How do I delete a personal message on LinkedIn?

If you have sent or received a message on LinkedIn that you want to remove, you can delete personal messages from your inbox. Here’s how:

Deleting a message you sent

If you want to delete a message that you sent to another member, follow these steps:

1. Go to the LinkedIn website and log into your account.
2. Click on the My Network icon at the top of your homepage.
3. Next, click on the Messages link in the left sidebar.
4. This will open up your LinkedIn inbox. Locate the message thread containing the message you want to delete.
5. Click on the dropdown arrow next to the message and select “Delete this message.”
6. A confirmation box will pop up. Click “Delete” to confirm that you want to permanently delete the message.

Once you delete a message you sent, it will be removed from both your inbox as well as the recipient’s inbox. The recipient will see a note indicating the message was deleted by the sender.

Deleting a message you received

If another LinkedIn member has sent you a message that you want to remove from your inbox, here are the steps to delete it:

1. Go to your LinkedIn inbox and open the message thread containing the message you want to delete.
2. Hover over the message and click on the dropdown arrow.
3. Select “Delete this message” from the dropdown menu.
4. A confirmation box will appear. Click “Delete” to confirm.

When you delete a received message, it will only be removed from your inbox. The sender will still have the sent message in their inbox.

Permanently deleting a message thread

If you want to permanently delete an entire message thread from your LinkedIn inbox, you can do so by following these steps:

1. Go to your LinkedIn inbox and click on the message thread you want to delete to open it.
2. In the upper right corner of the message thread, click the “More” icon (the three small dots).
3. Select “Delete thread” from the dropdown menu.
4. A confirmation box will appear. Click “Delete” to confirm.

Deleting a message thread will permanently remove the entire conversational thread from your inbox. If the thread contains messages you sent, they will also be deleted from the recipient’s inbox.

How to recover a deleted message

Once you permanently delete a message or thread on LinkedIn, there is no built-in way to recover or retrieve it. However, here are some things you can try if you change your mind and want to get a deleted message back:

• If you remember the message content, try sending it again and explain to the recipient you accidentally deleted the original message.
• If you deleted a message thread, you may be able to find some of the messages in your email inbox if you had email notifications enabled for LinkedIn messages.
• Check your browser history to see if you can find records of the deleted messages there.
• Use a file recovery program to scan your hard drive and try to retrieve deleted LinkedIn messages, if you had the website open at the time.
• As a last resort, you can try reaching out to the LinkedIn customer service team to see if they have any ability to restore deleted messages from their archives.

Unfortunately, once a LinkedIn message is deleted, the chances of getting it back are low, so be certain before clicking that confirmation button.

How to disable message deletion

If you want to prevent yourself or others from deleting message threads in your LinkedIn inbox, you can disable the deletion capability by following these steps:

1. Click on your profile avatar in the top right corner of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Select “Settings & Privacy” from the dropdown menu.
3. Go to the “Communications” tab under settings.
4. Under “Message Deletion,” toggle the setting to “Off.”
5. Click “Save” to apply the new setting.

With message deletion turned off, the “Delete this message” option will disappear from your LinkedIn inbox. You won’t be able to remove messages as an individual or entire threads.

One thing to keep in mind is this setting applies to both you and others messaging you. If someone sends you an inappropriate message, disabling deletion means you cannot remove it from your inbox without re-enabling the capability first.

Closing inactive message threads

If you want to tidy up your LinkedIn inbox and focus on active conversations, you can close message threads that have been dormant for a while.

Closing an inactive thread will archive it and remove it from your main inbox view. However, it will not permanently delete the messages. Here is how to close old threads:

1. Go to your LinkedIn inbox and click to open the inactive message thread.
2. Click “More” in the upper right corner.
3. Select “Close conversation” from the dropdown menu.
4. The thread will now be closed and archived for future reference if needed.

To view your archived messages and conversations at any time, simply click the “Archived” link in your LinkedIn inbox sidebar.

Blocking someone who sent inappropriate messages

If another LinkedIn member is sending you offensive, harassing, or unwanted messages, you can block them so they can no longer message you. Here’s how to block a LinkedIn member:

1. In your inbox, open up the message thread with the person you want to block.
2. Click the “More” icon in the upper right corner.
3. Select “Block/report [name]” from the menu.
4. Choose “Block” on the next screen and confirm when prompted.

Once blocked, that member will no longer be able to send you messages or see your profile and posts. And you won’t be notified about any new messages they attempt to send.

Blocking only prevents messaging in one direction. You can continue to send them messages, which they can read and respond to unless they also block you.

Reporting harassing or inappropriate messages

If someone sends you messages that violate LinkedIn’s professional community policies, you should report them to LinkedIn by following these steps:

1. Open the message thread and click “More.”
2. Select “Block/report [name].”
3. Choose “Report” on the next screen.
4. Check the box next to the type of violation and provide any additional details.
5. Click “Submit” to send the report to LinkedIn’s moderation team.

LinkedIn will investigate and take appropriate action according to their user guidelines. Reporting messages also gives LinkedIn visibility into problem behaviors on their platform.

Turning off messages from people you don’t know

By default, anyone can send you an InMail message on LinkedIn, even members you aren’t connected to. If you are receiving unwanted messages, you can adjust your settings to only allow messages from people in your network:

1. Go to your profile Settings & Privacy page.
2. Click on Communications in the left sidebar.
3. Under InMail, toggle “Messages from people I don’t know” to the off position.
4. Save the change.

With this setting disabled, only first-degree connections will be able to message you directly on LinkedIn moving forward.

Conclusion

Keeping your LinkedIn inbox clean by deleting unnecessary messages helps you stay focused on important conversations and business opportunities. Make sure to be prudent about what you delete, as deleted messages can’t be recovered. If you receive harassing messages, it’s important to not only delete them but also block and report the sender to protect yourself and others on the platform.