How long it will take to close LinkedIn account?

Closing a LinkedIn account can take some time, as LinkedIn has a process in place to ensure accounts are not closed accidentally or maliciously. However, with some planning and preparation, you can close your LinkedIn account relatively quickly and painlessly.

Why Would You Want to Close Your LinkedIn Account?

There are a few common reasons someone may want to close their LinkedIn account:

• You’re not using it anymore and want to delete unused accounts
• You’re taking a break from social media and professional networking
• You’re unhappy with LinkedIn’s services or policies
• You want a fresh start with a new profile
• Privacy or security concerns

Whatever your reasons, closing your account is your right as a user. LinkedIn makes the process purposefully gradual to avoid regrettable closures, but you can still complete it in a reasonable timeframe if you know what to expect.

How to Close Your LinkedIn Account

Here are the steps to permanently closing your LinkedIn account:

1. Go to your account settings and look for the “Close your account” option. This will be under Privacy & Settings.
2. Select the reason you are closing your account from the dropdown menu.
3. Enter your password to confirm your choice.
4. LinkedIn will give you some information about closing your account and ask if you want to proceed. Click “Continue” to go ahead with the closure.
5. Your account will then be scheduled for closure pending a 30 day waiting period. This is to give you a chance to reverse the closure if you change your mind.
6. Over the 30 days, LinkedIn will send you emails reminding you that your account is scheduled for closure. You can cancel and reverse the closure at any point before the 30 days are up.
7. After 30 days, your account will be permanently closed and all data deleted. Once this happens, the closure cannot be undone.

So in summary, the main steps are:

• Initiate account closure in settings
• Confirm closure request
• Complete 30 day waiting period
• Account is permanently closed and deleted

How Long Does Each Step Take?

Now let’s break down how long each step in the account closure process takes:

Initiating Closure

It only takes a few minutes to start the account closure process from your account settings. Selecting the closure option, entering your password, and confirming your choice is very quick.

30 Day Waiting Period

The longest part of the process is the 30 day waiting period between initiating closure and permanent deletion. This gives you a month to reverse the closure if desired, hence the full 30 days.

Account Deletion

Once the waiting period has elapsed, deletion of your account and data occurs very rapidly. LinkedIn states it happens within 24 hours of waiting period completion.

So in Total…

Putting the steps together, here is how long the overall process takes:

• Initiating closure: A few minutes
• 30 day waiting period: 30 days
• Permanent deletion: Less than 24 hours

That means the minimum time to completely close a LinkedIn account is about 30 days.

The maximum is 30 days plus a bit of buffer time, so approximately one month in total.

Speeding Up Account Closure

While the 30 day waiting period is fixed, you can speed up parts of the process to close your account more rapidly:

• Prepare in advance – Have your password ready and know your closure reason to minimize time spent initiating.
• Cancel immediately – As soon as you start the process, cancel any pending connection requests or messages to cease account activity.
• Ignore closure reversal emails – LinkedIn sends several reminder emails. Ignoring them avoids delay.
• Mark your calendar – Note the date 30 days from initiation so you know when deletion will occur.

Planning and preparation can help expedite the parts of the process that are in your control. But the 30 day mandatory waiting period remains in place regardless, so approximately one month is still needed.

Delaying or Reversing Closure

It’s also possible to unintentionally delay or reverse account closure if you:

• Cancel the closure request before 30 days is up
• Respond to LinkedIn’s reminder emails asking you to reverse the closure
• Log in to your account during the 30 day waiting period and use it

These actions essentially reset the countdown. Doing any of them means you have to restart the 30 day waiting time again from that date.

What Happens When Your Account is Closed?

Once your account is permanently closed after the waiting period, here is what happens:

• Your profile is removed and no longer visible to other members
• You lose access to your account, network connections, messages, and data
• Your email and name are disassociated from your account
• LinkedIn removes all of your personal data from their systems

Closure is designed to be permanent and irreversible, so be certain before completing the process. While possible to undo before 30 days, after permanent deletion there is no way to retrieve the account or data.

Closing Down a LinkedIn Account Checklist

To recap the steps for swiftly and smoothly closing your LinkedIn account:

Conclusion

While LinkedIn’s mandatory 30 day waiting period makes closing an account take about a month, you can control ancillary factors to optimize the process. Preparing in advance, promptly cutting ties, avoiding reversal delays, and marking your calendar can help. Within approximately 30 days from initiation your account can be permanently closed.