When you block someone on LinkedIn, they will not receive any notification or indication that they have been blocked. From their perspective, your profile and activity will simply disappear from their feed and search results. The blocking feature on LinkedIn is designed to be completely invisible to the blocked user. So in most cases, no, people do not realize or know when they have been blocked on LinkedIn.
How blocking works on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has two options for blocking other users – you can either block them directly from their profile, or remove them from your connections. Here is a quick rundown of how each option works:
Blocking directly from a profile
When you visit someone’s profile on LinkedIn, you will see a “More” button with additional options. One of those options is “Block”. If you select to block the user, their profile will instantly disappear from your view. They will no longer show up in your search results, you won’t see any of their activity in your feed, and they will be unable to view your profile or send you messages.
The key thing is that the blocked user will not receive any notification that they have been blocked. To them, it will seem like you simply disappeared from LinkedIn. They will still be able to view their list of connections and see your name there, but your profile will give them an error if they try to visit it.
Removing connections
The other way to block someone on LinkedIn is by removing them from your connections. You can do this from your connections page – find the person’s name, and next to it will be a “Remove connection” link. Clicking this will sever the connection between you and remove that person from your network.
Again, no notification goes to the removed connection to indicate you have disconnected from them on LinkedIn. It will seem to them like you deactivated your account altogether. They will still see themselves connected to you, but will get an error trying to visit your profile.
What exactly is blocked from the other user’s view?
When you block or remove someone from your LinkedIn connections, it prevents them from seeing or interacting with you on the platform in the following ways:
- They will no longer see your profile show up in searches, even if searching by your name directly.
- Any posts or activity from your profile will not appear in their feed.
- They will be unable to view your full profile – it will simply give them an error message if they try.
- You will not show up as a suggested or recommended connection to them.
- They will be unable to send you messages or connection requests.
- Any messages they previously sent you will no longer be visible to them.
Essentially, from their point of view, you no longer have a presence on LinkedIn as far as they are concerned. It will seem to them like you deleted your account, even though your profile still exists and is visible to others.
Will the blocked user see that you disconnected?
This is one of the most common questions around blocking – will the person know that I disconnected from them on LinkedIn? The answer is usually no, with a couple caveats.
If you simply block someone directly from their profile, as far as they can tell nothing has changed. You simply disappear from their LinkedIn world altogether.
However, if you remove them specifically from your list of connections, they will still see themselves connected to you on their connections page. But it will seem like your account was deactivated. So this may be a clue to them that you severed the tie, but there is no definitive notification.
The only way someone might figure out they’ve been blocked is if they try to interact with you in some way and keep getting errors or find your account missing. But even in that case, they cannot be totally sure if you blocked them specifically or just deactivated your profile altogether.
Common reasons for blocking on LinkedIn
There are a variety of reasons you may want to block another user on LinkedIn, including:
- Cutting professional ties: Perhaps you no longer want to associate with a certain professional contact, so removing them as a connection sends that message.
- Preventing unwanted outreach: You may block recruiters, sales contacts, or others reaching out to you with unsolicited requests.
- Personal differences: Blocking previous co-workers or associates you no longer get along with personally.
- Harassment: Sadly, some use LinkedIn to harass or stalk others, making blocking necessary.
- Spam messages: Bots and scammers often target LinkedIn users with spam offers and messages.
While most use the block feature appropriately, others may overuse it, blocking any minor connection or interaction. It’s generally better to simply ignore unwanted outreach when possible, rather than outright blocking.
Should you tell someone you are blocking them?
Whether to let someone know you are about to block them is a matter of personal choice and circumstance. In most cases, it may be better not to notify them for a couple reasons:
- It could provoke an undesirable response, confrontation, or attempts to get around the block.
- The lack of notification creates a “clean break” where they are simply unaware anything changed.
- There is no expectation on LinkedIn that you must notify someone when disconnecting.
- Stating why you are blocking may provide unwanted details on your reasons.
However, in some situations it may be appropriate or considerate to say something before cutting contact altogether. For example, when blocking a recruiter or salesperson for unwanted outreach, a simple “Please do not contact me further” may be warranted.
For harassers and more toxic connections, blocking without warning is often safest. Use your best judgment based on the individual situation.
Limitations of LinkedIn’s blocking feature
While blocking prevents someone from directly interacting with you, it does not entirely remove their presence or activity from your LinkedIn experience. A few limitations to keep in mind:
- You may still come across their comments on other people’s posts in your feed.
