LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 810 million users worldwide as of January 2022. With so many professionals on the platform, it’s common for people to want to view LinkedIn profiles anonymously or incognito without the profile owner knowing.
In this article, we’ll explore if it’s possible to view LinkedIn profiles anonymously using incognito or private browsing mode in your web browser.
Can You View LinkedIn Profiles Anonymously?
The short answer is no, you cannot view LinkedIn profiles completely anonymously even in incognito or private browsing mode. LinkedIn still logs your activity and views on profiles.
When you view someone’s profile on LinkedIn, they receive a notification that you viewed their profile. Your name and headline will show up letting them know you visited their page. This happens even if you are in incognito or private browsing mode.
LinkedIn specifically designed their platform this way to encourage engagement between users. Knowing who viewed your profile prompts users to connect with those viewers or return the favor by viewing their profiles.
Does Incognito Mode Hide Your LinkedIn Activity?
Using incognito or private browsing mode in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or another browser does not fully hide your activity on LinkedIn.
In incognito mode, your browsing history is not saved locally on your device. However, LinkedIn still logs your activity on their servers. The profile owner will still receive a notification that you viewed their profile.
Some things incognito mode does on LinkedIn:
- Prevents pages you visit from being stored in your browser history
- Cookies are erased when you close the incognito window
- Searches are not saved in your search history
- Does not log you out of your LinkedIn account when switching to incognito
However, LinkedIn’s servers still record your activity including:
- Pages you visit
- Profiles you view
- Searches on LinkedIn
- Other activity while logged into your account
How to Minimize Your Visibility on LinkedIn
While you can’t be completely anonymous, there are some steps you can take to minimize your visibility when viewing LinkedIn profiles:
- Use an alternate or secondary account – Have a separate LinkedIn account that you only use for browsing profiles. Keep your main account for active networking.
- Customize viewer notifications – In Settings & Privacy, you can customize profile view notifications to only reach your 1st degree connections rather than your whole network.
- Block notifications from a profile – After viewing a profile, you can block notifications to prevent that user from knowing you visited them.
- Use LinkedIn anonymously on a shared device – If you view profiles from a library computer or shared device, notifications are anonymized.
How to View LinkedIn Profiles Anonymously Using Third-Party Tools
While LinkedIn doesn’t allow for anonymous profile viewing natively, there are some third-party tools and browser extensions that can help you be anonymous.
Some popular tools include:
- Anonymous Browsing – Browser extension that removes identifying information from your LinkedIn activity to make you anonymous.
- Trackless for LinkedIn – Google Chrome extension that blocks profile view notifications.
- Social Insider – Social media analytics platform that offers anonymous LinkedIn profile views.
- Anonymous View for LinkedIn – Browser add-on that hides your profile when viewing LinkedIn pages.
However, be aware that using third-party tools likely violates LinkedIn’s terms of service. Use them at your own risk as LinkedIn could ban accounts found using tools they deem prohibited.
FAQs About Viewing LinkedIn Profiles Anonymously
Does turning off LinkedIn notifications make you anonymous?
No, turning off notifications in your LinkedIn account settings does not make you anonymous. It simply stops notifications being sent when you view a profile. But the profile owner can still see you visited them in their visitor history.
Can you create a LinkedIn account without a name?
No, LinkedIn requires real first and last names when creating accounts. You cannot sign up without providing your actual identity. Fake or anonymous accounts are prohibited by LinkedIn’s terms of service.
Does LinkedIn show who viewed my profile to that person?
Yes, when someone views your profile on LinkedIn, you will see their name and headline in your notifications letting you know they visited your profile. There is no way to hide this unless the viewer uses a third-party anonymous browsing tool.
Can LinkedIn tell if you screenshot someone’s profile?
No, there is no way for LinkedIn to detect if you take a screenshot of someone’s profile while viewing it. Screenshotting profiles does not trigger any notifications or visibility to the profile owner.
Conclusion
While incognito or private browsing does not make you anonymous on LinkedIn, there are steps you can take and third-party tools that provide a degree of anonymity when viewing other users’ profiles.
Keep in mind LinkedIn expressly prohibits viewing profiles anonymously as it conflicts with their mission of open professional networking and engagement.
The best approach is using your actual identity on LinkedIn while being mindful of your visibility settings and who can see your activity. With caution, tools like Anonymous View for LinkedIn can minimize the visibility of your profile browsing without completely hiding your identity on the platform.
At the end of the day, LinkedIn is designed for transparent networking and engagement around professional profiles. Completely anonymous and covert use of the platform goes against its core purpose.
But there is a degree you can minimize the visibility of your profile views without being completely hidden if you wish to browse LinkedIn more privately. Just be aware anonymous profile viewing violates LinkedIn’s terms and could risk suspension or banning of accounts detected misusing the platform.
Hopefully this gives you a better understanding of how private browsing works on LinkedIn and your options as a user. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Here are some key takeaways:
- Incognito/private mode does not hide your identity when viewing LinkedIn profiles
- Profile owners are still notified of your views even in incognito mode
- You can minimize visibility by customizing notifications and using alternate accounts
- Third-party tools provide more anonymity but may violate LinkedIn’s terms
- Fully anonymous use of LinkedIn goes against its purpose as a professional networking platform