LinkedIn messages are stored in the LinkedIn server databases. When a user sends or receives a message on LinkedIn, that message is stored on LinkedIn’s servers rather than the user’s device. This allows LinkedIn to sync messages across devices and retain messages even if a user loses access to a particular device.
Where exactly are LinkedIn messages stored?
LinkedIn messages are stored in database servers located in LinkedIn data centers around the world. LinkedIn has over a dozen data centers located across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. While the exact locations are not publicized for security reasons, major data center locations likely include California, Virginia, Amsterdam, Singapore, and Sydney.
Within those data centers, LinkedIn messages are stored in relational databases running on clusters of database servers. This provides redundancy so messages are not lost if an individual server goes down. Popular relational database platforms like MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL are likely used. The messages are distributed across many database instances and servers for efficiency and availability.
In addition to the master database, LinkedIn also stores copies of messages in caching servers to allow faster access to frequently retrieved data. There may also be queueing databases and logging databases as part of the overall database architecture.
What data is stored with the messages?
In addition to the text content of the messages themselves, LinkedIn’s databases also store associated metadata about each message, such as:
- Sender and recipient LinkedIn member IDs
- Message timestamp
- Message status (sent, delivered, read)
- Associated conversation ID
- Client ID (web, mobile app, etc)
This metadata allows LinkedIn to track status, sync messages across devices, and assemble message threads. The actual media content of photos or files attached to messages are likely stored in separate cloud storage systems.
How are messages stored within the databases?
LinkedIn’s database schema for messaging likely contains tables like:
Messages | Message metadata like sender, recipient, timestamps, etc |
---|---|
Conversations | Data to group messages into threads |
Members | LinkedIn member data |
Relationships between these tables allow LinkedIn to reconstruct message threads and conversations when needed. There are also likely to be security, performance, and operational metadata tables as well.
How long are messages stored for?
LinkedIn states that they retain historical messaging data for up to 6 months after account cancellation. However, there have been reports of some messages still being available after that period. It is likely LinkedIn maintains messages in an active database for easy querying, moves older messages to archival storage, and eventually deletes them on the scale of months or years.
Some key factors that influence message retention:
- Operational need to reconstruct conversations
- Storage costs
- Legal compliance for data retention and privacy
- Machine learning model training based on message data
Overall, most messages are likely stored by LinkedIn for 1-2 years before being permanently deleted. But there may not be a firm cutoff, and some messages could remain in archival systems for longer periods.
Does LinkedIn sell or share message data?
According to its privacy policy, LinkedIn does not sell or share personal message content with third parties. However, some non-identifiable metadata may be used:
Data Use | Example |
---|---|
Advertising | Using aggregate messaging data to inform ads shown |
Security | Analyzing network traffic patterns in metadata to detect threats |
Research | Using anonymized message timestamps for academic research |
Overall LinkedIn aims to leverage messaging metadata to improve services while not sharing personal contents or data.
Can you download your LinkedIn messages?
LinkedIn does not directly allow users to export a complete archive of their message history. However, some third party services claim to be able to download your messages via the LinkedIn API.
The best option is to manually save important message conversations as PDFs or by copying to external files. You can also connect LinkedIn to some email clients using IMAP to sync messages.
How is message data secured?
LinkedIn utilizes a range of security measures to protect message data, including:
- Encryption of data in transit and at rest
- Network security tools like firewalls and intrusion detection
- Access controls to limit data access
- Activity logging and monitoring for anomalies
- Security reviews and bug bounty programs
While no system is impenetrable, LinkedIn is aligned with industry best practices for secure data storage and transfer. The encryption keys used to protect message data are also carefully safeguarded.
Conclusion
LinkedIn stores user messages in distributed database servers across its worldwide data center network. Messages are durably stored and replicated for redundancy, with metadata powering conversation functionality. While stored for 1-2 years typically, some messages may persist longer in archival systems. LinkedIn aims to leverage this data to improve products while limiting sharing and protecting user privacy and security.
Users have some options to export their message history and can manually save important conversations. But overall message contents and data remain fully managed and controlled by LinkedIn and its privacy and data policies.