How do I hide my connection activity on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a great platform for networking and making professional connections. However, you may wish to limit how much of your activity is visible to your connections for privacy reasons. There are a few things you can do on LinkedIn to hide or limit your connection activity.

Change Your Activity Broadcast Settings

LinkedIn automatically generates an activity feed broadcast whenever you make a new connection. This shows up in your connections’ feeds. If you don’t want to broadcast every connection, go to your Privacy & Settings page and adjust your activity broadcast settings:

1. Click on the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage and select Settings & Privacy
2. Go to the Privacy tab
3. Under How others see your LinkedIn activity, click on Sharing profile edits
4. Uncheck the box next to New connections to stop broadcasting when you make new connections

You can also uncheck other activity types here to control what gets broadcasted.

Remove Individual Activity Broadcasts

If you forget to turn off activity broadcasts before making a connection, you can still remove it after the fact:

1. Go to your homepage and find the activity update in your feed
2. Hover over the post and click the X icon to delete it

This will remove the broadcast from your connections’ feeds.

Change Your Profile View Settings

In addition to activity broadcasts, your connections can see who you’re connected to from your profile. To hide this:

1. Go back to the Privacy & Settings page
2. Click on Profile viewing options
3. Uncheck the box next to Show my connections

Now only you can see your connections when viewing your profile.

Remove Connections

If there are specific connections you don’t want visible, you can simply remove them from your connections list:

1. Go to your My Network page
2. Find the connection you want to remove
3. Hover over their name and click Remove Connection

This will sever the connection so it’s no longer visible or accessible. Use this option judiciously.

Disable Relationship Notifications

When someone views your LinkedIn profile, you have the option to be notified. Turn this off so others can lurk anonymously:

1. Go back to the Privacy & Settings page
2. Click on Communications
3. Uncheck the box next to Show when your connections view your profile

Disabling this prevents that “XYZ Viewed Your Profile” notification from popping up.

Use an Anonymous Profile Viewer

There are third-party browser extensions like Anonymous LinkedIn Viewer that let you visit profiles anonymously. This prevents the person from being notified you viewed them. Use these responsibly.

Make Yourself “Anonymous” on LinkedIn

If you want to go incognito on LinkedIn, you can change your public profile settings:

1. Edit your public profile and remove your photo
2. Delete your last name and add “Anonymous” as your first name
3. Remove your employment history and education
4. Change any other identifying info like location

This effectively anonymizes you so people can’t identify who you are. You give up having a professional social media presence for more privacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I delete all my LinkedIn connections?

Deleting all connections isn’t recommended in most cases. You lose access to your professional network. Try the other privacy settings first before taking this drastic step.

Can I see who views my LinkedIn profile?

Yes, LinkedIn shows you who has viewed your profile in the last 90 days – you can see this under Profile > Viewers. Turn off relationship notifications to prevent profile viewers from knowing you can see them.

Is removing a connection permanent?

Removing a LinkedIn connection severs the relationship. However, you can always re-add them as a connection later if circumstances change.

What if I only want to hide my connections from specific people?

Unfortunately LinkedIn doesn’t allow you to selectively hide connections from certain people. The profile viewing settings are all or nothing.

Pros and Cons of Hiding Your Connections

Conclusion

Controlling how much of your LinkedIn activity is visible is key for maintaining privacy boundaries. Utilize the platform’s privacy settings, limit broadcasts, and remove connections judiciously. However, balance the benefits of an open profile for networking opportunities. Hiding all activity can negatively impact your professional presence.