If you are not seeing the green dot next to your name on LinkedIn, it typically means you are shown as offline or inactive to your connections. The green dot indicates when you are active on LinkedIn and provides a visual cue to show others when you are online.
There are a few common reasons why the green dot may not be appearing for your profile:
You Have Turned Off the Available To Chat Setting
LinkedIn gives you the option to turn on or off the Available to Chat status from your settings. This controls whether the green dot is displayed to your connections.
To turn it on:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile
- Click on the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn feed
- Select Settings & Privacy from the dropdown menu
- Click on the Privacy tab
- Under How others see your LinkedIn activity, toggle on Show that you’re available to chat
Once enabled, the green dot will be displayed whenever you are actively using LinkedIn.
You Have Been Inactive on LinkedIn
The green dot indicates when you are currently active on LinkedIn. If you have not performed any actions on LinkedIn for a while, such as viewing profiles, posting updates, sending messages, etc., then the green dot will disappear after a period of inactivity.
As soon as you start browsing LinkedIn again or engage with any content, the green dot should reappear, signaling to others that you are now online and active.
You Are Using LinkedIn Anonymously
If you browse LinkedIn in anonymous mode, you will not display as available and the green dot will not show. Anonymous browsing allows you to visit LinkedIn profiles and pages without notifying your connections of your activity.
To turn off anonymous browsing:
- Click on the Me icon and go to View profile
- Click on the More actions icon (…) beside the message button
- Select Turn off anonymous profile viewing
This will stop you from browsing anonymously so your active status will be visible.
You Have Been Blocked by a Connection
If someone has blocked you on LinkedIn, they will no longer be able to see when you are online and active. Your green dot status will not display to blocked connections.
You can check if someone has blocked you if you can no longer view their full profile or see any updates from them in your feed. There is no notification when someone blocks you on LinkedIn.
Your Account Privacy Settings are Restricted
LinkedIn members can customize their privacy settings and limit what profile information is visible to connections vs the general public. It’s possible your privacy settings may not be allowing your online status to be displayed.
To adjust this:
- Go to the Privacy tab in your account Settings
- Under How others see your LinkedIn activity, ensure Show that you’re available to chat is turned on
- Under Your public profile, make sure Let others know when you’re active on LinkedIn is set to Your connections
With those two settings enabled, connections should be able to see your active status green dot.
You Are Accessing LinkedIn From Multiple Devices
If you are logged into LinkedIn on multiple devices simultaneously, it can sometimes cause inconsistent status display. LinkedIn may only show you as active on one device at a time.
Make sure you properly log out of LinkedIn on any inactive devices or switch between devices to refresh your online indicator.
There’s a Technical Issue or Bug
In rare cases, a technical glitch may prevent the active status dot from appearing correctly. LinkedIn rolls out regular software updates, so an update may have introduced a new bug.
Try refreshing your browser cache and test your LinkedIn app to see if the green dot reappears. If the issue persists, you can contact LinkedIn Customer Service for troubleshooting help.
You Have Been Shadowbanned by LinkedIn
While extremely rare, some users have reported being “shadowbanned” by LinkedIn, which restricts their profile visibility and activity status. This can occur if LinkedIn’s automated moderation detects suspicious activity that violates their terms.
A shadowban means your profile and activity is largely invisible to other members without notification. You may need to appeal to LinkedIn support if you believe you have been incorrectly shadowbanned.
You Are Accessing LinkedIn From a Restricted Network
Corporate firewalls, school networks, or other restricted internet connections can block certain LinkedIn services that enable the active status visibility. The green dot relies on real-time data exchange that may be limited on some networks.
Try accessing LinkedIn from your phone’s internet or another less restricted network. Some privacy-focused browsers like Tor or VPNs can also prevent accurate status visibility.
Your Connection is Experiencing an Issue on Their End
Keep in mind that if one specific connection is not seeing your available status, the issue could be on their end. They may have visibility limited based on their own account settings or device issues.
You can have another connection confirm if your green dot is visible to troubleshoot if the problem is isolated or widespread.
How to Troubleshoot the LinkedIn Green Dot
If you are not seeing the expected green dot on your LinkedIn profile, here are some steps to troubleshoot:
- Verify Available to Chat is enabled in your settings
- Check that Let others know when you’re active on LinkedIn is set to Connections in Privacy settings
- Toggle settings off and back on to refresh visibility status
- Log out fully then log back into LinkedIn on all devices
- Clear cookies and cache from your browsers and LinkedIn apps
- Try accessing LinkedIn from a different network or device
- Ask connections to confirm if they see your green dot or not
- Check that you do not have any restrictions based on corporate network or firewalls
- Contact LinkedIn Customer Service if issue persists
Why is the LinkedIn Green Dot Useful?
The active status green dot provides the following useful benefits:
- Lets connections see when you are available for messaging
- Shows when you might be more responsive to connection requests
- Indicates when you are actively engaging with content and more approachable
- Adds visibility into the level of activity from connections
- Helps gauge when your messages or requests may get more prompt replies
Essentially, the green dot builds better awareness of when and how actively people are using LinkedIn. It provides signals to improve communication and engagement.
Is the LinkedIn Green Dot Required?
The available to chat status and green dot are optional on LinkedIn. You can disable it at any time in your profile settings if desired.
Some members choose to turn it off for privacy reasons or to avoid signaling availability when they want to browse more discreetly. It comes down to personal preference based on how you use LinkedIn.
Just keep in mind that turning it off means you won’t be able to see the active status of your connections either. Some find this worthwhile while others see value in the extra visibility it provides.
In Summary
If the green dot showing your availability is missing on LinkedIn, there are a range of potential reasons, from account settings to technical issues. Going through some troubleshooting steps can often resolve the problem quickly.
Make sure to check your activity privacy settings and toggle options on and off. Try logging out and back in and accessing LinkedIn across different networks or devices. Clearing your browser cache can also help refresh your status. And contacting customer support may be needed if all else fails.
The green dot delivers useful visibility into active engagement on LinkedIn. While optional, many members find value in displaying their availability to better connect with their network.