LinkedIn is one of the most popular professional networking platforms, with over 800 million members worldwide. Many professionals rely on LinkedIn to build their professional brand, network, find jobs, and more. However, some users may wish to delete their LinkedIn account permanently for various reasons.
Why Would You Want To Delete LinkedIn Account?
Here are some common reasons why someone may want to delete their LinkedIn account:
- You’re leaving the workforce or retiring and no longer need LinkedIn for professional networking.
- You want to take a break from social media and online networking.
- You have privacy concerns and want to remove your data from LinkedIn.
- You have a new job that prohibits employees from using LinkedIn.
- You had a bad breakup with an employer and no longer want to associate with them.
- You want to start fresh with a new LinkedIn profile.
- Your account was hacked or compromised.
While LinkedIn can be useful, it’s understandable that some may wish to delete or deactivate their accounts. Evaluating whether the pros outweigh the cons of maintaining a LinkedIn profile can help inform your decision.
What Actually Happens When You Delete LinkedIn Account?
Here’s an overview of what happens when you permanently delete your LinkedIn account:
- Your profile is removed. Your profile, including your name, photo, experience, education, skills, recommendations and all other information will be permanently deleted.
- You lose your network connections. Your connections will no longer be linked to your account. However, you will remain in their connection list unless they remove you.
- You lose access to Jobs and other services. You will no longer be able to access job postings, notifications, messages, or any other services through LinkedIn.
- Third-party apps lose access. Any third-party apps connected to your LinkedIn will lose access. For example, you may need to reconnect recruiter’s Applicant Tracking Systems.
- Some data remains in backups. While most of your data is deleted, some remains in backups for a period before being permanently erased.
In most cases, deleting your account permanently removes your presence from LinkedIn. However, LinkedIn states data may persist in backups or aggregates for up to 90 days before permanent erasure. Content you shared via other members may also remain on LinkedIn.
How To Permanently Delete LinkedIn Account
Here are step-by-step instructions to permanently delete your LinkedIn account:
- Login to your LinkedIn account on desktop.
- In the top right, click your profile photo and select Settings & Privacy.
- In the left sidebar, select Account preferences under Account.
- Scroll down and click Close your account under Deleting your account.
- Select your reason for leaving LinkedIn from the dropdown menu.
- Re-enter your account password to confirm account deletion.
- Finally, click Close Account.
Once you complete these steps, your account will be scheduled for permanent deletion. LinkedIn states it can take up to 24 hours for your profile and data to be removed from their systems.
What Happens To Your LinkedIn URL After Account Deletion?
Your personalized LinkedIn URL with your name will become available for anyone else to claim after you permanently delete your account. For example, if your URL was www.linkedin.com/in/john-doe-123456, someone else named John Doe could create an account and claim that same URL.
LinkedIn does not “retire” or prevent your old URL from being claimed again. So don’t be surprised if another member takes your old custom URL!
Can You Reactivate A Closed LinkedIn Account?
If you regret deleting your LinkedIn account, there is no reliable way to recover or reactivate a closed account. According to LinkedIn:
Once your account has been closed, it can’t be reactivated. You’re welcome to create a new account at any time.
Some users report being able to restore a closed account within 24 hours by contacting LinkedIn support. However, there is no guarantee. Your best bet is to create a new account with a fresh start.
What About Deactivating Instead Of Deleting?
Instead of permanently deleting your LinkedIn account, you have the option to temporarily deactivate it. Here’s what happens when you deactivate:
- Your profile is hidden from search engines and other members.
- You lose access to services like Jobs and notifications.
- Your connections remain intact.
- You can easily reactivate your account and restoring all data.
Deactivating gives you the flexibility to take a break from LinkedIn without permanently removing your presence. However, your data remains stored in LinkedIn’s systems.
Pros Of Deleting LinkedIn Account
Here are some potential benefits of permanent account deletion:
- You gain greater privacy and removal of your data from LinkedIn’s systems.
- You take control over your professional online presence.
- You prevent old profiles and connections from becoming a hinderance.
- You take a break from social media and online networking.
- You can create a new, clean profile if you choose to return.
For some professionals, wiping the slate clean by deleting a LinkedIn account can be advantageous for their career or personal goals.
Cons Of Deleting LinkedIn Account
There are also some downsides to be aware of:
- Permanent loss of your professional connections and network.
- Reduced future career opportunities without a LinkedIn presence.
- Loss of access to LinkedIn’s services like Jobs, News, and Learning.
- Missing out on business opportunities facilitated by the platform.
- Difficulty reestablishing your online presence if you want to return.
