How do I hide myself from searching on LinkedIn?

Hiding your profile from searches on LinkedIn can be desirable for various reasons – you may be between jobs and don’t want recruiters contacting you, or you want to limit who can find and connect with you. While you can’t completely remove yourself from LinkedIn search, there are steps you can take to have more control over your visibility.

Make Your Profile Private

The easiest way to limit your exposure on LinkedIn is to make your profile private. Here’s how:

1. Go to your profile settings (click on the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage and select Settings & Privacy)
2. Under the Privacy tab, select Edit your public profile and tagline
3. Change the option for Make my public profile visible to “No”

This will remove you from appearing in Google searches and public LinkedIn profiles. People will only be able to view your profile if they are directly connected to you on LinkedIn.

Remove Your Last Name

Even with a private profile, people may still be able to find you by searching your full name on LinkedIn. To make this more difficult, you can remove your last name from your profile.

1. Go to your public profile settings
2. Delete your last name from the name fields
3. You can also remove your name from past positions and education history to further limit name exposure

Just be aware this means no one will be able to identify you by name unless already connected. It also looks a bit strange to have no last name, so use judgment when removing it.

Change Profile URL

Your personalized LinkedIn URL contains your name by default (e.g. linkedin.com/in/john-smith-b812ba13b). To prevent searchers from locating you this way:

1. Go to your public profile url settings
2. Edit the url to something unidentifiable (linkedin.com/in/youruniqueurl)

This ensures your name won’t appear in the web address. Just know that once you change it, your old url can’t be retrieved.

Turn Off Public LinkedIn Signals

LinkedIn allows you to publicly share when you make profile changes via LinkedIn Signals. This exposes your activity to your network. To disable:

1. Go to Settings & Privacy > Sharing your LinkedIn activity
2. Uncheck the box for Share profile edits you make

With this turned off, your network won’t get notifications when you update your profile, reducing your exposure.

Remove Profile Photo

Profile photos allow people to easily identify you. Removing yours adds a layer of anonymity:

1. Go to your profile and hover over your photo
2. Click on the camera icon and select Remove

Without a photo, searchers will have a harder time matching you to your profile. Just know a blank avatar looks strange, so use discretion here.

Disable Google Search Indexing

Even with the above steps, your name and profile info may still appear in Google search results. To remove yourself:

1. Go to Google Search Console and select a website property
2. Under Index, select Remove URLs
3. Enter your personalized LinkedIn URL and submit to remove it from Google’s index

This prevents Google from surfacing your profile in searches. However, it can take time for pages to drop out of the index after URL removal.

Limit Profile Views

You can see who has viewed your LinkedIn profile under the Stats section. To turn this tracking off:

1. Go to Settings & Privacy > Sharing profile stats
2. Uncheck the box for Let others know you viewed their profile

This stops your profile views from being logged. You won’t be able to see who views you, but it adds some privacy.

Adjust Your Activity Broadcasts

LinkedIn automatically shares certain activities you do, like starting a new position or celebrating a work anniversary. Turn these off under Settings & Privacy > Sharing your LinkedIn activity.

You can disable sharing for each major event type individually. This prevents unnecessary updates from reaching your network.

Limit Old Profile Versions

LinkedIn automatically maintains past versions of your profile. To restrict access to these:

1. Go to Settings & Privacy > Profile viewing options
2. Under Profile versions, change the setting from 3 Past versions to No past versions

This prevents people from digging up your profile history if you’ve made major changes to reduce visibility.

Conclusion

While you can’t remove yourself fully, these tips allow you to minimize your LinkedIn exposure and take control over your profile visibility. Some key takeaways include:

• Make your profile private
• Remove name and photo identifiers
• Change your profile URL
• Turn off profile viewing and sharing settings
• Disable search engine indexing

Balance limiting exposure with maintaining an active, professional presence on the platform. With the right settings adjusted, you can stay selectively visible for networking and career growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I completely remove my profile from LinkedIn searches?

No, there is no way to fully remove your profile from LinkedIn’s platform. Even with a private profile, LinkedIn still houses your data on their servers. The best you can do is use privacy settings to minimize your exposure to other users.

What’s the point of having a LinkedIn profile if I hide my info?

Having some LinkedIn presence can still be beneficial for networking and passive job seeking, even with a private profile. It allows you to connect with colleagues, follow companies, and engage with content without being overly visible. You can still message connections or receive opportunities while limiting public exposure.

Should I delete my LinkedIn account to stop being searchable?

Deleting your account will remove your profile, but a complete deletion is permanent. You may want to keep your connections and network for future job search or career moves. Try adjusting privacy settings first before deciding to delete your account entirely.

What if I only want to be visible to recruiters but no one else?

LinkedIn doesn’t allow you to customize visibility at that level. Even with a private profile, any of your existing connections can see your full profile. The best options are to limit visibility broadly or proactively connect with recruiters you want contacting you.

Can someone on LinkedIn still find my profile if they have my exact name?

Yes, it is possible for someone to locate your private profile through an exact name search on LinkedIn. Removing identifiable info like your last name and photo makes this more difficult. But with a common first name, your profile may still appear in their search results.

Is it bad to remove info from my LinkedIn profile?

It’s generally not advisable to remove valuable profile sections like your skills, education, and experience. This may raise questions with recruiters. Focus first on privacy settings before deleting core professional details.

Should I be concerned about LinkedIn tracking my profile views?

View tracking can feel invasive but is mainly used by LinkedIn to gauge content relevance. Limiting view tracking reduces unsolicited outreach if you appear frequently in “Who’s Viewed Your Profile.” But disabling it means losing those insights for your own profile as well.

How often should I revisit my LinkedIn privacy settings?

LinkedIn frequently adds and changes features that can impact privacy controls. It’s wise to review all your settings at least every few months. When major profile changes occur, like switching jobs, it’s also smart to check your visibility at that time.

Will LinkedIn penalize or limit my account if I hide my profile?

There are no penalties or account limitations for utilizing LinkedIn’s privacy options. You can be as public or private as you want. Just be aware some visibility is required to fully engage on the platform if you desire.

Conclusion

Balancing visibility and privacy on LinkedIn comes down to personal preference and career needs. The available options give you flexibility to engage professionally while limiting broader exposure. Take the time to fully review and adjust your settings for the right mix of access and discretion.