludes, your account reverts to a free LinkedIn membership. This means:
- No more seeing who viewed your profile.
- Search filters reduced to basic options.
- InMail messaging disabled unless you connect directly first.
- Online courses removed and certifications inaccessible.
- Ads return since Premium is ad-free.
Essentially, all Premium features go away. You’ll be back to a basic profile with limited search and messaging.
However, you keep your profile and network intact. Cancelling Premium doesn’t delete your account or connections. It just removes special privileges.
Reactivating LinkedIn Premium
If you change your mind after canceling Premium, you can restart your subscription at any time. Just go back into your account settings and re-enroll.
When you reactivate Premium, the features immediately turn back on. It is seamless to resume Premium privileges if you decide to subscribe again.
One thing to note – your billing cycle resets based on your new sign-up date. You don’t retain any leftover paid duration from your previous subscription.
For example, if you originally prepaid for a year, canceled after 6 months, then reactivated after 1 month, your new 12 months starts counting as soon as you re-enroll.
Avoiding Accidental Renewal
When canceling Premium, be sure to disable auto-renewal in your account settings. Otherwise, LinkedIn will automatically charge you again at the end of your current billing period.
To prevent accidentally getting billed again:
- Go to the Premium page in your account.
- Under “Auto-renewal,” switch the toggle off.
- Confirm cancellation on the pop-up.
With auto-renewal disabled, your subscription ends for good when the current period finishes. LinkedIn won’t renew and bill you without consent.
You can always toggle auto-renewal back on if you change your mind later. But turning it off avoids unwanted charges down the road.
Downsides of Losing Premium
While you can still utilize Premium during the cancellation period, be aware that reverting to a free account brings some downsides:
- Reduced visibility – fewer profile views and connection opportunities.
- Limited messaging reach – can only message 1st-degree connections.
- No insights into who’s looking at your profile.
- Frustration from fewer search filters and options.
- More ads and sponsored content in feeds.
Evaluate whether the ROI of Premium is still worth the price for you before fully cancelling. The benefits may outweigh the cost if used strategically. But if you are no longer getting value from Premium, then canceling can save you money each month.
Other Ways to Optimize a Free Account
If you do revert to the free version, here are some tips to maximize your basic LinkedIn profile:
- Craft a compelling summary and headline.
- Showcase skills, experience, and accomplishments.
- Grow your network by regularly connecting.
- Engage with content and post updates.
- Join relevant LinkedIn groups and participate.
- Follow companies to receive their updates.
- Utilize open messaging when possible.
While not as powerful as Premium, you can still build an impactful LinkedIn presence with some time and optimization using a free account.
Summary
When you cancel your LinkedIn Premium subscription, you retain access until the end of the billing period you’ve already paid for. Make the most of Premium features during this cancellation window.
Once the access period expires, your account reverts to a free version with limited functionality. At any point, you can reactive Premium if you want to resume benefits. Just be aware the billing cycle starts over.
With Premium canceled, focus on maximizing your free profile’s visibility and engagement. Or if you find you’re missing Premium perks, don’t hesitate to resubscribe and reinstate full access.
Conclusion
In summary:
- Cancelling Premium keeps benefits to end of billing period.
- Resume free account after access expires.
- Can reactivate Premium at any time.
- Disable auto-renewal to avoid unwanted renewal.
- Maximize free profile or resubscribe if you miss Premium.
Knowing how cancellation works allows you to seamlessly transition between paid and free accounts as needed. Evaluate whether Premium ROI is worthwhile for you or if free tools are sufficient. Make the most of the cancellation period and account reversion process when deciding on LinkedIn Premium.