LinkedIn is a popular professional networking site that allows users to connect with other professionals, search for jobs, follow companies, and more. One key feature of LinkedIn is the ability to view other users’ profiles to learn more about their background, skills, experience, and connections.
However, LinkedIn also gives users the option to browse profiles anonymously. If you view someone’s profile normally, then that person will be notified and can see that you viewed their profile. But if you switch to anonymous browsing, you can view profiles without the other person being notified.
So what happens if you view someone’s LinkedIn profile normally, and then later switch to anonymous browsing? Will they still know you viewed their profile? Let’s break it down.
Does LinkedIn notify someone if you viewed their profile anonymously after already viewing it normally?
The short answer is no. If you view someone’s profile normally first, and then view it again anonymously later, the other user will only see your initial normal profile view. They will not receive a second notification about your anonymous view.
Here’s a more detailed explanation of how it works:
- When you view someone’s profile normally, LinkedIn logs this and notifies the other user that you viewed their profile.
- However, when you switch to anonymous browsing, LinkedIn no longer keeps track of your views. Your browsing activity is disconnected from your account.
- So if you view someone’s profile again anonymously after already viewing it normally, LinkedIn has no way to connect your anonymous browsing back to your account.
- Therefore, the other user will not receive a second notification about your anonymous view. They will only see the original notification from when you viewed their profile normally.
In summary, LinkedIn’s tracking of profile views gets reset when you switch to anonymous browsing. The other user only knows about views that occurred before you turned on anonymous mode.
What gets logged when you view someone’s profile anonymously?
When browsing anonymously, LinkedIn says they do not log your individual profile views. However, they may still collect some general anonymous analytics data.
Here is what LinkedIn says gets logged during anonymous browsing sessions:
- Pages visited – LinkedIn logs anonymous page visits to analyze overall website traffic.
- Search terms – Anonymous search keywords are logged to improve search relevancy.
- Content clicks – They may log anonymous clicks on content to analyze engagement.
- Ads viewed – To support their advertising business, LinkedIn logs ad views but not identities.
Importantly, LinkedIn claims they do not associate any of this anonymous analytics activity back to your account. It is aggregated data without any individual identifiers.
So in summary, some general browsing data may be logged anonymously for analytics purposes. But LinkedIn says they do not log details like which specific profiles you viewed during anonymous browsing.
How long does the other user see your normal profile view?
When you view someone’s profile normally, how long does your name remain in their list of profile visitors? The amount of time depends on the other user’s account settings.
By default, profile visitors are displayed for 3 months. But users can adjust this duration in their account settings, anywhere from 3 days up to 3 years.
So unless the other user has a non-standard visitor display setting, your name will likely appear in their visitor list for about 3 months after you view their profile normally.
Common profile visitor display settings
| Setting | Duration Visible |
|---|---|
| 3 days | 3 days |
| 1 week | 1 week |
| 2 weeks | 2 weeks |
| 1 month | 1 month |
| 3 months (default) | 3 months |
| 6 months | 6 months |
| 1 year | 1 year |
| 2 years | 2 years |
| 3 years | 3 years |
So unless the other user shortens the duration, assume your name will appear for about 3 months after you view their profile. Anonymous views do not renew or extend this timer.
Does turning anonymous back off reveal your views?
No, turning anonymous browsing off does not suddenly notify someone about all the profiles you viewed anonymously.
When you turn anonymous browsing off in your LinkedIn account settings, it simply returns you to your normal browsing mode going forward.
Turning anonymous off does not retroactively log or reveal any past anonymous activity. Those anonymous views remain anonymous even after disabling the setting.
So you do not have to worry that turning anonymous off will suddenly notify all the people whose profiles you viewed anonymously. When anonymous is off, LinkedIn resumes tracking and notifying about your new normal profile views. But it does not reconstruct your anonymous viewing history.
Does LinkedIn indicate if you viewed someone’s profile anonymously?
