LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform with over 810 million members worldwide. Many professionals use LinkedIn to connect with colleagues, find jobs, follow companies, and build their professional brand.
One of LinkedIn’s key features is the ability to view other users’ profiles to learn more about their background, skills, experience, and connections. This can be helpful for networking, recruiting, sales prospecting, and researching contacts.
However, to access the full functionality on LinkedIn such as viewing full profiles, sending connection requests and messages, you need to have a LinkedIn account and be signed in.
So what happens if you try to view someone’s LinkedIn profile without being signed into an account? Let’s take a look at the details.
Can you view LinkedIn profiles without an account?
Yes, LinkedIn does allow non-members to view limited profile information without logging in. When you visit someone’s profile on LinkedIn who you are not connected to, you will be able to see a preview of their profile without signing in.
The profile preview typically includes the person’s profile photo, current position, previous position, education, skills, and a preview of their summary section. However, you won’t be able to see their full work experience, contact info, connections, recommendations, interests, groups, projects, and other details.
Essentially, when not signed in, you can access a snapshot view of a person’s public profile on LinkedIn but not the full profile.
What can you see on LinkedIn without signing in?
Here is an overview of what kind of profile information you can view on LinkedIn without being signed in to an account:
- Profile photo
- Name
- Headline and current position
- Location
- Industry
- Previous position titles
- Education degrees and schools
- Skills listed on their profile
- Abbreviated summary preview
- Publicly shared images, videos, slides, etc.
- Mutual connections in common (number only but not names)
As you can see, quite a few profile details are visible even if you are not logged into LinkedIn. However, you won’t see the person’s full profile info, contact details, or be able to communicate or connect with them.
What can’t you see on LinkedIn without an account?
There are some key profile elements that will not be displayed if you are viewing a LinkedIn profile while signed out. Here are some of the main things not visible:
- Contact info (email, phone, links, address)
- Full work experience details
- Recommendations
- Accomplishments
- Interests and groups
- Volunteer experiences and causes
- Projects
- Publications
- Patents
- Courses
- Full summary bio
- All connections
- Recent activity
Additionally, you won’t be able to connect with the person, message them, see who viewed their profile, follow their company, save their profile, or export their contacts without signing up and signing in to LinkedIn.
Why does LinkedIn limit profile views for non-members?
LinkedIn restricts what non-members can view as a way to encourage people to join the site. Here are some of the main reasons LinkedIn limits profile access:
- To drive more users to sign up for paid accounts
- To protect members’ privacy and control information sharing
- To entice non-members to join by giving them a preview
- To allow personalized recommendations based on viewing history
- To build network effects by making connections and messaging available to members only
By keeping some profile data exclusive to signed-in members only, LinkedIn can demonstrate the value of their paid services and network to prospective users.
Tips for viewing full LinkedIn profiles without an account
If you want to be able to access full LinkedIn profiles without logging in, here are some suggestions:
- Use a LinkedIn mobile app while logged out – some additional sections may be viewable
- View profiles of connections within your network
- Use LinkedIn search filters like “Relation: 2nd degree” to find expanded profiles
- Leverage browser extensions like LinkedPeeper to enhance profile viewing
- View profiles marked as “Public” which reveal more info
- See if the person has a public website with detailed bio and résumé
While useful in some cases, these methods provide limited profile access compared to signing up for a LinkedIn account.
Should you view LinkedIn profiles anonymously?
Is it advisable to sneak a peek at someone’s LinkedIn profile without them knowing? There are two main schools of thought:
Pros:
- Lets you learn about people undetected
- Can provide useful information for sales, recruiting, or partnership opportunities
- Helpful for independently researching someone’s background
- Avoids signaling you are interested in connecting too soon
Cons:
- They won’t know you viewed them if interested in connecting
- Repeated anonymous viewing from same IP address gets flagged
- Limits your ability to reach out and communicate
- Profile info is limited unless you also connect
- Potential privacy issues if used excessively
In general, occasional anonymous viewing is fine but should be used judiciously. Overt, ethical relationship-building based on common interests or goals tends to be more effective long-term.
Can people see who viewed their LinkedIn profile?
A common question is whether someone can tell if you looked at their LinkedIn profile if you aren’t connected. The short answer is no.
LinkedIn’s privacy settings allow members to see who viewed their profiles only if they are within their 1st-degree network. For 2nd and 3rd-degree connections or non-connected members, profile views are anonymous.
However, LinkedIn does indicate if someone outside your network has viewed your profile multiple times. The notification will say something like “One of your profile viewers is back for another look” without naming them.
There are some exceptions. Paid Job Seeker and Recruiter account holders can see names of anonymous profile viewers for their target positions. Sales Navigator also unveils more visitor details like company, title, and location. But for most members, profile views from non-connections remain anonymous.
Pros of viewing LinkedIn profiles anonymously
While most agree it’s better to be transparent when viewing LinkedIn profiles, there are some potential upsides to seeing profiles anonymously:
- Avoids signaling interest before you are ready to connect
- Lets you learn about someone discreetly before interacting
- Prevents biasing the person’s perception of you early on
- Allows undetected research for sales, recruiting, or business purposes
- Gives you visibility if you share common interests or contacts
When used ethically, anonymous LinkedIn viewing can occasionally be helpful for due diligence. Just don’t abuse the ability to lurk excessively.
Cons of anonymous LinkedIn profile viewing
However, there are also some downsides to consider if you view LinkedIn profiles while unsigned in too frequently:
- The person won’t know you viewed them if you want to connect later
- Viewing the same profile repetitively gets flagged as suspicious
- It deprives you of the chance to connect and communicate
- Anonymous viewing access is limited compared to signing in
- Repeated use for sales or recruiting is frowned upon
- It can damage networking opportunities if abused
Frequent anonymous viewing violates norms of ethical relationship building. Limit how often you look up people’s profiles undetected.
Best practices for anonymous LinkedIn viewing
While occasional anonymous viewing may be acceptable, it’s wise to follow some guidelines:
- Don’t view the same profile more than 1-2 times anonymously
- Balance transparent relationship-building with discreet viewing
- View ethically with the intent to eventually connect
- Consider the other person’s preferences and privacy
- Monitor your viewing patterns for excessive anonymous lookups
- View anonymous profiles strategically, not habitually
Follow the Golden Rule – view anonymously only in ways you would feel comfortable with yourself. Establish open, transparent connections whenever possible.
Conclusion
Viewing LinkedIn profiles anonymously allows you to access basic information about someone’s professional background and experience without signaling interest in connecting. However, this limits the depth of profile data compared to signing in to LinkedIn as a member.
Occasional, ethical anonymous viewing can be helpful to learn about someone discreetly before interacting. But repeatedly lurking on profiles undetected often violates norms of transparent relationship-building. Use good judgement and moderation if opting to view LinkedIn profiles while signed out. The ideal solution is to establish direct, authentic connections based on common interests and goals with your target contacts whenever possible.
