It is possible to have more than one LinkedIn account. Some people may end up with multiple accounts by accident, such as creating a new profile after forgetting they already had one. Others intentionally maintain two accounts for different professional purposes. However, LinkedIn’s terms of service prohibit users from having more than one personal account. So it’s important to understand the implications of having two LinkedIn profiles and how to manage them properly.
How can you end up with two LinkedIn accounts?
There are a few common ways that people unintentionally create a second LinkedIn profile:
- Forgetting they already signed up – If someone tries to create a new account with the same email address, LinkedIn will actually allow it by appending numbers or symbols to the duplicated email address. This enables two accounts to exist under slightly different email variants.
- Opening a new account after not using the old one – If someone hasn’t accessed their LinkedIn account for a long time, they may think they don’t have a profile. So they sign up for a new account instead of recovering their password.
- Having multiple email addresses – People with more than one valid email address could create separate accounts for each one, often for different purposes.
In other cases, people purposefully maintain two LinkedIn accounts:
- Personal and business brands – Some professionals want to keep their personal profile separate from their company page or brand.
- Job searching – Individuals looking for a new job may create a distinct account to seem more appealing to recruiters.
- Client services – People in consulting or client services roles might have an account for internal use and another for sharing with clients.
Regardless of how it happens, running two LinkedIn profiles simultaneously goes against LinkedIn’s rules. So it’s essential to reconcile this appropriately.
Is it OK to have two LinkedIn accounts?
No, LinkedIn’s User Agreement specifically prohibits having more than one personal account:
“You can’t maintain more than one personal account at any given time… If we discover that you have more than one personal account, we will suspend or terminate one or both of your accounts, in our sole discretion.”
This rule aims to prevent misuse of the platform and maintain trust in the LinkedIn community. Some potential issues arising from multiple accounts include:
- Inauthentic activity – It becomes easier to artificially boost engagement, misrepresent connections, or post inappropriate content.
- Scams and spam – Fraudsters can more easily create fake accounts or profiles.
- Inaccurate data – Metrics get inflated and data integrity is compromised for recruiters or sales professionals.
- Unfair advantages – People can potentially gain more endorsements, recommendations, or influence.
So while it may offer some benefits in specific circumstances, maintaining two LinkedIn accounts goes against their guidelines. It’s best to merge or close any extra profiles.
What happens if LinkedIn discovers you have two accounts?
If LinkedIn becomes aware that someone has more than one personal account, they may take punitive action, including:
- Account suspension – Both accounts get temporarily suspended pending review.
- Account termination – One or both accounts get permanently closed.
- Feature restrictions – Access to certain tools or capabilities gets limited.
- Removal of connections/followers – Your network connections can get cleared out.
The specific consequences depend on the situation. Generally, the newer secondary account gets deleted, while the older primary profile is maintained.
But punishments can be unpredictable. Some users have reported losing access to both profiles and all their connections after getting caught with duplicate accounts.
So it’s not worth risking your main LinkedIn account and presence by trying to keep a second profile. LinkedIn treats this violation seriously.
How to merge two LinkedIn accounts
If you currently have two LinkedIn profiles, the safest option is to merge them into one account. Here are the steps:
- Go to your primary account – The one you want to keep – and sign in.
- In the ‘Me’ icon dropdown menu, select ‘Settings & Privacy’.
- Go to the ‘Account preferences’ tab.
- Under ‘Closing your account’, click ‘Merge accounts’.
- Enter the email address for your secondary account and click ‘Send verification email’.
- Open the confirmation message sent to your secondary account email.
- Click the merge link and enter your secondary account password to confirm.
- Review all data and settings to carry over – connections, posts, profile info, etc.
- Click ‘Merge’ to complete combining everything into your primary account.
Once merged, your secondary profile will be permanently closed. All its data and connections get integrated into the main account.
This process ensures you end up with one consolidated LinkedIn presence. It’s the safest way to resolve having two accounts.
How to delete your duplicate LinkedIn account
If you want to simply close your extra LinkedIn account instead of merging, here are the steps:
- Go to your secondary account and sign in.
- In the ‘Me’ icon menu, select ‘Settings & Privacy’.
- Go to ‘Account preferences’ and scroll down.
- Under ‘Closing your account’, choose ‘Close your account’.
- Select ‘Continue’ to proceed closing it permanently.
- Choose a reason for shutting it down – duplicate account, don’t use it, etc.
- Enter your account password to confirm account closure.
- Select ‘Close Account’.
Once you complete these steps, your secondary LinkedIn profile will be gone for good. All data and connections will be permanently removed.
This option is quicker and easier than merging accounts. But you lose all the information and network ties associated with that extra profile.
Best practices for managing multiple LinkedIn accounts
While you should avoid having two full LinkedIn accounts, you may need more than one for legitimate purposes, such as:
– Personal and company pages
– Group/organization accounts
– Client profiles for agencies
Here are some best practices for properly managing multiple LinkedIn presences:
- Review LinkedIn’s rules – Understand what purposes require separate accounts vs. pages.
- Be transparent – Clearly indicate in your bio if you also run another profile.
- Link accounts – Reference and connect with your other accounts when appropriate.
- Coordinate content – Ensure consistency and overlaps across accounts.
- Segment connections – Keep contacts and followers distinct between accounts.
The keys are being authentic, adding value, and not trying to inflate metrics or gain unfair advantages. This maintains trust and credibility across your LinkedIn presence
Conclusion
While maintaining two full personal LinkedIn accounts goes against their policies, there are legitimate reasons for having multiple presences. The best approach is being transparent, coordinating profiles, and providing unique value from each account. If you mistakenly end up with two accounts, promptly merge or delete the extra one. Overall, align with the platform’s rules and ethics to manage any multiple LinkedIn profiles properly.