Hiding your LinkedIn activity from your current employer can be tricky, but it is possible. LinkedIn offers some privacy settings and features that allow you to limit what your connections see about your profile and activity. Here are some tips to help you hide your LinkedIn activity from your employer:
Adjust Your Profile Visibility Settings
LinkedIn allows you to control who can see your full profile and activity. Go to your Settings & Privacy page and adjust the visibility settings:
- Profile viewing options – Set this to “Your Connections” to limit full profile viewing to only people you are connected with.
- Activity broadcasts – Turn this off so your connections will not receive notifications when you add connections, make posts, etc.
- Share profile edits – Disable this so changes to your profile are not announced.
- Show current position and employer – You may want to remove your current job title and employer so your profile is more ambiguous.
Be Selective With Your Connections
Be careful when connecting with co-workers on LinkedIn. Consider not connecting with your boss and direct coworkers. Also, review your existing connections and prune any coworkers you do not want seeing your full activity.
Use Private Mode When Browsing
When you are logged into your LinkedIn account, your activity is tracked. Use LinkedIn’s private browsing mode to browse anonymously. Here’s how:
- Click on your profile picture in the top right corner
- Select “Private mode”
- This will open an incognito browser window where your activity is not tied to your account
Limit Interactions With Current Coworkers
Be careful liking, commenting on, or sharing posts made by coworkers. This leaves evidence that you are actively using LinkedIn. Also avoid endorsing or providing recommendations for current coworkers.
Remove Coworkers From Your Feed
By default, posts by your connections show up in your LinkedIn feed. Remove current coworkers from your feed so their posts do not appear for you:
- Go to your feed and click the three dots next to a coworker’s post
- Select “Remove from feed”
- This will stop all posts from that connection appearing in your feed
Use an Alternate Profile Picture
Using your work headshot as your LinkedIn profile picture makes you easily identifiable to your employer. Upload a neutral picture that does not associate you with your current company.
Remove Company Name From Headline
Your LinkedIn headline appears at the top of your profile. It typically states your current job title and company name. Consider removing the company name and just listing your job title to make your employment status more vague.
Disable Profile and Activity Notifications
By default, LinkedIn sends email summaries of your profile changes and activity. Turn these notifications off so there is no evidence if your employer has access to your emails:
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Communications
- Uncheck the boxes for “Profile updates, views and activity” and “Profile updates, views and activity for members you follow”
Remove Company Updates, Jobs, and Content
Following your company page or coworkers could expose your activity. Unfollow your company page. You can also remove company updates from your feed and hide employee information to eliminate employer related content.
Use an Alternate Email Address
If your employer provided your LinkedIn email address, consider changing it to a personal address. This ensures notifications and messages will not reveal your activity. Go to Settings & Privacy > Account preferences to change the email.
Limit Company Information In Your Profile
Remove details about your current employer from your profile such as a detailed job description. The less specific info about your role, the better.
Turn Off Activity Broadcasts
Activity broadcasts announce when you update your profile or make new connections. Turn these off in Settings & Privacy > Turn on/off your activity broadcasts.
Conclusion
Taking the right steps to limit visibility into your LinkedIn activity can prevent your employer from tracking your job search or networking on the platform. Adjust profile visibility settings, be selective with connections, use private browsing, and remove company related content from your feed and profile. With the right precautions, you can still use LinkedIn to advance your career without tipping off your current employer.
| Tip | How it Helps |
|---|---|
| Adjust profile visibility settings | Limits full profile viewing to only connections |
| Be selective with connections | Prevents coworkers from seeing your activity |
| Use private browsing | Allows anonymous browsing without tracking |
| Limit interactions with coworkers | Reduces evidence of your LinkedIn use |
| Remove coworkers from your feed | Eliminates their posts from your News Feed |
| Use an alternate profile picture | Makes you less identifiable to employer |
| Remove company from headline | Makes your employment status more vague |
| Disable notifications | No emails revealing your activity are sent |
| Remove company updates and content | Limits employer-related info in your feed |
| Use alternate email address | Notifications not tied to work email |
| Limit company details in profile | Reduces specificity about your role |
| Turn off activity broadcasts | Stops announcements of your profile changes |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my employer see my LinkedIn activity?
Your employer can only see your activity if you are directly connected on LinkedIn. However, even connections have limited visibility based on your privacy settings. Employers may also see some activity if you interact with company content.
Is private browsing on LinkedIn really private?
Yes, LinkedIn’s private browsing mode does not track or save your browsing activity when active. It essentially acts like an incognito window while browsing LinkedIn anonymously.
Should I connect with coworkers on LinkedIn?
It’s generally fine to connect with coworkers you trust, but avoid connecting with your direct supervisor or anyone you think may monitor your activity. Review connections periodically and remove any as needed.
Can I fully hide my profile from my employer?
Not completely if you are directly connected. But adjusting visibility settings limits what connections see. Unconnecting from employer contacts provides more complete privacy.
Is it bad to browse LinkedIn while logged into my work device?
Potentially. Your employer could monitor browsing history on work devices. For complete privacy, use a personal device and network when browsing LinkedIn.
What are the risks of my employer seeing my LinkedIn activity?
Main risks include your employer knowing you are actively job searching or networking. This could raise questions about your commitment to your current role. Visibility into your activity also eliminates any element of surprise if you do end up leaving.
Expert Tips
- Turn off all email and push notifications from LinkedIn to eliminate a paper trail of your activity.
- Do not use your work email or phone number when setting up your LinkedIn account.
- Regularly review your connections list and remove any outdated or unnecessary connections.
- Browse LinkedIn in private/incognito mode as much as possible.
- Be thoughtful when liking, sharing or commenting on others’ content.
- Change your LinkedIn password periodically in case it is compromised.
- Use a P.O. box or separate address not associated with your employer.
- Never access LinkedIn from a work computer or network.
- Review all privacy and account settings regularly for changes.
- Do not link other social media accounts to your LinkedIn account.
Being proactive about limiting visibility into your LinkedIn profile and activity prevents issues with your current employer. Take advantage of LinkedIn’s privacy controls and be selective about what information you share publicly. With the right precautions, you can focus on growing your professional network and progressing your career while keeping your employer in the dark.