LinkedIn has become the go-to platform for professional networking and building your online presence. With over 740 million members worldwide, LinkedIn offers valuable opportunities to connect with colleagues, clients, and potential employers. However, having such a visible profile also comes with privacy concerns. You may not always want your profile to be easily accessible to just anyone searching LinkedIn. Luckily, there are ways to control the visibility of your profile and limit who can find you on LinkedIn searches.
Making Your Profile Private
The simplest way to remove yourself from LinkedIn search results is to make your profile private. Here’s how:
- Go to your profile settings (click your profile photo in the top right and select “Settings & Privacy”)
- Under the Privacy tab, toggle your profile visibility to “Private mode”
- Save your changes
This will immediately remove your profile from search engine results and public directory searches on LinkedIn. Only your 1st-degree connections will be able to see your full profile. Making your profile private is the quickest way to get yourself off public LinkedIn search results.
Limiting Profile Visibility to 2nd-Degree Connections
You can fine-tune your privacy settings even further and limit visibility to only your 1st and 2nd-degree connections with these steps:
- Go to your profile settings and select Privacy
- Under Profile visibility, choose “Your connections and their connections”
- Save changes
This will remove your profile from search results while still allowing 2nd-degree connections to request connecting with you. It keeps your network visible while limiting external visibility.
Blocking Search Engines from Indexing Your Profile
Making your profile fully private removes it from search engines like Google. However, you can also manually block search engines from indexing your public profile:
- Go to your profile settings and select Privacy
- Under How others can find you, toggle “Allow search engines to index your profile” to No
- Save changes
This will remove your public profile from Google and other search engine results. You can test it by searching your name on Google – your LinkedIn profile should not show up.
Removing Your Last Name
Displaying your full name makes it easier for people to find you on LinkedIn. If you want to make your profile harder to find, you can simply remove your last name:
- Go to your profile and click the pencil icon to edit it
- Delete your last name from the name field
- Click Save
Just having your first name and middle initial will make your profile much less searchable. However, this also reduces your professional brand so consider the tradeoffs.
Deleting Your LinkedIn Account
The nuclear option for removing yourself from LinkedIn is to delete your account entirely. Here is how to permanently delete your LinkedIn profile:
- Go to your account settings and select “Delete account”
- Follow prompts to confirm deletion
- LinkedIn will take up to 90 days to fully delete all cached/archived information
Permanently deleting your account will remove all presence of you from LinkedIn search. However, you will lose your network connections and any endorsements or recommendations you may have received.
Using an Alternate Profile for Job Searching
Some LinkedIn users maintain two separate profiles – a public one for professional branding and networking, and a private one strictly for job searching. Here’s how to set this up:
- Create a second LinkedIn account with a personal email address not tied to your name
- Build out your profile summary, skills, etc. but leave out identifiable details
- Toggle this profile to private mode so only 1st connections can see it
- Connect with recruiters and HR reps and use this profile only for job applications
The private profile allows you to maintain your public brand while remaining anonymous during your job search. Just remember to log in and out of the correct profile accordingly.
Using Your Connections to Screen Opportunities
Instead of completely hiding your profile, you can leverage your trusted connections to discretely screen potential jobs or business opportunities before exposing your full identity. Here are some tips:
- Share an anonymous/partial profile with select connections
- Have them vet any opportunities on your behalf and make introductions
- Only share your full identity with verified, high-potential prospects
- Maintain control and privacy until the right fit is found
This allows you to keep your public brand intact while subtly exploring new opportunities privately. Protect your privacy until you’re ready to fully engage.
Using a Personalized LinkedIn URL
Your public LinkedIn profile URL contains your name by default (e.g. linkedin.com/in/john-doe). Creating a custom URL makes your profile slightly less searchable:
- Go to your profile settings and select “Edit public profile & URL”
- Edit the URL field to a custom name without spaces (e.g. linkedin.com/in/johndoemarketing)
- Click Save
Your name will still appear on your profile, but a more anonymous URL offers some privacy.
Conclusion
Here are some key takeaways on hiding your LinkedIn profile:
- Make your profile private or limit visibility to connections only
- Prevent search engine indexing in settings
- Remove identifiable details like your last name
- Maintain a separate anonymous profile for job seeking
- Leverage connections to discreetly evaluate opportunities
- Customize your profile URL instead of using your full name
Balancing privacy and personal branding on LinkedIn involves tradeoffs. Evaluate your priorities and use the right combination of these approaches to control your visibility. Maintain access to opportunities while limiting exposure until you’re ready. With the right settings, you can stay “hidden” yet engaged on the world’s largest professional network.
| Method | Impact on Privacy | Impact on Branding |
|---|---|---|
| Make Profile Private | Removes profile from all public searches | Limits networking ability |
| Limit to 2nd Connections | Visible only to connections and their connections | Allows some networking while limiting external visibility |
| Block Search Engine Indexing | Not indexed publicly but profile remains visible | No impact on branding/networking |
| Remove Last Name | Much harder to find in searches | Reduces professional brand identity |
| Delete Account | Removed completely from LinkedIn | Loses all connections and endorsements |
| Alternate Job Search Profile | Allows anonymity in job seeking | Maintains public brand identity |
| Leverage Connections | Privately vets opportunities | Maintains branding while evaluating prospects |
| Custom Profile URL | Slightly less searchable | No significant impact on brand |
Remember that reducing your LinkedIn visibility also decreases opportunities for networking and personal branding. Find the right balance based on your priorities. With the right privacy settings and connections, you can selectively showcase your brand while minimizing unwanted exposure.
LinkedIn is an invaluable platform for professional networking and advancement when used strategically. Take control of your profile visibility to get the most out of LinkedIn while protecting your privacy.
