How long do messages stay on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is one of the most popular professional social networking sites, with over 830 million members worldwide. On LinkedIn, members can connect with other professionals, find jobs, share content, and send messages to each other. One common question that LinkedIn users have is: how long do messages stay on LinkedIn before they are automatically deleted?

The Basics of LinkedIn Messaging

LinkedIn has a messaging system that allows members to communicate privately with each other. This is useful for establishing professional connections, asking career questions, and more. Here are some key things to know about LinkedIn messaging:

• Messages are sent between connections. You can only message someone if you are connected to them on LinkedIn.
• Messages have a subject line and content area, similar to an email.
• You can attach files and images to LinkedIn messages.
• Messages show up in the LinkedIn messaging section and recipients get notifications when receiving them.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s look specifically at how long messages stay on LinkedIn before they are deleted.

LinkedIn Message Retention Policy

LinkedIn’s policy is that messages are automatically deleted after 30 days if they are not replied to. Here are some key details on how this works:

• When you send a message, it will remain for 30 days if the recipient does not reply.
• If the recipient replies, the message thread will remain intact until 30 days after the last reply.
• This means if you and a connection exchange messages back and forth, the thread will stay on LinkedIn as long as the conversation continues or until 30 days after the last reply.
• After 30 days of inactivity, the entire message thread is deleted and no longer visible to either party.

Essentially, both sides of an active conversation will remain on LinkedIn indefinitely as long as the thread is still being replied to within 30 day intervals. As soon as there is a 30 day lapse since the last reply, the system will delete the message thread.

Examples of Message Retention Scenarios

Here are some examples to illustrate how long messages stay on LinkedIn before being deleted:

• One-off message: If you send a message and the recipient never replies, the message will be deleted after 30 days automatically.
• Back and forth conversation: If you exchange a series of messages over the course of a few weeks, the entire thread will stay intact as long as the gaps between replies don’t exceed 30 days.
• Long lapse in conversation: If you message back and forth with someone but then neither of you reply for 60+ days, the entire thread will be deleted.

To put exact numbers to it, here are two example scenarios:

Scenario 1:

• January 1 – You send a message to a connection
• January 15 – No reply yet, message is still there (14 days so far)
• February 15 – Still no reply, but message remains (now 45 days)
• March 2 – The 30 days after last activity hits, so the message is deleted

Scenario 2:

• April 10 – You send a message
• April 12 – The connection replies back to you
• April 20 – You reply to their message
• May 1 – The connection replies again
• June 15 – You reply back (45 days since last reply)
• August 1 – No new activity, but thread remains (47 days since last reply, under 30 day limit)
• September 10 – 30 days since last reply hits, entire thread is deleted

As you can see, the 30 day rule applies from the last sent message for either party, keeping conversations intact as long as there is ongoing participation.

Important Notes About LinkedIn Message Deletion

There are a couple important caveats to note about LinkedIn deleting messages after 30 days of inactivity:

• The 30 day timer applies to both sides of the conversation. A reply from either the sender or recipient will reset the clock.
• Messages are permanently deleted. There is no way to recover messages after they are automatically removed after 30 days.
• Deleted messages do not show up in your LinkedIn message history. It will appear as if the conversation never happened.
• Certain messages may remain for legal compliance reasons even after 30 days. This includes reports of harassment or abuse.

The bottom line is that you generally have a 30 day window to have an active back-and-forth conversation before message threads will be permanently erased from LinkedIn’s servers. Make sure to reply promptly if you want to keep a conversation going without losing access to the thread.

How to Check When a Message Will Be Deleted

LinkedIn does not directly show users when a particular message thread will be deleted if there is no further activity. However, you can figure it out based on the timestamp of the last sent message.

Here are the steps:

1. Locate the message thread you want to check.
2. Look for the timestamp of the last sent message, either from you or the other party.
3. Add 30 days from that last activity date.
4. The message thread will be automatically deleted after that 30 day date passes without a new reply.

For example, if you see a message thread where your connection last replied on January 5th, you can calculate that the thread will be deleted on February 4th unless there is a new reply before then.

Essentially 30 days after the date of the last reply is when LinkedIn’s system will permanently remove the inactive message thread. You can use this to better gauge when certain messages you wish to keep may be deleted if not reopened.

Can You Recover Deleted Messages?

Unfortunately, there is no way to recover deleted messages on LinkedIn once they have been automatically removed after 30 days. The messages are permanently erased from LinkedIn’s servers and are not stored in any archive.

A few points on attempting to recover deleted LinkedIn messages:

• You cannot find deleted messages in your LinkedIn inbox or message history.
• Deleted messages do not end up in a Trash or Archive folder.
• Messages removed after 30 days of inactivity are permanently gone.
• Neither party will be able to access the message thread again.
• Your only option is to start a new message thread on the same topic.

Essentially once 30 days passes after the last message reply, there is no way to retrieve the conversation. The thread will simply seem to vanish from your messaging history.

The best practice is to be diligent about saving or recording important message threads you may need to keep before the 30 day deletion period passes.

How to Keep Message Threads from Being Deleted

To prevent important LinkedIn message threads from being automatically deleted, you have a few options:

• Set reminders to reply: You can set calendar reminders to reply to message threads to keep them active.
• Copy threads into another app: Frequently copy or screenshot threads to store outside of LinkedIn.
• Save important attachments: If a thread has important files, download these to your computer.
• Summarize conversations: Keep written summaries of key messages for your records.
• Export LinkedIn data: Use LinkedIn’s data export tool to save a copy of conversations.

The main thing is to not rely on old LinkedIn messages staying in your account forever. Proactively preserve important threads using the methods above before the 30 day deletion window passes.

Does LinkedIn Message Deletion Apply to Paid Accounts?

LinkedIn’s automatic deletion of inactive messages after 30 days applies both to free and paid LinkedIn accounts. Having a premium LinkedIn subscription does not affect message retention:

• The LinkedIn Premium Career subscription does not impact messaging.
• Upgrading to Premium Business or Executive does not change the 30 day deletion rule.
• Paid account holders cannot recover deleted messages either.
• The 30 day term applies universally across free and paid members.

No matter what type of LinkedIn account you have, the same policy is in effect where unused message threads are permanently removed after a month. Paid plans do not currently offer any exemptions or extensions to this 30 day retention period.

LinkedIn Message Deletion Policy vs. Other Platforms

Here is how LinkedIn’s 30 day automatic message deletion compares to some other major social media platforms:

LinkedIn is unique among major social networks in having this automatic deletion policy in place for inactive message threads. Other platforms either retain messages indefinitely or until a user manually removes them.

Conclusion

On LinkedIn, messages are automatically deleted after 30 days of inactivity, meaning 30 days after the last reply from either party. This applies universally to all members and accounts. The policy is intended to limit unused messages filling up LinkedIn’s servers.

As a LinkedIn user, be aware that any message threads you want to keep long-term need to be actively maintained or saved outside the network before 30 days. After a month of no replies, conversations are permanently erased with no recovery options.

Checking message timestamps can give you an idea of when deletion will occur. Setting reminders to continue threads and exporting your LinkedIn data can help preserve important messages. Overall, proactive preservation is key since LinkedIn will automatically remove inactive conversations after 30 days.