LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that provides users with additional features beyond the free version of LinkedIn. Premium comes with several benefits like being able to see who viewed your profile, expanded networking and search options, unlimited inbox messages, and more training and profile features.
However, as with any paid subscription service, you may eventually decide you want to cancel your LinkedIn Premium membership. When you do cancel Premium, there are some important things to be aware of regarding what you will lose access to and what happens to your account.
Immediate Effects of Cancelling LinkedIn Premium
Here are some of the immediate effects of cancelling your LinkedIn Premium subscription:
- Lose access to Premium features – As soon as your subscription ends, you will no longer have access to Premium features like seeing who viewed your profile, InMail messages, expanded network and search filters, unlimited profile recommendations, etc.
- Profile badge changes – The “Premium” badge on your profile will be removed and changed back to “Basic” to indicate you no longer have a paid subscription.
- See fewer profile visitors – You will no longer be able to see the list of who has viewed your profile recently, just the last 5 profiles.
- Fewer InMail messages – You will have reduced monthly allotment of InMail messages to contact people you aren’t connected to.
- Resume search visibility decreased – Your resume and profile will no longer get the visibility boost that Premium provides in LinkedIn’s search results.
So in summary, you immediately lose access to the special Premium features and revert to more limited Basic account functionality when your paid subscription runs out.
Longer-Term Impacts
In addition to the immediate effects, cancelling Premium can have some longer-term impacts on your LinkedIn experience and presence:
- Network growth slows – You lose access to all of LinkedIn’s Premium networking tools that can help you expand your connections much faster.
- Decreased visibility – Without the Premium boost, your profile and activity have less visibility across LinkedIn, meaning less engagement.
- Diminished personal brand – Positioning yourself as an expert and thought leader is harder without Premium’s expanded features.
- Missing out on insights – Premium’s analytics provide valuable insights into your content and profile performance that can help optimize your presence.
- Less access to training – The Premium job seeker and professional training courses can be greatly beneficial for career growth.
The diminished reach, visibility, and network growth over the long-run can take a toll on your overall LinkedIn experience and effectiveness if Premium tools played an important role in your strategy.
What Happens to Your Profile and Data
An important question when cancelling any subscription is what happens to your personal data and account overall. Here is how your LinkedIn account is impacted when you cancel Premium:
- Profile remains intact – You do not lose any of your profile details, content, or connections.
- Recommendations stay posted – Any recommendations you had remain visible on your profile.
- Activity and history retained – Your activity feed, profile views, publishing history, etc. remain unaffected.
- InMail and messages stay – Any InMail or conversations remain in your inbox but you cannot initiate new InMail.
- Branding and URL unchanged – Custom URL, profile branding, and public profile all remain the same.
- Groups access continues – You remain a part of any LinkedIn groups you had joined previously.
In summary, all of your core profile data, content, and network are unaffected when you cancel Premium. You essentially revert back to a free Basic account with your information intact but lose access to Premium tools. The only exception is if you cancel Premium within the refund window, LinkedIn reserves the right in that scenario to remove content published during that period.
Getting LinkedIn Premium Back
If after cancelling your Premium subscription you decide you want access again, here are a few options to consider:
- Resubscribe through account settings – At any point you can resubscribe to Premium via your account settings and billing page. This immediately reactivates Premium.
- Use free trial offer – LinkedIn often provides the option to try Premium free for 1 month. Current members who previously had Premium can utilize this to get it back.
- Check with employer – Some companies offer Premium as a benefit to employees so check if you have access that way.
- Request gift subscription – You can ask someone to gift you a Premium subscription which you can then renew at your own expense.
The good news is there are multiple ways to reactivate Premium if you change your mind after the initial cancellation. And your profile remains intact during any gaps between subscriptions so you can pick up right where you left off when you renew Premium access down the road.
Conclusion
Canceling LinkedIn Premium means losing access to expanded features that can enhance your networking abilities, profile visibility, and job search effectiveness. But it does not negatively impact your actual profile, content, and connections themselves. With the right strategy, you can still maintain a strong presence with just a Basic free account though growth may happen at a slower pace.
The most important thing is not making a rash decision to cancel Premium out of frustration and instead weighing the pros and cons and your specific needs. With the right planning, you can maximize your use of Premium while subscribed and adjust to Basic functionality when the time comes to cancel. But the door remains open to resubscribe in the future if you again see value in those Premium-only tools.
