LinkedIn has become one of the most popular social media platforms for professionals to network, connect, and search for jobs or employees. With over 722 million users worldwide as of 2022, LinkedIn offers a wealth of opportunities to expand your professional network and increase your online presence. However, many users wonder about their privacy on the platform – specifically, whether someone can tell if you’ve viewed their profile while browsing in private or incognito mode.
What is private browsing?
Most major web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge offer a private or incognito browsing mode. When you enable this mode, your browsing history, cookies, site data, and other traces of your online activity are not saved on your device once you close the private window. Any downloads or bookmarks you make will remain, but the sites you visited will not be logged in your history or accessible via autofill. Essentially, private browsing allows you to surf the web anonymously and privately without your activity being visible to others who may use or access the same device.
Benefits of private browsing
There are several key benefits to using private or incognito mode when browsing:
- Your browsing history is not recorded, so others who use the device cannot see what sites you visited.
- Websites cannot track your activity via cookies, so you avoid targeted advertising.
- You can sign into accounts without saving login information or autofill data.
- Your searches, activity, and information entered on sites is immediately deleted after closing the window.
- You can access blocked or restricted sites at schools or workplaces that filter content.
- Your browsing activity is kept private from ISPs or network administrators.
Overall, private browsing gives you enhanced privacy, anonymity, and control over your web activity. Many users take advantage of it for sensitive browsing when they want to minimize traces of their online presence.
Can someone see if you viewed their LinkedIn profile in private mode?
When it comes to LinkedIn specifically, the question is whether someone can tell if you’ve looked at their profile while in private browsing mode. The short answer is no – viewing someone’s public LinkedIn profile in private or incognito mode does not notify them or show up as a profile view.
How profile views work on LinkedIn
To understand why private browsing prevents profile views from being tracked, it helps to know how LinkedIn counts profile views:
- LinkedIn tracks profile views based on cookies stored in your browser.
- Each time you view someone’s profile while logged into your LinkedIn account, it increments their profile view count if you have not viewed it recently.
- These cookies allow LinkedIn to remember that you viewed the profile and avoid counting duplicate views.
When you use private browsing, cookies are not stored on your device. Each time you search for or click on someone’s profile in a private window, it’s as if you are viewing it for the first time. Without the cookies to track a profile view, it does not get counted and the person will not know you viewed their profile.
Other privacy settings on LinkedIn
In addition to using private browsing, LinkedIn has other privacy settings that determine what information is visible about your activity:
- Profile viewing options: You can configure who can see that you viewed their profile – your connections only, all LinkedIn members, or no one.
- Last active timestamp: Choose whether your connections see your last active time on LinkedIn.
- Viewers of this post: Select if you want to show who viewed posts you share on LinkedIn.
- Advertising preferences: Opt out of personalized ads to stop activity tracking.
Enabling these settings maximizes your privacy so others see minimal data about your browsing on LinkedIn. They complement private browsing as tools to mask your digital footprint.
Scenarios: Viewing profiles on LinkedIn using private browsing
To demonstrate how private browsing prevents LinkedIn profile views, here are some real-world examples:
Searching for connections
If you want to browse the profiles of your existing connections without them knowing, use private mode. When you search their name and click on their profile, they will not receive the notification that you viewed their profile. This allows you to discreetly look up their employment history, education, skills, and other details they have added.
Researching a company or employees
Doing background research on a potential employer? Looking up key executives at a company you want to learn more about? Private browsing lets you stealthily view their profiles and activity without leaving a footprint. As long as you do not directly connect with them, they have no indication you searched their name or viewed their profile.
Job searching anonymously
Many job hunters browse LinkedIn profiles of hiring managers and recruiters at companies they want to apply to in order to make a good impression and stand out. In private mode, you can look up key people and analyze their backgrounds without signaling to them that you did.
Checking someone’s updates
Has it been awhile since you caught up with an old colleague or acquaintance? Open a private window and search their name to view their profile and activity feed. You can scroll through their updates, new roles, shared posts, and media without them knowing you peeked.
Viewing posts anonymously
Want to read articles, discussions, and trends happening across your wider network without engagement? Private browsing allows you to lurk posts and content anonymously without leaving reactions, comments, or an indication you saw them.
Limitations of private browsing
While private browsing prevents LinkedIn profile views from being logged, there are some limitations:
- You must remain logged out of your LinkedIn account – being logged in will associate views with your account.
- Any direct interactions will still show activity from your account.
- Premium account holders can see who viewed their profile over the past 90 days.
- Paid Sales Navigator accounts can see who viewed their profile, regardless of private browsing.
As long as you stay logged out and avoid direct connections, messaging, or notifications, private browsing allows you to surreptitiously search and view profiles without detection.
Best practices for private browsing
Follow these tips to maximize your anonymity when viewing LinkedIn profiles in private mode:
- Log out of LinkedIn – Do not sign into your account while in a private window.
- Open a new incognito window – Use a fresh private browsing session for each person you search.
- Avoid interactions – Be careful not to like, comment on, or share their posts.
- Clear cookies frequently – Manually clear cookies to eliminate any potential tracking.
- Use a VPN – Mask your IP address and location with a virtual private network.
- Beware of shared devices – Device caches may record some activity.
Conclusion
Viewing LinkedIn profiles privately without the user being notified is possible by using your browser’s incognito or private browsing mode. This prevents LinkedIn from setting profile view cookies, stopping the view from being logged. However, you must remain logged out of LinkedIn, avoid direct interactions, and be vigilant against potential tracking methods. Overall, private browsing allows discreet searching and viewing of profiles without leaving a digital trail.
