LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 800 million members globally. Many professionals use LinkedIn to connect with colleagues, find job opportunities, join industry groups, and expand their professional networks.
When you sign up for a LinkedIn account, you have the option to add a variety of information to your profile, including your phone number. This raises an important question – is your phone number visible to others on LinkedIn? Can other members see your phone number if you add it to your profile?
The short answer is: no, your phone number is not public by default on LinkedIn. However, there are a few cases where your phone number may be visible to certain people. In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into LinkedIn’s privacy settings and visibility options to understand exactly who can see your phone number if you add it to your profile.
LinkedIn’s Default Privacy Settings
Let’s start by understanding LinkedIn’s default privacy settings as they relate to phone numbers.
When you add a phone number to your LinkedIn profile, it is set to private by default. This means that your phone number is NOT visible to the general public or LinkedIn members who visit your profile. Only you can see your full phone number on your profile.
To other LinkedIn members, your profile shows an indication that a phone number exists on the profile, but displays masked digits instead of the full number. For example, if your number is 123-456-7890, others would see something like XXX-XXX-7890 or 123-XXX-7890. This protects the full number from being visible.
So with the default settings, your phone number remains private and is not fully displayed to your connections or other LinkedIn members.
Visibility to Recruiters
While your full phone number is hidden from the general public, there is one case where recruiters may be able to see it.
If you apply for jobs on LinkedIn that list a phone number as required, recruiters for that role can view your full phone number so they can contact you.
However, it’s important to note that recruiters still cannot see your phone number if you do not apply for those specific jobs. And outside of job applications, recruiters have the same limited visibility as other members.
So applying for jobs on LinkedIn is the only scenario where recruiters may temporarily have access to view your full phone number.
Changing Your Phone Privacy Settings
While your phone number has private visibility by default, you can customize your settings further in the Privacy & Settings section of your account.
Here are the options to control phone number visibility:
– Show my full phone number to everyone: This makes your full phone number public on your profile so all members can see it. Not recommended for privacy.
– Show my full phone number only to recruiters: Gives full access only to recruiters. Others will see a partially masked number.
– Show a partially masked number to everyone: This is the default view, showing a partially masked number like XXX-XXX-7890 to all members.
– Don’t show my phone number on my profile: Completely removes any phone number indicator from your public profile. Private visibility.
These settings give you full control to customize exactly who can view your phone number on LinkedIn. The default partially masked view is recommended for most professionals to balance visibility with privacy.
Is Your Phone Number Visible in LinkedIn’s Mobile App?
LinkedIn’s mobile app has its own privacy settings that work separately from the main website. Even if your phone number is visible on your profile on the desktop version of LinkedIn, it may still be private on mobile.
On the LinkedIn mobile app:
– Your phone number is never visible on your profile to others.
– You have to proactively opt in to allow your phone number to be visible in the LinkedIn mobile app.
– To change this setting, go to your profile, open the Me tab, go to Settings & Privacy > Privacy > Phone visibility.
– The default setting is “No one” which keeps your number totally private.
So your phone number remains fully private on LinkedIn’s mobile app unless you specifically change the visibility setting. This adds an extra layer of control on mobile.
Is Your Phone Number Visible to LinkedIn Connections?
Another common question is whether your LinkedIn connections can view your phone number, even if it’s private from the general public.
The answer is no. Your full phone number is not visible to your 1st-degree connections by default. Just like other members, your connections would see only a partially masked number like XXX-XXX-7890.
The only exception, as mentioned previously, is when applying for jobs that require your phone number. Recruiters for that specific role could temporarily view the full number.
But in general, keeping your phone number private means that not even your trusted LinkedIn connections can see the full details. You have to proactively change the visibility to allow connections to view it.
Does LinkedIn Sell or Share Your Phone Number?
One privacy concern with any social media platform is how they use your personal data like phone numbers. Rest assured that LinkedIn does not sell or share your phone number in any way when you keep it private on your profile.
Your full phone number is only visible in very limited use cases that you control, like job applications. In no situation is your private data sold to third parties or advertisers.
LinkedIn’s privacy policy clearly states:
“We do not sell, lease, rent or otherwise share any of your personal data with any third parties for their marketing purposes without your affirmative consent.”
Maintaining data privacy is vital for LinkedIn to keep users’ trust. You can feel confident adding your phone number to your profile while keeping it fully private.
Best Practices for Keeping Your Phone Number Private
To recap, here are some best practices for keeping your phone number fully private on LinkedIn:
– Use the default phone visibility setting of showing a partially masked number. Never make your full number public.
– On mobile, keep the phone number visibility set to “No one” under privacy settings.
– Be selective when applying for jobs that require your phone number. Recruiters can temporarily view the full number.
– Periodically check your visibility settings. LinkedIn does not change these without your consent.
– Never add your phone number to areas like your name, headline or public profile fields. Keep it only in the designated phone number field.
– Use a separate professional number on LinkedIn rather than your personal cell phone number.
Following these tips will maintain your privacy and prevent unwanted calls or spam. With the right settings, your LinkedIn profile can showcase your professional experience without divulging private contact details.
Conclusion
Your phone number can remain fully private on LinkedIn by leveraging the platform’s default privacy settings and visibility options. Your full phone number is not visible to the general public or your connections on LinkedIn profiles or mobile apps. In limited cases like job applications, recruiters may be able to view it, but otherwise it stays protected.
LinkedIn does not sell or share private data like phone numbers with any third parties. By using the recommended settings, keeping your number off public profile fields, and using a separate professional number, you can build your LinkedIn presence while maintaining complete control over your contact details. Just be thoughtful about which roles you apply for that require your phone number.
With over 800 million users, LinkedIn has become the premier platform for professional networking online. Following these best practices allows you to maximize the benefits of LinkedIn without sacrificing your personal privacy.
