LinkedIn is one of the most popular professional social networking sites, with over 700 million users worldwide. With so many people using LinkedIn to network and job search, a common question is whether you can see who has viewed your LinkedIn profile.
The short answer is no – LinkedIn does not allow you to see exactly who has viewed your profile anonymously. However, there are some insights into profile views that LinkedIn does provide its users.
What LinkedIn Tells You About Profile Views
While LinkedIn keeps individual profile views anonymous, they do share some high-level data about the number and sources of your profile views:
- Number of profile views in last 90 days
- Locations of viewers
- Industries and seniorities of viewers
- Companies viewers work for
You can access these profile view analytics by going to your LinkedIn homepage and clicking on “See all profile views” under the views counter. This will show you a more detailed breakdown of who has been looking at your profile recently.
Number of Profile Views
The most basic view insight LinkedIn provides is the number of times your profile has been viewed in the last 90 days. This counter is shown on your profile homepage.
Seeing that your page views have suddenly spiked can indicate that more people are interested in your work and checking out your profile.
Location of Views
LinkedIn shows you the top geographic locations your profile viewers are based in during the last 90 days. This can help give you a sense of what countries or cities your profile is most popular in.
Knowing the regional distribution of your profile views could suggest opportunities to network or explore job options in specific locations.
Viewer Industries and Seniorities
You can also see the top industries and seniorities (job levels) of the people who have viewed your profile recently. This can provide useful insight into what types of companies or roles your profile is getting attention from.
For example, seeing lots of views from people in your target industry suggests your profile is being noticed by the right people. Views from more senior roles means your profile is on the radar of decision-makers.
Viewer Companies
The final piece of view analytics LinkedIn provides is showing you the top companies your profile viewers work for during the last 90 days.
Knowing what organizations and businesses your profile is attracting attention from can reveal opportunities to connect with recruiters or hiring managers at those companies.
Who Can See Your LinkedIn Profile Views?
While LinkedIn keeps your actual profile viewers anonymous, the view analytics provided aren’t completely private. Here’s who else can see the details of who viewed your profile:
- Your 1st degree connections – You and your direct connections on LinkedIn can see full details about your profile view analytics. This allows you to know if your connections are checking you out.
- 2nd degree connections – Your 2nd degree connections can see limited view analytics, including only total view count and top viewer locations.
- 3rd degree connections and beyond – More distant LinkedIn connections can only see your basic public profile and view count, with no details on viewers.
Essentially, the closer someone is to you in your LinkedIn network, the more insight they have into your profile view analytics. But none of your connections can see exactly who viewed your profile – that data remains anonymous.
How to See Who Viewed Your Profile on LinkedIn
As mentioned above, you can’t see the names of individual people who viewed your LinkedIn profile. But here are the steps to check out the view analytics LinkedIn does provide:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile page and locate the profile views counter below your profile photo.
- Click on the “See all profile views” link next to the counter.
- This will open a window with view analytics for the last 90 days, including:
- Total number of views
- Top locations of viewers
- Most common industries, seniorities, and companies
- Scroll down to analyze your top viewers in each of the categories.
Checking periodically to see spikes or changes in your profile views can reveal opportunities and let you know when key audiences are engaging with your profile. But remember the individual viewers will remain anonymous to protect privacy.
LinkedIn Recruiter Profile Views
There is one group on LinkedIn that can see exactly who viewed your profile – LinkedIn Recruiters who have a Recruiter seat. Recruiters pay for extra access to LinkedIn data to aid their hiring efforts.
With a Recruiter seat, a recruiter can see the names of individual people who have viewed a profile, even when looking anonymously. This lets them engage directly with passive candidates who show interest.
So if you are being contacted by recruiters saying they noticed you looked at their profile, they likely have a Recruiter account that revealed your identity from an anonymous search.
Does LinkedIn Notify Profile Viewers?
A common concern is that LinkedIn may send some kind of notification when you look at someone’s profile anonymously. However, rest assured that LinkedIn will never proactively notify another user that you viewed their profile.
The only way someone will know you looked at their profile is if they are a Recruiter who checks their viewer analytics and sees your name, or if you directly tell them yourself.
Will LinkedIn Recommend Connections Based on Profile Views?
Another question is whether LinkedIn will use your anonymous profile viewing activity to recommend you connect with those users. The answer is no – LinkedIn’s algorithm does not currently factor anonymous profile views into which connections get recommended to you.
The “People You May Know” suggestions are based on shared connections, groups, experiences, and other identifiable signals – not incognito profile views.
Can You Pay to See Who Viewed Your LinkedIn Profile?
Some other social networks and apps offer paid upgrades to let you see exactly who viewed your profile, such as Facebook and TikTok. However, LinkedIn currently does not have any paid account option that will show you individual profile viewers.
The only way to see specific people who viewed your profile is with a Recruiter account, which requires a Recruiter seat subscription. Those are only available to professional recruiters and talent acquisition specialists.
There are third-party browser extensions that claim to enhance LinkedIn’s view analytics. But officially LinkedIn does not authorize these tools or provide individual viewer names through any kind of paid account upgrade.
Pro Tips for Using LinkedIn Viewer Analytics
While you can’t see exactly who anonymously looked at your LinkedIn profile, making the most of the view insights they do provide can still be valuable:
Spot Trends in Your Target Industry
Notice if you get an influx of profile views from your target industry. This suggests your background and skills are on their radar.
Identify Companies to Connect With
Regularly check what companies your viewers are from. Reach out directly to build connections at organizations that show lots of interest.
Aim Content to High Viewer Locations
Tailor your profile content and engagement to the geographic regions that view your profile the most.
Thank Viewers for Visiting Your Profile
Proactively reach out and thank 2nd degree connections who visited your profile, letting them know you’d be open to connecting.
Other Ways to See Who’s Looking at Your LinkedIn
In addition to LinkedIn’s built-in view analytics, there are some other techniques you can use to gain more insight into who is checking out your profile:
Look for Followers
See if any new people have recently followed you on LinkedIn. Followers are notified whenever you make a profile update, so they are likely interested in your activities.
Watch for Changes in Your Search Appearance
If you start ranking higher in LinkedIn search results for certain keywords, that suggests people are searching for and clicking on your profile more.
Monitor Profile Update Notifications
Notice when you get lots of notifications about your connections updating their profiles – it could indicate they are sprucing up their own profiles to share with you.
Track Visitors to Your LinkedIn Articles
Pay attention to who is reading and engaging with content you share on LinkedIn. Active readers likely have an interest in your work and expertise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can LinkedIn tell you who viewed your profile 2021?
No, LinkedIn does not disclose exactly who viewed your profile in 2021 or any year. The only data provided is total views and aggregated analytics like top locations, industries, and companies of viewers.
Does LinkedIn notify someone if you look at their profile 2022?
As of 2022, LinkedIn still does not proactively notify a user that you anonymously viewed their profile. The only potential notification is if they have a Recruiter account that shows individual profile viewers.
How often does LinkedIn profile view data update?
LinkedIn refreshes its profile view analytics daily. So you can check each day to see how your viewer trends are changing and who is engaging with your profile.
Conclusion
LinkedIn prioritizes user privacy and keeping individual profile views anonymous. While you can’t see exactly who looked at your profile, LinkedIn does provide valuable high-level insights into viewer trends and companies engaging with your profile. Monitoring these analytics regularly can reveal opportunities to forge new professional connections and advance your career.
So even without specific viewer names, savvy LinkedIn users can still gain tangible benefits from their profile view data.
