If you block someone on LinkedIn, they will not be able to see that you viewed their profile. Blocking someone prevents them from viewing your profile or any of your activity on LinkedIn.
What happens when you block someone on LinkedIn?
Here’s a quick rundown of what happens when you block another member on LinkedIn:
- They will no longer be able to view your LinkedIn profile or see any of your activity such as likes, comments, connections, etc.
- Any connections you have in common with the blocked member will not be notified of the blocked connection.
- You will no longer be able to view the blocked member’s profile or see any of their activity.
- They will be removed from your contacts and you will no longer appear in their contacts.
- You will not be able to re-follow each other unless one person unblocks the other.
- You will not be suggested to each other as people you may know.
- You will not be able to send each other invitations or messages.
In essence, blocking someone on LinkedIn creates a complete separation between you and that member in terms of viewing profiles and activity. It’s like you don’t exist to each other on LinkedIn anymore.
Blocked members can’t see your profile views
One of the main benefits of blocking someone on LinkedIn is that the blocked member will not be able to see that you viewed their profile. LinkedIn’s profile view tracking allows you to see who has viewed your profile within the last 90 days.
However, if you block someone, they are automatically removed from your profile view history. This means if you viewed their profile and then blocked them, it will be as if you never viewed their profile at all. They will not know you looked at their profile.
Likewise, if they viewed your profile and you later blocked them, their view of your profile will be erased. You won’t show up in their list of who’s viewed their profile.
How to block someone on LinkedIn
Blocking another member on LinkedIn is easy to do:
- Go to their profile page.
- Click on the More actions button (three dots icon) in the top right corner.
- Select Block or report from the dropdown menu.
- Choose Block on the next screen to confirm you want to block this member.
And that’s it! They will immediately be blocked from viewing your profile or activity.
What happens if you unblock someone?
If you decide to unblock a member you previously blocked, here is what happens:
- They will be able to view your profile again and see your activity, just like any other connection.
- You will be able to view their profile again as well.
- Any previous profile views or activity between you will not be restored or shown.
- You can re-follow each other and will start to appear in each other’s contacts again.
- You may start seeing each other in suggested contacts like People You May Know.
Essentially, unblocking undoes the separation between you and that member. Things go back to they way there were before you blocked them originally.
Limitations of blocking on LinkedIn
While blocking is effective at cutting off contact between you and another member, there are some limitations to be aware of:
- The blocked member can still view any public content you post in groups, on your Company Page, etc.
- They may still see you in search results, but won’t be able to access your full profile.
- You may both still appear together in certain contacts lists of mutual connections.
- There is no way to preemptively block someone who isn’t already a connection.
So while blocking prevents viewing of profiles and activity, some public content and presence may still be visible between you and the blocked member in certain scenarios.
Best practices for blocking on LinkedIn
If you are considering blocking another member, here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Use blocking as a last resort. Removing connections permanently limits networking.
- Consider removing the member as a connection first before fully blocking.
- Blocking should be reserved for harassment, spam, inappropriate behavior.
- View blocking as a protective measure for your privacy and peace of mind.
- Don’t block solely because of differing opinions or views.
- Notify connections of a blocked member in case of retaliation.
Blocking can be the right choice in cases of uncomfortable interactions or safety concerns. But in general, maintaining connections is best for building relationships and growing your network.
Conclusion
Blocking on LinkedIn provides control over who can view your profile and activity. If you block someone, they will not see that you looked at their profile or any of your other activity. However, some public content may still be visible after blocking a member. Use blocking judiciously for difficult situations, and focus on networking opportunities otherwise.