For many professionals, deleting a well-established LinkedIn account means giving up their most important professional networking platform and starting over from scratch.
Alternatives To Closing LinkedIn Account
Instead of fully deleting your account, here are a few alternatives to consider:
- Deactivate temporarily – Hide your profile but maintain ability to reactivate.
- Increase privacy settings – Limit profile views and hide your connections.
- Remove connections – Keep your profile but remove some or all connections.
- Delete apps and activity – Remove integrations and posts but keep profile.
- Create a new profile – Maintain old one as-is but create fresh profile.
Carefully controlling your LinkedIn presence and connections may resolve your concerns without deleting entirely.
What About Other Social Media Accounts?
Here’s a quick overview of what happens when you delete accounts on other top social platforms:
Platform | Profile Removal | Content Removal | Account Recovery |
---|---|---|---|
Permanently deleted | Most content deleted | Reactivation possible within 30 days | |
Permanently deleted | Posts deleted | Reactivation impossible | |
Permanently deleted | All content deleted | Reactivation impossible | |
YouTube | Channel removed | Videos may remain | Reactivation possible |
Policies vary between platforms regarding account deletion versus deactivation. However, permanent deletion often means complete removal of your profile and loss of your previous handle or username in most cases.
What If I Signed Up With LinkedIn Through Google?
If you originally signed up for your LinkedIn account through Google using your Gmail address, deleting your LinkedIn profile will not affect your Google account. According to LinkedIn:
Your Gmail account is completely separate from your LinkedIn account, so nothing will change with your email if you close your LinkedIn account. You’ll still be able to access Gmail as usual.
Rest assured, closing your LinkedIn account will not delete your Gmail or other Google services in any way. They are managed separately.
Will LinkedIn Continue Emailing You?
After permanently deleting your LinkedIn account, you should immediately stop receiving emails from LinkedIn to that address. These include notifications, messages, profile views, endorsements and any other LinkedIn-related emails.
However, watch out for the following:
- It may take up to 10 days for all LinkedIn emails to cease.
- If you signed up for emails from LinkedIn’s marketing partners, you may continue receiving those.
- LinkedIn may still send you emails if required by law, such as data breach notifications.
Check your email settings and contacts list to fully cut ties with LinkedIn messages after account removal. Unsubscribing from their marketing partners may be necessary too.
Can LinkedIn Still Access My Data?
While LinkedIn states they begin permanently deleting most account data within 24 hours, some data may linger in backups or storage systems for up to 90 days after closure.
In particular, user data that has been aggregated or anonymized for analytics and research purposes may remain in LinkedIn’s systems indefinitely.
So while the majority of your personal data is quickly removed, fragments may persist in LinkedIn’s platform beyond your account deletion date. This is standard practice for most online platforms.
Are There Any Risks To LinkedIn Account Closure?
While immediately deleting your LinkedIn carries relatively low risks, beware of the following potential issues:
- As mentioned, your unique profile URL will become available to other members.
- If you have a common name, someone may claim your name and even connections.
- Future employers may view the account removal negatively if done hastily.
- You lose access to recommendations and endorsements that may be useful in the future.
- Some messages between connections may reference you and remain visible.
Proceed with caution if you wish to permanently remove your presence from LinkedIn without a backup plan.
Should I Notify Connections About Deleting Account?
Alerting your LinkedIn connections that you plan to delete your account can be a professional courtesy. This allows them time to download or save any connections or conversations you want to retain.
However, if you wish to delete your account quickly and definitively, you can do so without notification. When your profile is removed, your connections will simply see you disappeared from their network.
For most purposes, a mass notification is likely unnecessary unless you have important ongoing conversations or shared connections to preserve.
Is LinkedIn Account Deletion Right For You?
Consider these key questions to decide if permanently deleting your LinkedIn account makes sense:
- Will you lose beneficial networking and career opportunities without LinkedIn?
- Do you have another professional platform to replace LinkedIn?
- Can you achieve your goals simply by deactivating temporarily?
- Is your primary goal to remove specific data or connections?
- Does your industry still use and value LinkedIn profiles?
Your specific situation will determine whether the benefits outweigh the risks of removing your LinkedIn presence.
Conclusion
Permanently deleting your LinkedIn account means the complete removal of your profile and loss of all connections and activity on the platform.
While your data is removed from LinkedIn’s active systems within 24 hours, some information may linger in backups for up to 90 days before permanent erasure.
Alternatives like deactivating or increasing privacy settings allow you to better control your LinkedIn presence if full deletion seems too extreme.
Overall, proceed with caution when considering closing your LinkedIn account – as the action is permanent and can have real professional consequences in today’s digital era.