Quick Answer
Yes, it is possible to unpublish your LinkedIn page so that it is no longer visible to other users on the platform. To unpublish your profile, go to your account settings and select “Make account private”. This will remove your profile and activity from being searchable or viewable by other members. However, some content may still be visible.
Overview
LinkedIn allows users to create professional profiles that can be viewed by others on the platform. This allows you to build your professional brand, connect with other professionals, and find new opportunities.
However, there may be times when you want to unpublish your LinkedIn profile so that it is no longer publicly visible. Common reasons for unpublishing include:
- Looking for a new job and not wanting your current employer to know
- Starting your own business and separating it from your past employment
- Wanting to take a break from networking and LinkedIn in general
- Concerns over privacy or no longer wanting details public
The good news is LinkedIn does provide an option to easily unpublish your profile page. Here is more detail on how it works and what to expect if you unpublish your LinkedIn profile.
How To Unpublish Your LinkedIn Profile
Unpublishing your LinkedIn page is a simple process that can be done in a few steps:
- Login to your LinkedIn account and go to your profile page
- Click on the “More” icon in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy”
- In the Privacy tab, click on “Change” next to “Profile viewing options”
- Under profile viewing options, switch the toggle to “Make my profile only visible to people I’ve approved”
- Save the changes
Once you toggle your profile to only be visible to connections you’ve approved, your profile will instantly become unpublished. Other LinkedIn members will no longer be able to find or view your profile in searches or elsewhere on LinkedIn.
Things To Know About Unpublishing
Here are some key things to understand about what happens when you unpublish your LinkedIn profile:
- Your profile and activity will no longer appear in LinkedIn search results or be viewable by other members.
- You can still log in and access your LinkedIn account.
- Any content you’ve shared, such as posts or articles, will also become private.
- Your connections can still see your profile and activity.
- You can re-publish your profile at any time by reversing the profile viewing settings.
Essentially, unpublished profiles remain visible to your existing connections but become private and inaccessible to everyone else on LinkedIn.
Limitations of Unpublishing Your Profile
While unpublishing your profile makes it private, some elements still remain publicly visible even after unpublishing:
- Your name, headline, and profile photo may still appear in Google search results for some time until fully deindexed.
- Any content you have commented on or engaged with can still be seen.
- You will remain visible as a connection in your connections’ profiles unless they remove you.
- Any groups you are a member of and your activity within those groups can still be seen.
- Any messages between you and your connections will remain visible to both parties.
So while unpublishing removes your full profile from view, you still leave traces that determined LinkedIn members may be able to find. Fully deleting your account is the only way to remove your presence from LinkedIn entirely.
Impact of Unpublishing Your Profile
What happens when you unpublish your LinkedIn profile? Here are some of the impacts:
Limited Networking Ability
Since your profile becomes private, it severely limits your ability to connect and network with new people. You can only interact with existing connections. This means you miss out on opportunities to expand your network.
Decreased Engagement
With your profile hidden, any content you post won’t be distributed or engage your network nearly as much without the public element. You lose out on likes, comments, and other engagement.
Can’t Be Discovered by Recruiters
One of the main benefits of LinkedIn is being discovered by recruiters and hiring managers for new job opportunities. By unpublishing your profile, you are no longer visible for these key connections.
No Public Professional Branding
Your LinkedIn profile serves as your professional brand and presence on the platform. By unpublishing it, you are no longer able to build your brand with a public presence.
Limits Some LinkedIn Features
Certain LinkedIn features may be limited or unavailable with an unpublished profile, such as public content distribution and analytics. However, core messaging and connection features remain.
Pros of Unpublishing Your Profile
While unpublishing your profile has some drawbacks, there are advantages in some situations:
- More Privacy – Limits personal/professional details being public
- Control Exposure – Manages perceptions while job searching, starting a business, etc.
- Reduced Inbound Recruiting – Can minimize distracting recruitment messages
- Take a Break – Can step back from LinkedIn without fully leaving
- Manage Connections – Only allow access to approved connections
For times when you want to limit your public presence but maintain private access, unpublishing can be beneficial.
Alternatives to Unpublishing Your Profile
If you want to keep your profile public but with limited details, there are alternatives to unpublishing that allow for more control:
- Modify profile settings – You can tweak what sections are visible.
- Update your headline and summary – Change it to something vague or anonymous.
- Alter experience details – Keep company names but change roles and dates.
- Expand or shrink network – Control who can view you through connections.
- Use privacy settings – Limit profile visibility and inbound requests.
Tweaking your profile allows you to remain public while managing how much is visible. However, ultimately unpublishing is the only way to fully remove it from public view.
What Happens If You Unpublish and Republish?
One of the benefits of unpublishing your LinkedIn profile is that you can reverse it at any time. If you unpublish your profile but later choose to republish it, here is what will happen:
- Your profile will become fully visible again to all LinkedIn members.
- Pending connection requests will be re-activated so you can accept/ignore them.
- Any new content you post will be distributed to your network again.
- Search engines like Google will re-crawl and index your public profile.
- Recruiters can once again find you for new job opportunities.
- Groups that you are a member of become publicly visible.
Republishing restores all the public elements of your profile. One thing that does not change is your existing connections remain approved to view your profile, even when republished.
Conclusion
Unpublishing your LinkedIn profile allows you to private your professional presence and control how you are viewed by others. While beneficial in some situations, it does limit networking, branding, and opportunity creation.
Carefully consider if unpublishing is your best option or if you can achieve your goals by modifying profile details instead. Keep in mind unpublishing can easily be reversed if you ever want to make your profile public again. Evaluate the pros and cons to decide if unpublishing is right for your specific needs.
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Key Takeaways
- You can unpublish your LinkedIn profile through your account settings.
- An unpublished profile becomes private but still active for your connections.
- Search engines, recruiters, and general public can no longer access it.
- Some elements remain partially public even when unpublished.
- Evaluate the tradeoffs to decide if unpublishing is right for you.