Having your phone number show up on LinkedIn when you haven’t provided it yourself can be confusing and concerning. There are a few potential ways that other LinkedIn users can obtain your phone number without your permission.
You Inadvertently Made Your Phone Number Public
One of the most common ways people get access to your phone number is if you inadvertently made it public yourself. Here are a few ways this could have happened:
- You included your phone number in your LinkedIn profile information, such as in the contact info section, your summary, or your experience descriptions.
- You have your phone number published on your personal website or blog, which is linked to from your LinkedIn profile.
- You used your phone number as your LinkedIn username when signing up for an account.
- You included your phone number in a LinkedIn post, comment, private message, or InMail.
Carefully check your LinkedIn profile and account settings to see if your phone number is visible anywhere to others. Make sure to remove it from anywhere public that you find it.
Your Phone Number Was Scraped From Another Website
Some people or automated bots scrape publicly available information from websites and aggregate it. If you had your phone number available somewhere else online, such as:
- On your personal or company website
- In a press release
- On a public directory listing
- In a public social media profile like Facebook or Twitter
It’s possible your number was taken from those sites and added to a database that some LinkedIn users utilize for lead generation or recruiting purposes.
To prevent this in the future, review where you have your number listed publicly online and remove it where appropriate. You may want to list an email or contact form instead of a phone number directly on public sites.
Your Number Was Shared By a Connection
Sometimes connections in your network may intentionally or inadvertently share your contact details with others. Ways this can happen include:
- A coworker exported their outlook contacts and uploaded to LinkedIn.
- A recruiter exported a list of candidates with contact info from an applicant tracking system.
- Someone forwarded an email you were cc’ed on that contained your signature with phone number.
- A connection downloaded their LinkedIn connections with contact info using a browser extension or other tool.
It’s good practice to be careful who you share your direct contact info with. Avoid including it in group emails or message threads when possible to limit exposure.
Your Number Was Obtained Through Public Records
Public records like property records, corporation filings, court documents, and voter registration lists often contain phone numbers. Some recruiters, salespeople and marketers use public records databases to build prospect and lead lists.
If your phone number was obtained from public records and uploaded to LinkedIn by a third party, there is little you can do to remove it. However, you can report the profile to LinkedIn for publishing your private contact information without consent.
A Recruiter or Salesperson Uploaded Lists With Your Info
Many recruiters and sales professionals upload lists of contacts to LinkedIn to enable them to connect with prospects and candidates. If you applied for a job, signed up for a website download, attended a trade show, or provided your number in various other business settings, it may have ended up in one of these lists.
It’s difficult to prevent your contact info from being shared in this way, but being cautious who you provide your number to can help avoid at least some instances of this.
Your Number Was Obtained from Lead or Data Brokers
Some companies specialize in aggregating contact data from various sources, matching it to LinkedIn profiles, and selling it as LinkedIn lead lists. They may obtain phone numbers from:
- Public sources like property records, corporation documents, and court filings
- Website traffic and ad click data
- Purchase from other lead generation companies
- Scraping public websites and resume databases
Since lead brokers derive their data from both public and private sources, there is often little you can do to prevent them from obtaining your number. Be wary of anyone selling “LinkedIn lead lists” publicly online.
What To Do If Someone Has Your Number
If you come across someone on LinkedIn who has your phone number visible in their profile but you did not intentionally provide it to them, here are some steps you can take:
- Politely message them asking them to remove your number
- Hide your phone number from your own profile to limit further spread
- Adjust your LinkedIn settings to limit who can view your number
- Report them to LinkedIn for publishing your private information
- Block them from viewing your full profile and contacting you
Getting your number removed from just one LinkedIn profile likely won’t prevent all cases of people having it, but can help mitigate the issue.
Conclusion
There are many ways your phone number can end up in the hands of LinkedIn users without your consent. From public records and web scraping to misuse of private data and accidental sharing by connections, it’s hard to prevent entirely.
However, being cautious who you share your number with directly, limiting what you make public online, and using tools like LinkedIn’s profile visibility settings can help minimize the risk. If you do find your number being misused on LinkedIn, act swiftly to have it removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible to do a reverse phone lookup on LinkedIn?
No, LinkedIn does not have an official reverse phone lookup feature. However, some third-party browser extensions and tools claim to enable reverse lookup capabilities using data scraped from LinkedIn profiles.
Can I report someone on LinkedIn for posting my phone number?
Yes, you can report a LinkedIn member for posting your personal information like a phone number without consent. Use the “Report/Block” option on their profile and select “Report – They posted my personal info” as the reason.
Why do some LinkedIn profiles have a Phone icon but no number?
The phone icon indicates the member has added a phone number, but has likely set it to only be visible to themselves or their 1st-degree connections. Their number is intentionally hidden from the general public.
Does LinkedIn verify or check that phone numbers are accurate?
No, LinkedIn does not verify the accuracy of phone numbers users add to their profiles. Members can enter any number they choose, accurate or not.
Can I hide my phone number on my LinkedIn profile?
Yes, you can control the visibility of your phone number in your profile settings. Under “Contact Info” visibility, choose an option like “Only visible to you” to hide it.
Summary Tables
Ways Your Number Gets on LinkedIn | Prevention Tips |
---|---|
You made it public inadvertently | Remove from profile fields, posts, messages |
Scraped from another website | Limit number’s public availability online |
Shared by a connection | Be selective who you give number to |
Obtained from public records | Not much you can do |
Uploaded in contact lists | Be cautious providing to businesses |
Obtained by lead brokers | Avoid public opt-in offers online |
What To Do | Action Steps |
---|---|
Someone has your number |
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