When you are searching for someone on LinkedIn, whether it is to connect with them, learn more about their background, or see if they would be a good fit for a job opening, you may wonder if they are notified that you viewed their profile. Many people want to research candidates or connections on LinkedIn without revealing themselves. So does searching someone on LinkedIn actually send them a notification?
The Short Answer
In most cases, simply viewing someone’s public LinkedIn profile does not notify them or indicate in any way that you searched for them. Searching for people on LinkedIn is anonymous unless you are logged into a premium account and change your default settings.
Public Profiles vs. Private Settings
LinkedIn has two main profile types: public and private. Public profiles can be viewed by anyone without needing to connect. Private profiles require a connection to view the full profile. Both public and private profiles can be found through search.
For public profiles, LinkedIn states in their privacy policy that your name and photo will not be shown to the person whose profile you viewed. The only way they would know you viewed their profile is if you connect with them or view their profile while logged into a Premium account with customized settings.
For private profiles, you can see limited information like name, photo, current position and some connections in common. But you cannot see the full profile without sending a connection request first. Sending the request notifies the person that you want to connect.
Anonymous Searching
By default, LinkedIn does not notify members when someone views their public profile anonymously. Your name and information will not display to the other person unless you change your settings to enable this.
Here are examples of anonymous LinkedIn searching that do not trigger notifications:
- Viewing someone’s public profile when you are logged out of LinkedIn.
- Searching for someone using LinkedIn’s search bar without clicking into their profile.
- Looking at someone’s public profile while logged into a free LinkedIn account.
In all of these cases, the person whose profile you viewed will not receive any indication that you searched for them. Your browsing remains private.
Notifications for Premium Accounts
The exception is if you are logged into a Premium LinkedIn account and have changed your settings to enable profile viewing notifications. LinkedIn Premium accounts have options to customize preferences for viewing other profiles.
Here are two scenarios where the person may be notified you viewed their profile:
- You have a Premium account and enabled notifications to connections when you view their profile.
- You have a Premium account and enabled the broader “Profile Viewing Options” to display when any LinkedIn member views your profile.
These settings essentially override the default private browsing and tell LinkedIn to inform your connections when you look at their profiles. Or to inform you when anyone views your own profile.
Connecting with Someone
The main action on LinkedIn that will definitely notify another user is sending them a connection invitation. When you send a connection request, the recipient will see that you want to connect along with a note if you included one.
However, simply viewing someone’s profile does not equate to an invitation. You can research people anonymously without notifying them or creating a pending connection request.
Premium Account Viewer Settings
Here is a summary of the Profile Viewing options available with LinkedIn Premium accounts:
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Your connections can see your profile views | Notifies connections when you view their profiles |
| Profile viewing options | Notifies you when any LinkedIn member views your profile |
| Private mode | Allows anonymous browsing without notifications |
So you can see that the account settings can change when notifications are triggered. But the default behavior is that searching someone’s public LinkedIn profile is anonymous without them knowing.
Does Location Tracking on Mobile Notify?
Another question is whether having location services enabled on mobile devices affects anonymous LinkedIn searching. For example, if someone views your profile while at the same company office as you, could that enable notification?
The answer is no. Even with location services on mobile apps, simple profile viewing does not alert the person or pass along the viewer’s location. Your physical location does not factor into search anonymity either. Desktop or mobile, the browsing experience is the same – private and undetected.
Tips for Anonymous Browsing
Here are some tips to keep your LinkedIn profile viewing private and anonymous:
- Browse in logged out mode if you want full anonymity.
- Avoid sending connection invitations unless you want to reveal your interest.
- Keep the default account settings if you want to search secretly.
- Use the mobile app with location services off if you want to disable tracking.
As long as you are logged out or have a free account with default settings, you can research people on LinkedIn without them ever knowing. Change those settings for notification preferences.
Use Cases for Anonymous Searching
There are many reasons you may want to browse LinkedIn profiles without notifying the person or revealing your own identity. Here are some common use cases:
- Job recruiting research – View potential candidates anonymously to evaluate their backgrounds and fit.
- Sales prospecting – Identify contacts at a company you want to sell to without revealing yourself.
- Business intelligence – Research competitors, partners or industries without indicating your interest.
- Reconnecting – Look up someone you have lost touch with to jog your memory before reaching out.
The ability to research and search LinkedIn without notifications enables discreet intelligence gathering and business development.
Legal and Ethical Concerns
While most anonymous LinkedIn searching is harmless, if done excessively it could raise legal or ethical concerns. Here are some considerations:
- Searching specific people repeatedly could be considered harassment or stalking.
- Exporting data or contacts en masse could violate LinkedIn’s terms of service.
- Fake accounts created just for searching may get banned for violating policies.
Make sure any searching you do on LinkedIn is ethical, legal, and respects other members. Harassment and unauthorized data collection are never acceptable.
Conclusion
In summary, basic LinkedIn profile searching and browsing does not notify the person or indicate in any way that you viewed their profile. Notifications only occur if you are logged into a Premium account and have customized your settings to enable viewing alerts to connections or all LinkedIn members.
The default behavior is anonymous, private browsing, even from mobile devices. But customized account settings can change when profile view notifications are triggered. Understanding these nuances allows discreet research while respecting other members and LinkedIn’s policies.