LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 850 million members worldwide. As a platform built around making connections for career and business opportunities, LinkedIn provides users with a connection history to look back on how their network has grown over time.
What is LinkedIn connection history?
LinkedIn connection history allows you to see all of the connections you have made on LinkedIn since you joined the platform. It records every person who has accepted your connection invitation, as well as connections who you have accepted invitations from. Your connection history essentially serves as a timeline showing the growth and expansion of your professional network on LinkedIn.
Some key things your LinkedIn connection history shows you include:
- All of your 1st-degree connections on LinkedIn
- When each connection was made
- How you are connected with each person, whether you invited them to connect, or they invited you
- Which companies your connections work for
Reviewing your connection history allows you to see who you have connected with on LinkedIn over the years, and can help you follow how your professional network has grown.
Who can see your LinkedIn connection history?
Your LinkedIn connection history is private and is only visible to you when logged into your LinkedIn account. No one else on LinkedIn can see who is in your connection history or how many connections you have made over time.
The only information about your connections visible to others is on your LinkedIn profile. This includes:
- Your current number of 1st-degree connections
- Partial list of current connections displayed on your profile
- Connections you have in common with another LinkedIn member viewing your profile
So your full history of all connections made remains private.
How to view your connection history on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has made it simple to access and review your connection history:
- Log into your LinkedIn account on desktop or mobile
- Go to your profile and click “See all” under the Connections section
- This will open your “Manage my network” page with connection history
- Scroll down to view your full list of connections made, sorted from newest to oldest
From your connection history, you can also:
- Search for specific connections
- Sort connections by date or name
- Remove connections by clicking “More” > “Remove connection”
- Send connection invitations by clicking “Connect”
How far back does LinkedIn connection history go?
LinkedIn will store your full history of connections made since you joined LinkedIn. So if you’ve been a member for 5+ years for example, you can scroll back through your connection timeline to the very first connections you made when you signed up.
There is no limit to how far back your connection history goes. The connections made when you first joined will still be there for you to access.
Does deleting your account delete connection history?
If you decide to delete your LinkedIn account, your connection history will be permanently erased. LinkedIn states that your account information and data will be permanently removed within 30 days of requesting account deletion.
So your connection history and list of connections will no longer be accessible or stored on LinkedIn if you delete your account.
Does deactivating your account keep connection history?
If you temporarily deactivate your LinkedIn account, your connection history will be preserved. Deactivating pauses your account, but does not erase any data or connections.
When you choose to reactive your account, your connection history will still be there for you to access. Deactivation simply pauses your profile and network, while deletion erases it entirely.
Other facts about LinkedIn connection history
- Removing a connection from your connections list does not remove them from your connection history. All connections made remain in your history.
- Your connection history continues to build even once you hit the 30,000 connection limit. You just can’t actively connect with more members.
- You may notice some connections appear twice in your history if you connected, removed the connection, then reconnected later. Duplicates are possible.
- LinkedIn Recruiter accounts can also access their project connection histories to see everyone they have messaged or connected with through Recruiter.
Conclusion
Being able to look back through your LinkedIn connection history provides valuable insight into how your professional network has grown over time. It can help you see how far you’ve come in making valuable connections in your industry. And the history remains private and accessible no matter how long you’ve been a LinkedIn member.
As LinkedIn continues to expand its capabilities and value for networking, the connection history serves as a timeline of your networking accomplishments and growth.