No. LinkedIn does not show or indicate anywhere that you viewed a profile anonymously. There is no way for the other user to know a view happened anonymously.
The profile visitor list and notifications only reflect views that occurred while anonymous browsing was turned off. Views done anonymously do not show up anywhere.
This means there is no way for another user to distinguish an anonymous view from no view at all. Anonymous profile viewing leaves no evidence or trail from the other user’s perspective.
Can you tell if someone viewed your profile anonymously?
No, there is no way to detect anonymous profile views by others. You can only see visitors that viewed your profile normally without anonymous browsing turned on.
Your visitor list and notifications will never include anonymous viewers. Anonymous browsing leaves no indication to you that someone viewed your profile anonymously.
The only hint may be seeing traffic to your public profile in your analytics. But you cannot identify who those anonymous visitors were.
Should you browse anonymously to avoid “stalking” concerns?
In some situations, browsing LinkedIn anonymously can prevent inappropriate perceptions or conclusions from frequent profile viewing.
For example, repeatedly looking at someone’s profile could come across as creepy or invasive if the other person is notified each time. But browsing anonymously avoids any potential misinterpretations.
That said, LinkedIn normally displays visitors over a 3 month period. Occasional profile views are common professional networking behavior on the platform. So you do not necessarily need to be anonymous to avoid seeming overly interested.
But if you want to frequently reference someone’s profile without them knowing, anonymous browsing does allow that without triggering frequent notifications. Just keep in mind anonymous browsing has trade-offs, like not being able to message or connect with people.
Situations where anonymous browsing may be preferred
- Researching a company or hiring manager frequently during a job search
- Looking up someone you met socially to learn more about their background
- Repeatedly reviewing a profile as part of a professional evaluation
- Following a company or contact without them knowing
For these types of use cases, anonymous browsing may be beneficial to avoid excessive notifications or perceptions of stalking behavior.
Pros of viewing LinkedIn profiles anonymously
Here are some potential advantages to using LinkedIn’s anonymous browsing feature:
- Avoid notifications – Prevents constantly notifying others when repetitively viewing their profile.
- Remove visibility – Profile subject does not know you viewed them if done anonymously.
- Eliminate misperceptions – Prevents potential stalking/harassment misinterpretations from frequent views.
- Unconstrained research – Can frequently research subjects without worrying about optics.
- Page analytics – Can see data on public profile visitors without identifying individuals.
The key benefit is reducing visibility into your viewing activity and avoiding unnecessary notifications triggered by repeated profile viewing.
Cons of viewing LinkedIn profiles anonymously
Here are some potential drawbacks to keep in mind when browsing LinkedIn anonymously:
- Limited functionality – Cannot message, connect, or follow people while anonymous.
- Loss of context – Others may not understand why you frequently visited anonymously.
- Suspicious optics – Excessive anonymous viewing could still appear creepy if discovered.
- Public metrics only – Can only see aggregated page view data, not individual visitors.
- Less personalized – Will get more generic vs personalized homepage content.
The main limitations are the inability to engage on LinkedIn while anonymous, and the potential for excessive anonymous browsing to still seem inappropriate if uncovered.
Conclusion
Viewing someone’s LinkedIn profile normally and then anonymously will not trigger multiple notifications. The other user is only informed about the initial normal profile view.
Anonymous browsing prevents your individual activity from being logged and dissociates your views from your account. LinkedIn claims only aggregated anonymous analytics data is retained during anonymous sessions.
Profile views are visible to others for a duration based on their account settings, usually around 3 months. Anonymous browsing does not extend or renew this visibility window.
There are valid use cases for browsing LinkedIn anonymously, such as researching people or companies more extensively without constant notifications. However, anonymous browsing also has limitations, so assess whether the trade-offs are appropriate for your needs.
In summary, anonymous browsing lets you be invisible while viewing LinkedIn profiles, but does not reveal your anonymous views or activity to others later on when turned off. Just be thoughtful in how you leverage this feature to avoid misuse perceptions.
