Yes, it is possible to delete LinkedIn messages that you have sent or received, but there are some limitations. LinkedIn does not allow deleting messages completely from their system, but you can remove messages from your inbox to archive or hide them.
Deleting messages you’ve sent
If you want to delete a message that you’ve sent to someone else on LinkedIn, you have up to 10 minutes to do so after sending it. Here are the steps:
- Go to your LinkedIn inbox and open the conversation where you sent the message.
- Hover over the message you want to delete and click on the “More” icon (three dots).
- Select “Delete” from the dropdown menu.
- Confirm that you want to delete the message in the pop-up.
Once you delete a sent message, the recipient will no longer be able to see it but may still get a notification that you sent a message which you later deleted.
After 10 minutes, the delete option is no longer available for sent messages. At that point, you can no longer remove the message from the recipient’s inbox.
Deleting messages you’ve received
To delete a message you’ve received from someone else:
- Go to the conversation and open the message.
- Click on the “More” icon next to the message.
- Choose “Delete” to remove the message from your inbox.
When you delete a received message, it is removed from your inbox but the sender can still see it in their sent messages.
Archiving conversations
If you want to clear a conversation from your inbox without deleting it entirely, you can archive it. Here’s how:
- Open the conversation you want to archive.
- Click on the “More” icon in the conversation header.
- Select “Archive” to move the conversation out of your inbox.
Archived conversations can be found in the “Archived” section of your LinkedIn inbox. You can view them anytime but they won’t show up in your main inbox view.
Deleting messages from LinkedIn mobile app
The process of deleting LinkedIn messages works similarly in the LinkedIn mobile app:
- Tap on a conversation to open it.
- Tap and hold on the specific message you want to delete.
- Tap “Remove” or “Delete message” to delete that message.
- Confirm deletion in the pop-up.
To archive conversations in the mobile app:
- Swipe left on a conversation in your inbox.
- Tap on the archive icon to move the conversation to your archive.
Limits of deleting LinkedIn messages
While LinkedIn allows deleting messages from your inbox, there are some limits:
- You cannot permanently erase a message from LinkedIn’s servers. The content may remain in their systems.
- Deleting a sent message does not remove it from the recipient’s inbox after 10 minutes.
- In group conversations, you can only remove messages from your view, not for other participants.
- If you delete a received message, the sender can still see it in their sent messages.
- You may still see notifications for deleted messages until you refresh your LinkedIn tab or app.
In essence, deleting LinkedIn messages mainly helps clean up your own inbox view and removes content from your perspective. But it does not entirely wipe conversations from LinkedIn’s records or other participants’ inboxes in threaded discussions.
Why can’t you permanently delete LinkedIn messages?
LinkedIn likely retains all messages and conversations ever sent on their platform for the following reasons:
- Compliance and regulatory requirements – Financial and social media services often have legal obligations to keep records of all user communications and activities.
- Data analytics – The content of messages can provide useful insights into how the platform is used.
- Security – The message history may be needed to investigate abusive behavior or criminal misuse if required.
- User expectations – People generally don’t expect social platforms like LinkedIn to completely erase message history and attachments shared consensually.
Allowing users to selectively delete messages from view helps keep inboxes tidy. But retaining the full history likely has benefits for maintaining a professional platform like LinkedIn.
Best practices for managing LinkedIn messages
Since LinkedIn messages are persistent in some form, it is good practice to be cautious about what you send over LinkedIn messaging. Here are some tips:
- Be professional and courteous in all LinkedIn conversations.
- Avoid sending anything you wouldn’t want potentially seen or tracked.
- Use the preview option before hitting send to double check your message.
- Be careful with personal information or external links shared via LinkedIn.
- Stick to topics appropriate for a career networking platform.
- Pause before replying if a conversation gets uncomfortable or contentious.
Keeping your messages productive and thoughtful will minimize any concerns over permanent records. For sensitive matters, have the conversation offline or via more private channels.
Can LinkedIn messages deleted by a recipient be recovered?
No, if someone deletes a message you sent them on LinkedIn, you cannot recover or restore that message in their inbox. Some key points:
- When a recipient deletes your message, it’s gone from their inbox forever.
- You will be able to see the message in your own sent messages folder still.
- But you have no way to make the deleted message reappear for the recipient.
- Deleted messages cannot be undeleted or retrieved on LinkedIn.
So if you notice one of your messages is missing from a LinkedIn thread, it likely means the recipient removed it from their view. The only option is to send a new message clarifying or re-sending anything important that was deleted.
Recovering deleted messages in your sent folder
Is it possible to recover messages you deleted from your own sent folder in LinkedIn?
Unfortunately, no. When you delete messages from your sent items, they are permanently removed from your view as well.
A few key points on recovering deleted sent messages:
- LinkedIn does not have a trash or recycle bin feature for messages.
- Messages deleted from your sent folder cannot be retrieved or undeleted.
- Your only option is to send a new message re-stating anything important you deleted.
- So be sure before purging old messages from your sent items.
LinkedIn does not have message recovery or backup capabilities even for your own deleted content. Being selective about clearing out old sent messages can prevent losing anything important.
Does deleting LinkedIn messages also delete them from other apps?
If you’ve connected your LinkedIn account to any other apps like an email provider or CRM, deleting messages on LinkedIn does not remove them from the connected services. For example:
- Deleting LinkedIn messages does not delete copies received in your email inbox.
- Messages deleted on LinkedIn remain visible in apps like Salesforce if connected.
- The apps sync one-way only, so they retain copies independently.
You will have to manually delete copies of LinkedIn messages separately in each external app as required. The apps do not synchronize deletions from LinkedIn back to their own systems.
Alternatives to deleting LinkedIn messages
If you want to limit access to a LinkedIn conversation instead of deleting, here are some options:
- Archive – Archived messages are removed from main view but accessible if needed.
- Mute – Mute stops notifications but keeps conversations in your inbox.
- Block – Blocking cuts off communication ability but keeps message history intact.
- Report – You can report concerning messages to LinkedIn for review.
So archiving, muting, blocking or reporting may be preferable alternatives to completely removing some conversations in certain situations.
Third-party tools for deleting LinkedIn messages
While LinkedIn themselves has limited message deletion options, some third-party tools claim to offer more flexible inbox management features. However, use caution as these tools often require your LinkedIn login credentials to function which could put your account at risk. It’s usually safest to manage your LinkedIn messages directly using LinkedIn’s built-in settings.
Key takeaways
- You can delete individual LinkedIn messages from your inbox but they are not permanently erased.
- Deleting received messages removes them from your view only, the sender still has access.
- You have a 10 minute window to delete messages you have sent.
- Archiving is a handy option to clear conversations from the inbox.
- Be thoughtful about the messages you send since deletion is limited.