LinkedIn is a popular professional networking site used by millions of people around the world. As one of the most visited websites globally, LinkedIn aims to provide the best user experience possible across different devices and platforms. An important factor that impacts user experience on LinkedIn is the web browser being used to access the site. So what browser does LinkedIn actually recommend and develop for?
The Short Answer
LinkedIn officially recommends using the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge to access LinkedIn. These tend to be the most optimized and supported browsers for the site. However, LinkedIn pages are designed to work on other modern browsers as well.
Browser Compatibility
On their help pages, LinkedIn specifies that their website is optimized for the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. These browsers have widespread usage and generally quick update cycles that allow LinkedIn to regularly test and ensure compatibility.
By recommending these mainstream options, LinkedIn aims to provide a seamless experience for the vast majority of users accessing LinkedIn on the web. The site utilizes standard web technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, which are fully supported in modern browser versions.
In particular, LinkedIn calls out Chrome and Firefox as the “preferred browsers” for LinkedIn. As two of the most popular browsers globally, Chrome and Firefox are strategic targets for optimization by LinkedIn’s engineering teams. Key functionality is thoroughly tested in these browsers.
However, LinkedIn pages are designed to function properly in other modern browsers as well, including Safari, Edge, Opera, Brave, and Vivaldi. Users can access the core LinkedIn experience through these alternatives, even if they are not officially recommended by LinkedIn.
Mobile Browser Compatibility
On mobile devices, LinkedIn recommends using the built-in default browsers on iOS and Android. Specifically, this means Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android. These mobile browsers are widely used and optimized for their respective platforms.
The LinkedIn mobile website is designed to provide a responsive web experience tailored for smaller screens. While it is possible to access the site through any mobile browser, users will get the best results sticking with the default options.
In particular, some third-party mobile browsers utilize outdated web rendering engines or strip out certain functionality, which can lead to a degraded experience on LinkedIn’s mobile site. Safari and Chrome deliver the mobile experience that LinkedIn intends.
Why LinkedIn Recommends These Browsers
There are a few key reasons why LinkedIn recommends Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge for accessing the site:
- They have large market shares, ensuring compatibility for most users.
- As major browsers, they tend to be on quicker update cycles and ship support for new web standards faster.
- Their rendering engines reliably interpret modern HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. that LinkedIn utilizes.
- LinkedIn engineers rigorously test and optimize the site on these browsers.
- They perform well and are stable across different operating systems.
- They provide users with security, feature, and performance updates regularly.
In contrast, some lesser-used browsers may lag behind in supporting new web technologies, exhibit rendering issues, or fail to handle LinkedIn’s JavaScript-heavy interface well. By sticking to the major options, LinkedIn avoids having to code workarounds or sacrifice features.
Development and Testing
During development of new LinkedIn features and redesigns, engineers routinely test in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. These browsers are installed on internal testing systems and used to verify cross-browser compatibility.
Automated tests also run regularly against the latest versions of the recommended browsers. If issues come up in any of them, LinkedIn’s developers dig in to find solutions before rolling out changes publicly.
This testing covers both desktop and mobile versions of the browsers. On mobile, emulators and simulators are used to mimic the Safari and Chrome environments on iOS and Android respectively.
While not officially recommended, other Chromium-based browsers like Brave typically work without issue as they share a common codebase with Chrome. However, unique bugs can creep up that LinkedIn only catches through comprehensive testing of the main supported browsers.
Common LinkedIn Browser Issues
Despite strong browser support, LinkedIn users occasionally run into problems that trace back to their choice of browser. Some examples include:
- Page layout issues – Elements overlapping, truncation of text, white space, etc.
- Delayed page loads and laggy scrolling.
- Missing images and graphical elements.
- Problems logging in or staying logged in.
- Error messages when using site features.
- Issues playing videos and audio.
Troubleshooting these kinds of problems will often point to an outdated or unsupported browser as the culprit. Keeping the browser up-to-date or switching over to one of LinkedIn’s recommended options typically resolves the situation.
Internet Explorer Not Supported
One browser that LinkedIn expressly does not support is Microsoft’s legacy Internet Explorer. As an outdated browser lacking modern web capabilities, LinkedIn pages and functionality will not work correctly in Internet Explorer.
LinkedIn ended support for Internet Explorer 11 back in 2020. Users still on IE will face a number of problems when trying to use LinkedIn and need to switch to a supported, modern browser.
Microsoft itself has also discontinued Internet Explorer and now promotes adoption of its Edge browser instead on Windows.
Testing Browser Compatibility
If encountering browser-related difficulties on LinkedIn, users can verify compatibility and diagnostics by running the following checks:
- Confirm you are running the latest version of your browser and apply any available updates.
- Try replicating the issue in a different supported browser like Chrome or Firefox to isolate the problem.
- Refer to your browser’s console for any error messages that may pinpoint incompatible code or resources on LinkedIn.
- Disable any browser extensions temporarily to rule out conflicts with them.
- Check LinkedIn’s system status page at https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6960850719551300608 for any known issues.
- Test your browser at https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/4135/supported-internet-browsers-for-linkedin to see information about your current browser and any compatibility risks flagged.
This troubleshooting can determine if the issues are isolated to a particular browser or wider problems affecting even LinkedIn’s officially supported browsers.
Conclusion
To summarize, LinkedIn provides the best experience and support when using the latest desktop versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. On mobile, LinkedIn recommends relying on the built-in browser options – Safari on iOS and Chrome on Android. While other modern browsers can access LinkedIn, sticking to the recommended choices ensures the most seamless and optimized experience across pages and features.
Keeping your browser updated and testing alternative options can help identify and resolve any browser-specific issues that arise. But overall, you can confidently rely on LinkedIn’s robust cross-browser support when accessing the site through Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge on both desktop and mobile.
