LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 700 million users worldwide. Given its popularity, many people want to download and save copies of their LinkedIn profiles and connections for personal archiving or offline access. While LinkedIn doesn’t directly allow users to download their entire profile and connections in one click, there are several methods to export and save this data from LinkedIn.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover different techniques to download your complete LinkedIn profile as well as your connections using LinkedIn settings and third-party tools.
Overview of Contents
- Exporting your LinkedIn profile data using account settings
- Downloading your LinkedIn connections list
- Using third-party tools to export LinkedIn data
- Important considerations when downloading LinkedIn data
Exporting Your LinkedIn Profile Data Using Account Settings
The easiest way to download your LinkedIn profile information is through LinkedIn’s account settings. Here are the steps to export your profile data:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile and click on the ‘Me’ icon at the top right. This will open up your account settings.
- In the left sidebar, click on the ‘Getting started’ section. Here you will see an option for ‘Getting a copy of your data’.
- On the page that opens, click on the ‘Request archive’ button to initiate your profile data export.
- LinkedIn will start processing your data export request. It may take up to 48 hours for LinkedIn to collate and compile your profile data into an archive.
- Once ready, you will receive an email from LinkedIn with a download link for your data archive. The email will contain a link to download your data archive in a ZIP file format.
- Click on the link, enter your LinkedIn password when prompted, and your profile data ZIP file will start downloading to your computer.
- Unzip the downloaded file and you will see your LinkedIn data organized into folders like About, Connections, Education, Experience, etc.
This LinkedIn data export includes all your profile data including summary, work experience, education, skills, recommendations, interests, volunteering, licenses & certifications, accomplishments, etc.
However, this method only allows you to download your own profile information. Your connections data is not included in this archive. In the next section, we will cover how to download your list of LinkedIn connections.
Important Data Included in LinkedIn Profile Download
Here are some of the key types of profile data included in the LinkedIn account data download:
- General account information like name, photo, headline, etc.
- Contact information you have added to your profile
- Your LinkedIn profile summary & overview
- Work experience details including company names, job titles, descriptions, dates, etc.
- Education details like schools, degrees, majors, dates attended, etc.
- Skills and endorsements you have added or received
- Recommendations written by your connections
- Interests and volunteering details
- Certifications and honors
- Content you have published or shared on LinkedIn
- Ads you have clicked or impressions
- Groups you have joined or created
This detailed profile data can be useful for updating your resume, porting your profile to another system, maintaining records, or analyzing your LinkedIn presence.
Downloading Your LinkedIn Connections List
While the LinkedIn profile data archive contains all information added to your profile, it does not include your LinkedIn network connections.
To download and export your list of LinkedIn connections, follow these steps:
- Go to your LinkedIn connections page. On LinkedIn desktop, you can find this under ‘My Network’ in the top navbar.
- On the connections page, click on the ‘Manage synced and imported contacts’ link under the ‘Connections’ heading.
- On the next page, click on the ‘Export LinkedIn connections’ button to initiate the download process.
- LinkedIn will process your connections data and prepare an archive. This may take up to 24 hours.
- You will receive an email from LinkedIn with the link to download your connections archive in a CSV file format.
- Download the CSV file to your computer and open it in a spreadsheet program like Excel.
The downloaded CSV file will contain the full name, headline, company, location, industry, and other data for each of your LinkedIn connections.
Important Details in LinkedIn Connections Export
Here are some of the key data fields included for each connection in the exported CSV file:
- Full name
- Headline or occupation title
- Location
- Industry
- Company
- Position title
- Profile URL
- How you are connected (1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree)
- Date connected
This connections list will allow you to maintain an up-to-date backup of your network on LinkedIn.
Using Third-Party Tools to Export LinkedIn Data
While LinkedIn’s native data export options allow you to download your profile and connections, there are some limitations:
- Only your own account data can be exported, not others’ profiles
- Connections must be downloaded separately from profile
- Frequency of exports is limited to once per week
- Data is fragmented across multiple file formats
To overcome this, many users leverage third-party tools and services to export their LinkedIn data in a faster, more flexible manner.
