LinkedIn is a popular professional networking platform used by millions of people around the world. On LinkedIn, users can connect with other professionals, join groups, follow companies, and search for jobs. One of the key features of LinkedIn is messaging – users can send direct messages to their connections to communicate.
But do those messages on LinkedIn expire? Can you still find old conversations if you need to refer back to them? Let’s take a closer look at how long messages are retained on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Message Expiration Policies
The short answer is no – LinkedIn messages do not expire. Once a message is sent on LinkedIn, whether it’s an InMail or a regular direct message, it will stay in your account inbox forever unless you actively delete it.
LinkedIn does not currently have any policies in place to make old messages disappear after a certain period of time. You maintain full control over your message inbox. LinkedIn will store all sent and received messages indefinitely so you can access conversation history.
This applies to both basic and premium LinkedIn accounts. Free users have the same unlimited message retention as paid users. Your messages will never be automatically cleared out regardless of your account type.
Where to Find Old LinkedIn Messages
All LinkedIn messages live within your account inbox, which can be accessed on desktop, mobile web, and in the LinkedIn mobile app. To view your message history:
- On desktop, click the Messaging icon at the top.
- In the LinkedIn mobile app, tap the Messaging tab along the bottom.
- On mobile web, tap the Messaging icon in the top right.
This will bring up your inbox showing all conversations. You can browse historical messages by scrolling down – there is no limit.
By default, your inbox is sorted with the most recent conversations on top. But you can search for older exchanges by using the search bar to look up contacts. Or filter by date range if you recall around when the messages were sent.
LinkedIn also provides two tabs within your inbox to separate important messages:
- Unread – Shows only conversations with unread replies.
- Priority – Lets you star certain messages so they always appear at the top.
So your old messages are always stored and can be easily accessed. LinkedIn does not impose any artificial limits or restrictions – you have complete control.
Does LinkedIn Have an Archive for Old Messages?
LinkedIn does not have a separate archive location for old messages. Your inbox is the only place where exchanged messages are stored within your account.
Some other online messaging platforms like Gmail have separate archives or folders for organizing older exchanges. But LinkedIn keeps things simple – your inbox houses current and historical conversations equally.
The inbox search and filtering tools let you dig up old messages when needed. You don’t have to worry about archiving because nothing ever disappears.
Will LinkedIn Add Message Expiration in the Future?
Based on LinkedIn’s current policies, it seems unlikely they will add forced message expiration anytime soon. Here are some key reasons why:
- User control and flexibility is central to LinkedIn’s platform. An expiration feature would reduce user control.
- Most users view professional messaging differently than casual social media messaging. They expect to maintain records.
- Disappearing messages go against the core utility of LinkedIn as a networking and communication tool.
Of course, LinkedIn could always change their stance on this. But for now, the policies indicate they want to keep all user messages intact indefinitely.
Some users argue disappearing messages could be useful on LinkedIn to enhance privacy. However, implementing this would represent a major shift away from LinkedIn’s current transparent communication norms.
Can You Delete Old LinkedIn Messages?
As mentioned above, LinkedIn gives users complete control over their message inbox. So you can delete old messages if you choose to do so.
To delete a LinkedIn message:
- Open the message thread you want to delete.
- Look for the trash can icon at the top of the conversation.
- Click the trash can.
- Confirm you want to delete the message.
This will permanently erase the message. However, it’s important to note the other participant will still have the message in their inbox unless they also delete it.
You can also select multiple conversations in your LinkedIn inbox and delete them in bulk. But again, this only removes them from your view, not the other person’s account.
In most cases, it makes sense to simply leave old messages in your LinkedIn account. Deleting them reduces your record of professional conversations and relationships.
Does LinkedIn Have Message History Limits?
LinkedIn does not impose any limits on how many total messages you can store in your inbox. You have unlimited storage for the entire history of your message exchanges.
