Can you delete LinkedIn messages without them knowing?

LinkedIn is a popular professional networking platform used by millions of people around the world. On LinkedIn, users can connect with other professionals, join groups, follow companies, and send direct messages to other members. However, sometimes you may want to delete a message you’ve sent to another LinkedIn member without them being aware that the message has been removed.

Can you actually delete LinkedIn messages?

Yes, it is possible to delete messages you have sent to other LinkedIn members. However, the process is not straightforward and there are some limitations.

LinkedIn does not provide a built-in option to delete messages. However, there is a workaround that allows you to remove messages from your own inbox – this makes the message disappear from your view but does not delete it from the recipient’s inbox.

Here are the steps to delete a sent LinkedIn message from your inbox:

1. Open the conversation thread containing the message you want to delete.
2. Hover over the message and click the three dots icon to open the menu.
3. Select “Report/Delete this message”.
4. Choose “Delete this message from my inbox”

This will remove the message from your view, but it will still be visible in the recipient’s inbox unless they also delete it themselves.

Does deleting a message remove it from the recipient’s inbox?

No, unlike other social media platforms, deleting a sent message on LinkedIn does not remove it from the recipient’s inbox.

When you delete a message you’ve sent, it only gets removed from your inbox view. The recipient can still see the full conversation thread, including the message you deleted.

There is no way to forcibly delete a message from someone else’s inbox on LinkedIn. You can only remove it from your own view.

Will the recipient get a notification if you delete a message?

No, deleting a sent message does not trigger any notification or alert to the recipient.

From the recipient’s perspective, the conversation thread will appear unchanged. Unless they think to look for a missing message, they likely won’t even know a message was deleted.

Can you recover a deleted message?

Unfortunately, once you delete a sent message on LinkedIn, there is no built-in way to recover or retrieve it either for yourself or the recipient.

The message is permanently removed from your inbox and view. However, since the recipient still has access to the message in their inbox, you could ask them to send it back to you if needed.

Is there a time limit to delete a sent message?

No, there does not appear to be any time limit on when you can delete a sent LinkedIn message from your own inbox after sending it.

You should be able to delete a weeks- or months-old message the same way you would delete a recent one. As long as you still have access to the message thread, you can delete your messages from your view at any time.

Pro tips for deleting LinkedIn messages

If you want to delete a LinkedIn message without leaving a trace, here are some tips:

• Screenshot the message before you delete it. This preserves a copy in case you need to refer back to the content later.
• Consider downloading your full LinkedIn data archive. Deleted messages may still be included in the archive files.
• Delete the message from the recipient’s inbox too. Ask them to delete the message so it’s gone from both your inboxes.
• Request the recipient to screenshot or forward your message back to you before deleting it if you may need the content again later.

Ethical concerns around deleting messages

While you can technically delete LinkedIn messages to remove them from your own view, doing so raises some ethical questions:

• Is it misleading to delete a message after the fact without notifying the recipient?
• Do you lose credibility by trying to cover up a message trail?
• Is removing messages dishonest if they reflect badly on you later?
• Is it harmful to the recipient if you delete messages containing important information?

In general, for transparency and ethics, it’s better not to send messages you may later feel the need to delete and cover up. But the capability exists if you really need it.

Conclusion

To summarize the key points:

• You can delete sent LinkedIn messages from your own inbox but not the recipient’s.
• The recipient will not be notified or alerted when you delete a message.
• Deleted LinkedIn messages cannot be recovered once removed from your inbox.
• There’s no time limit for deleting old messages from your inbox.
• Ethical issues exist around deleting messages without the recipient’s knowledge.

So in the end, yes you can delete LinkedIn messages to remove them from your sent items. But the messages will still be visible to the recipients unless they also delete them. There is no way to forcibly or secretly remove a LinkedIn message completely after sending it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you delete a LinkedIn message after being read?

Yes, you can delete a LinkedIn message from your inbox after it has been read by the recipient. However, it will still appear in the recipient’s message history unless they also delete it.

Do deleted LinkedIn messages disappear from search engines?

No, deleting a LinkedIn message does not remove it from search engine caches or indexes. The message content may still be findable via Google or other search engines until the cache refreshes.

Can LinkedIn admins or mods recover deleted messages?

No. Once a LinkedIn message is deleted, it cannot be recovered by LinkedIn admins, moderators or customer support either. The content is permanently removed from view.

Is there a limit to how many messages you can delete on LinkedIn?

There is no visible limit imposed by LinkedIn on the number of sent messages any user can delete from their own inbox. You should be able to delete as many messages as you want.

Can you get banned from LinkedIn for deleting too many messages?

There are no reports of LinkedIn banning or suspending accounts solely for deleting large numbers of sent messages. However, excess deletions may look suspicious if done to cover up inappropriate content.

The table above compares LinkedIn’s functionality for deleting sent messages compared to other major social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. On LinkedIn, messages can only be removed from the sender’s inbox, not the recipient’s.

Can you delete a LinkedIn message and re-send it?

Yes, it’s possible to delete a message you’ve sent on LinkedIn and then re-send the same or slightly modified message again. However, the recipient may still have access to the original deleted message in their inbox.

Is it possible to delete a LinkedIn message from someone else’s inbox?

No, regular LinkedIn members do not have any ability to directly delete messages from another user’s inbox. You can only remove messages from your own inbox view after sending them.

Do deleted LinkedIn messages still show up in notifications?

If a recipient received a notification for a LinkedIn message that was later deleted, the notification itself will still appear in their notifications panel. However, if they try to view the message it will not load since it has been removed from the sender’s inbox.

Can you delete a LinkedIn message retracted after sending?

LinkedIn does not have a message retraction option currently. The only way to pseudo-retract a message is to delete it from your own inbox after sending. However, the recipient will still see the message in their inbox.

Instructions to Delete LinkedIn Messages

Here are step-by-step instructions to delete messages you’ve sent on LinkedIn:

1. Open the LinkedIn messaging thread containing the sent message you want to delete.
2. Hover your mouse over the message bubble and click the three dots icon.
3. Select ‘Delete this message’ from the dropdown menu.
4. Confirm you want to ‘Delete this message from my inbox’.
5. The message will disappear from your view but remain for the recipient.
6. Repeat these steps to delete multiple messages from your Sent items.

Remember, the recipient will not receive any notification or alert when you delete messages. The message will remain visible in their inbox until manually deleted.

How to Delete LinkedIn Messages on Mobile

Deleting LinkedIn messages from the mobile app is very similar:

1. Open the LinkedIn messaging thread with the sent message.
2. Long press on the message bubble you want to delete.
3. Tap the trash icon to delete that message.
4. Confirm deletion when prompted.

The process takes just a few taps, but again only deletes the message from your view, not the recipient’s inbox.

Conclusion

While LinkedIn doesn’t allow users to fully delete messages from recipients’ inboxes, you can remove sent messages from your own view after the fact by following the deletion steps outlined above. This hides messages from your inbox but does not remove them from the recipient’s message history or notify them of the deletion. There are also ethical concerns around deleting messages without transparency. In summary, delete LinkedIn messages with caution and only if truly necessary.