How do I completely cancel LinkedIn?

Many professionals use LinkedIn to network and look for jobs. However, some users eventually decide they want to delete their LinkedIn account permanently. There are a few reasons why someone may want to cancel LinkedIn, including privacy concerns, reducing social media use, avoiding connections with co-workers, and more.

Deleting your LinkedIn account is not difficult, but the process is a bit hidden. You need to access the correct settings page and click through several confirmation screens. It can take up to 90 days for LinkedIn to fully delete all of your data after cancellation.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to fully cancel your LinkedIn account through the website.

Why Would You Want to Cancel LinkedIn?

There are several reasons why someone may want to delete their LinkedIn account:

• Privacy concerns – LinkedIn requires you to provide a lot of personal and professional information. Some users worry about how their data is used or who can view their profile.
• Reduce social media use – LinkedIn can be distracting and time-consuming. Deleting it can help refocus time and energy.
• Avoid connections – Some people want to control who can contact them on LinkedIn, especially co-workers or recruiters.
• No longer needed – If you are not job searching or networking, LinkedIn may no longer provide value.
• Leaving a job – You may wish to separate your online presence from a previous employer.
• Starting over – You can delete your account if you want to create a new profile without connections to the old one.

Whatever your reasons, canceling LinkedIn is a option if the platform no longer meets your professional needs. Be aware though that deleting your account is permanent.

How Do I Cancel LinkedIn Step-by-Step?

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to fully delete your LinkedIn account:

1. Login to LinkedIn on a desktop web browser. You cannot delete your account via the mobile app.
2. Click on the profile icon at the top right corner of the screen. This will open your profile page.
3. From the profile page, click on the “More” icon near the top right and select “Settings & Privacy” from the dropdown menu.
4. This will bring you to the account settings. Click on the “Account preferences” tab at the top of the settings page.
5. Under the “Account” section, click the link for “Closing your LinkedIn account”.
6. On the account closure page, LinkedIn will show you information about what happens when you close your account. Read the information then click the red “Close your account” button.
7. On the account closure confirmation page, select your reason for leaving LinkedIn from the dropdown menu.
8. Enter your account password to confirm you want to close your account. Then click the “Close Account” button.
9. LinkedIn will give you one more confirmation page explaining account closure. Click “Close Account” again to finalize the process.

Once you complete the above steps, your LinkedIn account will be scheduled for closure. LinkedIn states it can take up to 90 days to fully delete all of your data after the closure request.

You can always cancel the account closure request within the first 24 hours by logging back in. But after one day, the deletion cannot be reversed.

What Happens When You Delete LinkedIn?

Here’s an overview of what happens after you permanently delete your LinkedIn account:

• Your profile, connections, media, conversations, and everything else will eventually be removed from LinkedIn’s servers.
• Other users will no longer be able to view your profile or search for you on LinkedIn.
• You will stop receiving notifications or emails from LinkedIn.
• Your public profile URL will go away. But the URL may still appear in search engine caches temporarily.
• 3rd party apps connected to your LinkedIn will lose access.
• Premium memberships are canceled and remaining time is forfeited.
• Deleted profiles can’t be restored. You would have to start a brand new account.

Essentially, permanently deleting your LinkedIn account removes all traces of your presence on the platform. It may take up to 3 months for the process to fully complete. But your profile and information will become inaccessible to other users right away.

What About Other LinkedIn Services?

Along with your main LinkedIn profile, closing your account also stops any other LinkedIn services you use:

• LinkedIn Learning: Any earned certificates will be lost. YourLearning progress and history will be deleted.
• Job Seeker services: Recruiters will no longer be able to contact you. You will be removed from applicant tracking systems.
• Company Pages: Admin roles and follower counts will be removed. The page itself will remain if others also have admin access.
• LinkedIn Groups: You will be removed as a group member. If you were the sole manager, the group may be deleted.
• Display Ads: Any active ad campaigns will stop and be removed.
• Partner Programs: Earnings and follower counts will be reset. Your Company Page will be unpublished.

So be aware that closing your LinkedIn account also stops any other LinkedIn-related services. Make sure to download any certificates, job application data, or other information you want to save before deleting your profile.

What About Data On Other Sites?

Closing your LinkedIn only affects data within LinkedIn and services directly connected to their platform. However, information from your LinkedIn profile may still appear on other websites if it was ever published:

• Archived versions of your public profile could be cached by search engines like Google and Bing.
• Any profile information published on other sites will remain there. For example, an employment history on a company website.
• Your published articles may still appear on other sites like Medium or independent blogs if you posted there.
• Any comments or forum posts using a LinkedIn profile will remain, but without the profile information attached.

So be prepared to also update or remove traces of your LinkedIn profile or resume from any other public sites as needed after account deletion.

Conclusion

Deleting your LinkedIn account can be done in just a few clicks, but the platform makes it a somewhat hidden process. The key steps are accessing the right account closure page and confirming your password to close the account.

It’s important to understand that account cancellation is permanent on LinkedIn. Your profile and all data will be removed within a maximum of 90 days. Any other LinkedIn services you use will also be stopped when your account is closed.

Make sure to save anything important from your LinkedIn presence before deleting your profile. And be prepared to continue cleaning up any public information or resume data that may linger on other sites. With those steps taken, you can fully cancel your LinkedIn account and its services when they are no longer useful.