Even if you have been actively using LinkedIn for years and have thousands of exchanged messages, they will all remain accessible. LinkedIn’s servers have sufficient capacity to let you maintain a complete message archive.
The only limits are on the number of messages you can actively send. For example, free users are limited to 300 InMail messages per month. But there are no caps regarding storage of incoming or outgoing conversations.
What Gets Deleted on LinkedIn?
The only type of content on LinkedIn that could get automatically deleted are posts made in LinkedIn Groups.
Group managers have the ability to set automated deletion policies for Group posts and comments. For example, a policy may be put in place to delete discussions after a certain time period or once they reach a certain number of comments.
Group admins can implement these types of auto-delete settings. But regular user posts made on your personal profile page will always remain intact unless you remove them.
Can You Recover Deleted LinkedIn Messages?
If you manually delete a message from your LinkedIn inbox, there is unfortunately no way to recover or restore it. LinkedIn does not have a trash or recycle bin feature.
Once you confirm deletion of a message, it is permanently erased from your account and servers. LinkedIn does not retain copies of deleted messages.
However, the message recipient will still have the conversation saved in their inbox. So you could try asking them to forward a copy back to you if it was an important exchange.
Otherwise, LinkedIn has no recovery mechanisms for deleted messages. Be sure to archive important messages externally before removing them from your inbox.
Does LinkedIn Have an Email Integration?
LinkedIn allows you to link your primary email account so you can easily copy conversations from your inbox over to your LinkedIn messaging.
In your account settings, you can enable LinkedIn’s email integration and connect your email provider, such as Gmail or Outlook. Once enabled, when composing a new LinkedIn message, you will see options to:
- Attach an email from your email account.
- Forward an email into a LinkedIn message.
- Send a LinkedIn message to an email address.
This integration with email can be very useful for centralizing professional communications within your LinkedIn inbox and maintaining message history.
Does LinkedIn Notify When You Message Someone New?
Yes, LinkedIn will send email notifications when you send or receive messages from a new contact for the first time. These notifications can help alert you to new messages from people you haven’t conversed with before.
Specifically, LinkedIn will notify you via email in these scenarios:
- When you send an InMail to someone new.
- When you receive an InMail from someone new.
- When you receive a direct message from a new connection.
If you already have a messaging history with a contact, LinkedIn will not continue sending email notifications for future messages exchanged with that person.
You can control your messaging notifications within your LinkedIn account settings. Desktop notifications and mobile push notifications are also available.
Does LinkedIn Have Read Receipts?
Yes, LinkedIn has read receipts that show when a message has been read by the recipient. This allows you to see when your message has been viewed.
In your inbox, you can check for these read receipts in a few ways:
- The message thread will be marked as “Read.”
- The last message will show “Seen by [Recipient’s Name].”
- The recipient’s profile picture will appear next to the last message.
To turn read receipts off, the recipient can change their LinkedIn notification settings. But they are on by default for all users.
Can You Export LinkedIn Messages?
Unfortunately, LinkedIn does not have a native tool to export your message history and inbox. Your messages remain within your account only.
However, there are some third-party browser extensions and tools available that claim to let you export LinkedIn messages. Some examples include:
- LinkedIn Exporter for Chrome
- Scrape for LinkedIn Chrome Extension
- LinkedIn Backup for Firefox
Use caution with third-party tools, as LinkedIn does not officially support message exporting. Make sure to review permissions and privacy policies closely.
Conclusion
LinkedIn does not expire or delete messages. All inbound and outbound messages remain in your account inbox permanently unless you actively remove them. You have full control and access to current and past message history.
LinkedIn is designed for professional networking and communication. So unlike other social platforms, disappearing or expiring messages do not align with those usage goals. Keeping all messages intact allows you to build relationships, recall past conversations, and maintain records.
With unlimited storage and no automated deletion policies, you can rely on LinkedIn to preserve your message archive. Never worry about losing track of an important business conversation again.
