LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million users worldwide. On LinkedIn, you create a profile to showcase your work experience, education, skills, and accomplishments. You can connect with other professionals in your industry or location. These connections allow you to grow your professional network and access new opportunities.
A common question on LinkedIn is – can you see who someone is connected to? The short answer is yes and no. There are ways to see some of the people in a LinkedIn member’s network, but you can’t view all of their connections.
Ways You Can See Someone’s Connections
Here are some ways you can get a glimpse at who is in another member’s LinkedIn network:
1. Mutual Connections
If you are connected with someone on LinkedIn, you can see your mutual connections with that person. To do this:
- Go to their profile page
- Scroll down to the “Mutual Connections” section
- View the list of people you are both connected to
This gives you a sample of the people in their network, especially those who are likely to be in a similar industry or geographic location. However, this only displays a portion of their total connections.
2. Connection Count
Every LinkedIn profile shows the total number of connections a member has. Look for the connections count under their profile photo and name. This gives you a sense of the size of their network, but doesn’t show you who those connections are.
3. Viewing Shared Content
When someone shares content or comments on LinkedIn, it may display a few of the people in their network who also engaged with that content. For example, if someone likes or comments on a post, you may see “Jane Doe and 12 others”. This provides a glimpse at a sample of people in their network.
4. Related or Suggested Connections
LinkedIn’s algorithm may detect connections between you and others based on shared traits like industry, employers, school, geographic location, and interests. When viewing someone’s profile, you may see a list of “Related Connections” or “People Also Viewed”. Some of these people are likely connections of the member you are viewing.
Limitations on Viewing Someone’s Full List of Connections
While the above methods provide samples, you are not able to see the full list of connections in someone else’s network on LinkedIn. There are restrictions in place to protect privacy:
1. Connections Must Approve Being Visible
LinkedIn gives members control over the visibility of their own connections. When you connect with someone, they have the option to approve or not approve your connection being publicly visible. Many members choose to keep their connections private to some degree.
2. Maximum of 500 Shown for Premium Subscribers
For LinkedIn Premium subscribers who pay for enhanced services, the maximum number of connections you can view on someone else’s profile is 500. Even Premium members cannot see the entire connections list.
3. Profile Settings Can Limit Visibility
Members can adjust their profile settings to manage what parts of their profile are visible to others. This includes options like hiding your connections count and hiding the list of mutual connections you share with others.
4. Connections Download Limited to 25,000
Premium subscribers have the option to download a list of their own LinkedIn connections with limited profile information. However, this download is restricted to only their direct connections, and is capped at 25,000 people. You cannot download or export a full list of another member’s connections.
LinkedIn Restricts Full Access to Maintain User Privacy
Viewing someone’s full list of LinkedIn connections used to be possible through paid services that scraped and compiled public profile data. However, after the launch of the LinkedIn API in 2015, the ability to export full connections lists was officially restricted. LinkedIn made this change to protect their members’ privacy and maintain control over data access through their platform.
While you can only view a sample of a member’s connections on LinkedIn, for most business needs you can get valuable insights from mutual connections, shared content, and profile information. Focus on making authentic connections in your industry, and leverage the visibility LinkedIn does provide into professional networks.
Can You See LinkedIn Connections with Premium?
LinkedIn Premium provides some additional visibility into your own connections and tools to manage your network, but does not grant full access to view others’ connections. Here’s an overview of what you can see with a Premium account:
Your Own Connections List
Premium members can download a list of up to 25,000 of their own 1st-degree connections. This makes it easy to maintain your own professional network. However, you still cannot export a full list of another member’s connections.
Advanced Search Filters
Premium unlocks more advanced search filters, such as finding 2nd and 3rd degree connections, connections based on industry, company, job function, and more. This can help you search for and find new connections through your existing network.
Profile Visitor Information
See data on who has viewed your LinkedIn profile, such as job titles and companies. This provides insight into which types of professionals are interested in connecting with you.
InMail Messages
Premium members get a monthly allowance of InMail messages that can be sent to any member, even those you are not connected to. This facilitates outreach and building new relationships.
Open Profile Attributes
With Premium, you can view the open profile data that other members have opted to make public. However, closed profile attributes like full connections lists remain private.
So in summary, Premium provides helpful tools to build and organize your own connections and identify new networking opportunities through advanced search. But direct access to view a full list of another member’s connections is still restricted. Focus Premium benefits on building authentic connections instead of data mining.
Ethical Considerations of Viewing LinkedIn Connections
While there are limited ways to gain some visibility into who is in a LinkedIn member’s network, it’s important to consider the ethics around attempting to access someone else’s connections data. Here are some ethical factors to keep in mind:
Respect Privacy Choices
Each LinkedIn member chooses what level of profile visibility they are comfortable with. Attempting to circumvent those privacy settings to access connections data undermines informed consent.
Build Trustworthy Relationships
Looking for shortcuts to quickly expand your network through someone else’s connections can compromise the quality of those relationships. Take time to establish authentic connections.
Consider Data Ownership
A person’s network represents relationships and opportunities they have built themselves. Their connections reflect an investment in cultivating a professional community.
Maintain Transparency
Clearly communicate how any connection data may be used. Obtain consent for collecting or sharing information from a member’s profile or connections list.
Follow LinkedIn’s Guidelines
Comply with LinkedIn’s user agreement, API terms, and restrictions placed on data access. Don’t attempt to scrape or export data.
By being ethical and establishing trust when networking, you are more likely to build quality, mutually beneficial professional connections over time. While you can gain some limited visibility into LinkedIn connections, focus on what you can do with your own network.
Conclusion
LinkedIn balances offering visibility into professional networks while protecting members’ privacy and data. There are limited ways to get glimpses at who is in a member’s network, such as mutual connections, visitor information, and shared content. However, you cannot access a full list of any other member’s connections.
LinkedIn has restricted this access partly due to privacy concerns, and also to encourage building direct relationships versus simply data mining. The visibility LinkedIn does provide into professional networks can support ethically expanding your own quality connections and opportunities. But direct access to full connections lists remains private to empower users.
Focus your networking efforts on establishing authentic professional relationships, communicating transparently, and adding value for others in your industry. Build trust and your own reputation in order to grow a robust professional network on LinkedIn over time. While you may not see all of someone’s connections, you can still discover new opportunities and contacts through your existing network with persistence and an ethical approach.
