LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that provides users with additional features such as InMail messages, profile highlights, expanded search results, and more. If you signed up for a free trial or paid subscription to LinkedIn Premium but have decided you no longer want to continue, you can easily deactivate and cancel your membership.
Why Would You Want to Deactivate LinkedIn Premium?
There are a few common reasons why you may want to deactivate your LinkedIn Premium membership:
- You signed up for the free trial but don’t want to continue with a paid subscription after the trial ends.
- You feel you are not getting enough value from the paid features to justify the monthly or annual cost.
- You want to cut back on monthly subscription expenses.
- You don’t use or need access to the Premium features very often.
Regardless of why you want to downgrade from Premium to LinkedIn’s free Basic account, canceling is easy to do through your account settings.
How to Deactivate LinkedIn Premium on Desktop
Deactivating LinkedIn Premium on desktop is a quick and straightforward process:
- Log into your LinkedIn account on a desktop browser.
- In the top right corner of your homepage, click on the Me icon (your profile photo or generic icon).
- From the dropdown menu, select Settings & Privacy.
- On the left side of the page under Account, click Premium.
- On this page you will see your current Premium plan details. Click the blue Cancel Premium button.
- On the cancellation confirmation page, select your reason for canceling from the dropdown menu.
- Click Continue to cancel.
Your Premium membership will be immediately deactivated. You will revert to LinkedIn’s free Basic account.
How to Deactivate LinkedIn Premium on Mobile
If you want to downgrade your LinkedIn Premium subscription on the mobile app, here are the steps:
- Open the LinkedIn app on your iPhone or Android device.
- Tap your profile photo in the top left corner.
- Select the Settings and Privacy option.
- Tap Account preferences.
- Tap Premium to view your current subscription.
- Tap Cancel premium and confirm your cancellation.
After confirming, your Premium access will be immediately disabled. You’ll revert to the free Basic account.
What Happens When You Deactivate Premium?
Here’s an overview of what happens when you downgrade from LinkedIn Premium to the free Basic account:
- You’ll lose access to all Premium features like InMail messages, profile highlighting, expanded search, etc.
- You’ll see sponsored content and ads again.
- You’ll revert back to having a limited number of daily InMail messages and profile views.
- You won’t be able to message Premium members who limit messages to fellow Premium members only.
- Your custom LinkedIn URL will revert back to using your name and a sequence of numbers.
- You’ll no longer have access to Premium analytics and insights about your profile.
Overall, you’ll still have access to LinkedIn’s core social networking features, profile, feed, and groups, but the Premium perks will be disabled. Your connections and profile itself will not be affected.
Getting a Refund for LinkedIn Premium
If you prepaid for an annual LinkedIn Premium subscription, you may be eligible for a partial refund when you deactivate early. Here are some key points on refunds:
- You can request a prorated refund within the first 30 days of your annual renewal.
- After 30 days, annual fees are non-refundable.
- Monthly subscription fees are non-refundable.
- Contact LinkedIn customer service to request a refund.
- If eligible, refunds can take 7-10 business days to process.
LinkedIn will determine refund eligibility on a case-by-case basis. In general, if you’ve used the Premium service extensively, refunds are less likely to be granted.
Downgrading Options
When deactivating Premium, you have two choices for the type of free account you can downgrade to:
- Basic Account – This is LinkedIn’s default free offering. You’ll retain your profile and connections but lose access to Premium features.
- Career Account – A limited version of Premium targeted for students and those early in their careers. It offers some Premium features like profile highlighting and customized URLs.
Most members revert to the Basic account when deactivating Premium. But students and those changing careers can consider the Career option to retain some Premium features.
Can You Reactivate Premium Later?
If you change your mind after downgrading from Premium, you can easily reactive your Premium membership at any time:
- On desktop, go to the Premium page in your account settings and click “Upgrade.”
- On mobile, go to your account preferences, select Premium, and choose an upgrade option.
- You can reactivate the same subscription plan you had previously or pick a new one.
- Your Premium features will be restored immediately after reactivating.
Reactivating is a quick and simple process. Your previous settings and activity history will remain intact. You can continue exactly where you left off.
Key Takeaways
To summarize the key points on deactivating LinkedIn Premium:
- Deactivating Premium reverts you to a free Basic account, losing Premium features.
- Cancel through the Premium section of your account settings.
- Annual fee refunds are limited to requests within 30 days of renewing.
- You can reactivate Premium at any time to restore full access.
- Downgrading is simple and your profile itself is not affected.
With Premium offering only optional enhancements, you can safely deactivate without losing core LinkedIn functions. Follow the steps above to easily manage your Premium membership status.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deactivating Premium delete my LinkedIn account?
No, deactivating Premium only removes the paid enhancements associated with your account. Your profile, connections, and network will remain intact.
Can I get a refund if I have a monthly Premium subscription?
Unfortunately, LinkedIn does not offer refunds for monthly Premium fees, only annual plans within 30 days of renewal. Monthly plans are non-refundable.
What happens to my Premium Badges if I downgrade to Basic?
Any badges you earned as part of the Premium membership, like job seeker badges, will be removed once you revert to a Basic account.
Will my profile views reset when I cancel Premium?
Yes, after downgrading you will revert to the free account limit of daily profile views. Your viewing data history will no longer be accessible.
Can I still usePremium features during my active paid term?
Yes, you will continue having full access to all Premium features until the end of your current billing cycle after canceling. Your access will be removed at renewal.
Conclusion
Deactivating LinkedIn Premium is a straightforward process that reverts you back to LinkedIn’s Basic free account. While you’ll lose the Premium enhancements, your core profile and network are fully retained. With the option to easily reactivate Premium at any time, you can smoothly toggle your membership status to suit your evolving needs.