How do I delete a LinkedIn account when I do not know the email or the password?

Deleting a LinkedIn account when you don’t know the email or password can be challenging, but it is possible. In this article, we will walk through the steps you need to take to delete your LinkedIn account without access to the login credentials.

Why You Might Want To Delete Your LinkedIn Account

There are a few common reasons why someone might want to delete their LinkedIn account without knowing the login information:

• You no longer use LinkedIn and want to remove your information and presence from the platform.
• You want to start fresh with a new LinkedIn profile but can’t access your old account.
• Your account has been hacked or compromised and you want to delete it.
• You have multiple LinkedIn accounts and want to consolidate down to one profile.
• You are unhappy with LinkedIn’s services or privacy policies and want to leave the platform.

Whatever the reason, deleting your LinkedIn account without credentials is possible, it just takes a few extra steps.

Contact LinkedIn Customer Service

The first step is to contact LinkedIn’s customer service team for help deleting your account. Here’s how:

1. Go to LinkedIn’s contact support page at https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin. Select the option for “I need help with my account.”
2. Choose the topic “Deleting your account.” Then select “I want to permanently close my account.”
3. You will be prompted to log in, but click the link that says “I cannot access my account.”
4. On the next page, select the option “I do not have access to these accounts anymore.”
5. Fill out the form with any details about the account you can remember, such as your name, location, company, etc. Provide as much identifying information as possible.
6. In the notes, explain clearly that you are requesting for your LinkedIn account to be deleted without access to the credentials. State that you are the account owner and want the profile removed.
7. Click submit. LinkedIn will follow up with you via email to verify your identity.

This process puts in a request with LinkedIn to delete your account. Next, you’ll need to go through some identity verification steps.

Verify Your Identity

To delete your account without credentials, LinkedIn will need to verify your identity to confirm you are the account owner. Here are some ways they may have you prove your identity:

• Provide documentation – LinkedIn may ask you to send copies of official documentation such as a driver’s license, passport, or utility bills showing your name and address.
• Answer security questions – If you previously set up security questions on your account, LinkedIn will ask you to provide those details to verify identity.
• Give additional account details – You may be asked to provide information only the account owner would know, such as your positions, connections, education history, etc.
• Send photo verification – LinkedIn may send you a code to write down on paper, take a photo holding it, and send it back to them.

Be prepared to go through one or more of these identity verification steps. LinkedIn needs proof you are the account owner before they will delete the profile.

Request Account Deletion Again

Once LinkedIn has verified your identity through their process, they will let you know your request to delete the account can proceed.

You will have to put in the request again, now that your identity has been confirmed. Follow the same steps above to contact LinkedIn’s customer support, but this time indicate you have completed identity verification and are re-requesting account deletion.

LinkedIn should now be able to fully delete your account, as the platform will have the necessary proof you are the owner.

Be Prepared To Wait

It can take LinkedIn up to 30 days to fully process an account deletion request and remove your profile from their system.

This is because LinkedIn data is spread across multiple databases and servers, so it takes time to clean out all your information. They need to unlink your profile from all connections, groups, posts, and other data points.

So after you’ve put in the deletion request after identity verification, be patient. It may take the full 30 days before your LinkedIn account is permanently deleted.

Create a New LinkedIn Account

If your goal is to start fresh with a new LinkedIn profile, you can go ahead and create one while waiting for your old account to be deleted.

Just be sure to use a new email address when signing up, since your old email will likely still be associated with the account LinkedIn is removing. Avoid any overlap between the old and new profiles.

Within a month, your previous LinkedIn presence should be completely erased allowing you to build your new profile from scratch.

You Can Regain Access To Delete

If you realize you can regain access to your lost LinkedIn account credentials later, that is another way to delete your profile.

You can reset your password via email or security questions if you regain access to your LinkedIn login email or set up account recovery options.

Once logged in, you can immediately go to your account settings and permanently delete the LinkedIn profile and all associated data.

Having the credentials makes it much quicker to remove your account versus having to go through LinkedIn customer support.

Best Practices To Avoid This Issue

To avoid having to go through this identity verification process in the future, follow these best practices:

• Update your recovery options – Set a backup email and mobile number on your LinkedIn account to recover access if lost.
• Keep credentials safe – Store your LinkedIn login and password securely, such as in a password manager.
• Remove unused accounts – If you have old or extra LinkedIn accounts, delete them so only one active is left.
• Review account details – Periodically check your LinkedIn profile information is up to date in case you ever need to recover access.

Following these tips will make it much simpler to access your account if you ever misplace credentials or need to delete your profile.

Can LinkedIn Delete Your Account Without Permission?

LinkedIn is unlikely to delete your account without your permission. The only instances where this may occur are:

• Your account is compromised and used for spam/abuse.
• You violate LinkedIn’s terms of service or community guidelines.
• Your account is completely inactive for years.

In most cases, LinkedIn will simply disable or restrict the account until you can regain access and manage it properly. Outright deleting accounts without the owner’s consent is rare.

You maintain full control over closing your LinkedIn account in almost all situations. LinkedIn will only intervene in cases of severe misuse that threatens their community.

Is It Possible To Recover A Deleted LinkedIn Account?

Unfortunately, once your LinkedIn account has been permanently deleted, it is gone for good. LinkedIn removes all associated data from their systems during account termination.

That said, when an account is initially closed, LinkedIn places it in a deactivated state for 30 days before permanent deletion.

Within this grace period, you may be able to appeal for account recovery if it was closed in error. Contact LinkedIn customer service immediately to discuss options.

But after the 30 day deactivated period ends, there is no way to retrieve or restore a deleted LinkedIn profile. The account removal at that point is final.

So if you change your mind after requesting account termination, be sure to reach out to LinkedIn within a month. Otherwise, the account will be lost forever when the deletion process completes.

Closing Your LinkedIn Account Permanently

Deleting your LinkedIn profile permanently removes your presence from the platform and deletes all personal data. Here are a few last reminders when closing an account:

• Back up or export any important data before requesting account deletion.
• Make connections aware you are leaving so they can stay in touch elsewhere.
• Check for any active job applications or contacts through LinkedIn that need to be addressed.
• Consider if you may want to reactivate the account later before proceeding with permanent deletion.

While it takes some extra effort, you can successfully delete your LinkedIn account even without access to the login credentials. Just contact their customer support team for assistance.

With identity verification, you’ll be able to prove you are the account owner and have the profile removed. Be patient as account termination can take up to 30 days to fully complete after approval.

Conclusion

Deleting a LinkedIn account without access to the associated email or password is achievable – it just requires going through LinkedIn’s identity verification process. Contact their customer support, confirm your identity, and re-request account termination. Then allow up to a month for the permanent deletion to fully process. With some persistence, you can remove any unwanted LinkedIn profiles from their platform.

Related posts:

1. Are Messages on LinkedIn Secure?
2. Is LinkedIn Messaging Public?
3. Do LinkedIn Messages Cost Money?
4. Is LinkedIn Message Private?