LinkedIn is one of the most popular professional social networking platforms, with over 800 million users worldwide as of 2022. On LinkedIn, users create profiles to showcase their work histories, skills, education, accomplishments, and more. In addition to connecting with other professionals, LinkedIn users can view the profiles of other members to learn more about their backgrounds and experience.
What is LinkedIn Profile Viewing?
A key feature of LinkedIn is the ability to see who has viewed your profile. This allows you to gauge interest from recruiters, colleagues, potential business partners, and others. LinkedIn profile viewing can provide valuable insights into who is looking at your profile and why.
When someone views your profile, it shows up under “Who’s viewed your profile” on your LinkedIn homepage. You can see the name, job title, and company of those who have recently viewed your profile. Note that you are limited to seeing only the last 90 days of profile views.
Finding Your LinkedIn Profile Views
If you want to check who has been looking at your LinkedIn profile, there are a couple of ways to access this information:
Method 1: Homepage Profile Views Module
The easiest way to see who has viewed your LinkedIn profile is to go to your homepage. On your homepage, there is a module called “Who’s viewed your profile.” This section shows the last 5 profiles that viewed you, with the most recent views shown first.
To see more than just the last 5 viewers, click on “See all.” This will take you to a page that shows the last 90 days of profile views. You can scroll down to see more profiles.
Method 2: Search for “Who’s Viewed Your Profile”
You can also search for the “Who’s viewed your profile” page directly. Simply go to the main LinkedIn search bar at the top of the screen. Type in “Who’s viewed your profile” and select that result.
This will again take you to the page that shows your last 90 days of profile viewers. You can scroll through the list to see more profiles.
Method 3: Profile Settings
The last way to find your profile views is through your account settings. Go to your profile and click on the “Me” icon in the top right corner. This will show a dropdown menu.
Select “Settings & Privacy” from this menu. Then choose “Settings” from the left sidebar. Scroll down and click on “View profile viewers.”
This will open the “Who’s viewed your profile” page that shows your 90-day viewer history. Use this method if you don’t see the profile views module on your homepage for any reason.
What Information is Available?
When you look at who has viewed your LinkedIn profile, you will see the following information:
- Viewer’s name
- Viewer’s job title
- Viewer’s company
- Viewer’s location (city/country)
- Viewer’s industry
- Date and time profile was viewed
This data allows you to understand who your profile visitors are and their backgrounds. You can gauge their interest level based on how thoroughly they viewed your profile.
Who Can See Your Profile Views?
While you can see who has looked at your profile, it does not work the other way around. Your profile viewers can’t see that they showed up on your “Who’s viewed your profile” list. It is completely anonymous on their end.
This allows you to discreetly see who is viewing your profile without notifying them. The only exception is when you view someone else’s profile – in that case, they will be able to see that you viewed them.
Limits to Profile View Data
While the profile viewer list provides helpful insights, there are some limitations:
- You can only see the last 90 days of profile views.
- LinkedIn shows a limited number of non-anonymous viewers in the viewer list.
- Viewers can choose to anonymize themselves so you can’t see their name/info.
- Bots, scrapers, and automated traffic don’t show up in your viewer list.
So while it’s useful, the data has its gaps. Don’t expect to see every single profile view.
How to Leverage Your Profile Views
Here are some tips on making the most of your LinkedIn profile viewer data:
Connect with Relevant Viewers
If you see viewers that you share common connections with or work in your industry, reach out to connect! Send them a customized greeting referencing their company or background. Turn a view into a valuable connection.
Thank Recruiters and Hiring Managers
If any recruiters or hiring managers from companies you are interested in show up in your recent profile views, send them a thank you message! This shows enthusiasm and interest in potential opportunities.
Research Key Companies
Look for patterns in the companies viewing your profile. Frequent views from the same organization may indicate there is an opportunity there. Research that company and employees to target your networking.
Update Your Profile
Seeing an influx of profile views is a good prompt to freshen up your profile. Tailor your profile summary, skills, experience and other sections for your ideal next step.
Find Your Referrals
See who has looked at your profile shortly after you have applied or interviewed at a company. They could be your insider referral – proactively connect with them!
How Often Does LinkedIn Update Viewers?
Wondering how frequently you can expect to see new profile visitors pop up? LinkedIn refreshes the “Who’s viewed your profile” module and page approximately once per day. So you can check daily to see any new viewers in the past 24 hours.
The viewer list is not updated in real time. There is a delay before a viewer will show up, usually within a day. There may also be a slight delay before a viewer drops off your 90-day view history.
Troubleshooting Missing Profile Views
What if you’re expecting to see certain profiles that viewed you, but they are not showing up in your list? Here are some common reasons views may be missing:
- The viewer anonymized their view. You will see “Anonymous” instead of their name.
- It hasn’t been 24 hours yet. Give it some time for the view to register.
- The view happened over 90 days ago. Older views drop off your viewer history.
- The viewer was a bot, scraper, or other automated traffic.
- You have a free LinkedIn account. Some views may not register.
If you still can’t find a view after troubleshooting these issues, it’s likely they found a way to stay anonymous. Some views just won’t show up in your viewer list.
Conclusion
Having insight into who has looked at your LinkedIn profile can be very useful for making connections and advancing your career. While the data has some gaps, checking your profile views periodically can help you identify networking opportunities and keep improving your profile.
Focus on engaging with relevant viewers from your industry, reaching out to recruiters and hiring managers, researching companies, and optimizing your profile based on the viewers’ interests. With some targeted effort, those profile views can translate into meaningful connections and career growth.