- If you are in the same LinkedIn groups, you will each see the other’s discussions and activity there.
- Blocking only applies to your individual account – they can still interact with your company page if you have one.
- Blocking is not reciprocal – if you block someone, that does not automatically block you from their account.
- Blocking is not permanent – you can always unblock someone later if you change your mind.
So blocking is not an absolute solution if you want to avoid someone’s presence on LinkedIn entirely. But it does prevent any direct interaction or harassment via messages, requests, etc.
How to tell if you have been blocked by someone
Since LinkedIn does not notify you, how can you actually tell if someone has blocked you? There are a few signs to look for:
- Their profile gives you an error whenever you try to view it.
- You no longer see any of their posts or activity in your feed.
- They no longer appear in your LinkedIn search results.
- Messages you send them show an error or appear undelivered.
- The link to their profile disappears from your connections list.
None of these are definitive proof of being blocked, as the person may have just deactivated their account. But if all signs point to their account still being active, yet you cannot interact with or view the profile in any way, chances are they have blocked you.
Is blocking common on LinkedIn?
Overall, blocking is not extremely prevalent on LinkedIn compared to other social networks. Because it is focused on professional networking and connections, most only block in cases of egregious behavior like harassment.
However, some segments are more likely to make liberal use of blocking, such as:
- HR professionals wanting to limit recruiter outreach
- Sales executives blocking cold sales requests
- High-profile figures trying to manage messaging volume
- Employees blocking former co-workers after changing jobs
So the frequency of blocking depends a lot on someone’s role and how much unsolicited contact they receive. But in general, most LinkedIn users will only block a handful of other members, if any at all.
What to do if you are blocked by someone
If you suspect someone has blocked you on LinkedIn, it’s best not to pursue the matter further. Some tips:
- Do not try to contact them through other channels – respect their privacy and boundaries.
- Do not mention being blocked to any mutual connections – this often constitutes harassment.
- Check if you violated any terms of service or acceptable use policies that warranted blocking.
- Use the experience to reflect on what may have prompted the blocking in the first place.
- Consider if it’s worth reaching out at least once more to politely apologize or make amends if appropriate.
In most cases, being blocked means the person wishes to no longer interact with you. While it can be upsetting or confusing, continue respecting their wishes by not pursuing the issue further without their consent.
Can you tell if someone visits your profile after blocking them?
No, when you block someone on LinkedIn it also prevents them from seeing any profile view or visitor information about you. So you have no way to know if a blocked user visits your profile.
From their side, your profile will simply error out or say the page is unavailable if they attempt to view it. The normal profile view tracking is disabled for blocked connections in order to prevent harassment.
The only exception is if you pay for LinkedIn Premium, which allows seeing who viewed your profile even if they are blocked. But for most regular users, it is not possible to detect if a blocked person visits your profile – it will appear like you have no visitors from their account at all.
Mistakenly blocking the wrong person
Due to LinkedIn’s common name issue, it’s reasonably easy to accidentally block the wrong person with the same or similar name as the one you intended. Some tips if you wrongly blocked someone:
- Own up to your mistake honestly – reach out and apologize for the incorrect block.
- Immediately unblock them so your profiles are visible to each other again.
- Explain how you made the error so they understand it was unintentional.
- Take more care verifying profiles before blocking in the future.
- Ask if there’s anything you can do to make amends or restore the relationship.
Most reasonable professionals will accept an honest apology for a blocking mistake. The key is being transparent about what happened so they know it was just an error on your part, and not anything personal against them.
Alternatives to outright blocking
For less severe cases of unwanted outreach or interaction, blocking may feel like an overly harsh solution. Some alternative approaches:
- Untagging posts: Prevents your activity from showing up in their feed.
- Removing from Groups: Leaves common Group activity without fully blocking.
- Asking to change relationship: Downgrade a connection to Follower instead.
- Restrict profile viewing: Makes your profile visible only to direct connections.
- Setting messages to private: Only gets messages from connections.
The right approach depends on the specific situation. But in many cases, these intermediate steps can address issues without going directly to complete blocking.
Conclusion
Blocking on LinkedIn is a private, invisible tool to remove unwanted contacts from your professional network and prevent further interaction. While necessary in some cases, it should also be used judicious and as a last resort in most situations.
Having an overall blocking strategy tailored to your specific LinkedIn goals and challenges is recommended over haphazard blocking. With the right balance, blocking can help shape your network without unexpected collateral damage.