Here are some popular third-party tools for downloading LinkedIn profiles and connections:
1. Import.io
- Web-based scraping tool to import data from websites
- Create customized scrapers to export LinkedIn profiles as structured data
- Scraper can crawl multiple profiles based on keywords or filters
- Export options include CSV, API, Google Sheets, etc.
- Free plan for basic usage, premium plans for more data
2. LinkedIn X-Ray Search
- Chrome extension to export LinkedIn search results
- Supports customized boolean searches on LinkedIn profiles
- Exports results to a CSV list up to 1000 profiles
- Free extension with option to upgrade for more results
3. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- LinkedIn’s premium Sales Navigator tool
- Can export up to 2000 profiles results at a time as a CSV
- Available as part of Sales Navigator subscription plans
- Ideal for sales & recruitment professionals for targeted outreach
4. Octopus for LinkedIn
- Google Sheets add-on to import LinkedIn data
- Analyze results of LinkedIn searches, companies, groups, etc.
- Schedule automated data exports to refresh LinkedIn information
- Can also post to LinkedIn, send messages, etc. via Google Sheets
- 14-day free trial, paid plans start at $9.99/month
These tools provide greater flexibility and customization for exporting LinkedIn data at scale. The tradeoff is that configuration is more complex compared to LinkedIn’s built-in options. Evaluate your use case to decide which method meets your needs.
Important Considerations When Downloading LinkedIn Data
When exporting your LinkedIn profile and connections data, keep these important considerations in mind:
1. Privacy and Permission
Respect the privacy of your LinkedIn connections. Only download and store their data for legitimate professional purposes. Be thoughtful about sharing the exported data outside of your own secure uses.
2. Terms of Service Compliance
It is critical to comply with LinkedIn’s terms of service when exporting data. Do not use scraping or automation techniques that abuse LinkedIn systems or compromise user experience.
3. Maintaining Professional Standards
When interacting with LinkedIn connections whose data you have exported, be transparent about your practices and maintain professional standards. Do not exploit or misuse the data for unsolicited outreach.
4. Data Freshness and Accuracy
Downloaded LinkedIn data can quickly become outdated. Profile details, connections, and other data change constantly on the live platform. Periodically refresh your exported data.
5. Security of Exported Data
Take steps to responsibly secure and store the exported LinkedIn data, especially if it contains sensitive business or personal information of connections.
Conclusion
While LinkedIn does not offer a single click download for your entire account data, the profile and connections export options do allow you to get most of your key information out with some effort.
Third-party tools can provide more flexibility for customized large scale LinkedIn data exports if configured properly. Just be sure to exercise good judgement when handling the exported data.
With this guide, you should have a better understanding of the methods available to export and download your LinkedIn profile as well as connections data using official account settings or third-party tools.
FAQs
Is LinkedIn data download free?
Yes, LinkedIn allows you to use the built-in settings to export your profile and connections data for free. Third-party tools may charge a fee for advanced LinkedIn data exports.
What are the limits on LinkedIn data export?
The frequency of LinkedIn’s account data exports is limited to once per week. Third-party tools may have higher rate limits. The amount of data is capped based on your specific account.
Is it legal to download LinkedIn data?
It is permitted by LinkedIn’s terms of service to utilize the built-in data export options they provide or to use third-party tools legally and appropriately. Scraping or spamming LinkedIn is prohibited.
What are best practices for downloaded LinkedIn data?
You should securely store exported LinkedIn data, refresh it periodically, use it professionally and ethically, obtain any necessary consent where applicable, and comply with LinkedIn’s terms of service.
Can I download LinkedIn data without an account?
No, a LinkedIn account is required in order to utilize the data export options. The profile being downloaded must also match the account used to request the data.