There are a few reasons why LinkedIn may have added someone to your network without you directly connecting with them. Here are some of the most common scenarios:
You imported your email contacts
One of the easiest ways to grow your LinkedIn network is to import contacts from your email address book. When you do this, LinkedIn will look for users that match your imported email addresses and automatically connect you to those profiles if the email addresses are associated with existing LinkedIn accounts.
So if you recently imported your email contacts, chances are some of those contacts were already LinkedIn members. LinkedIn took the extra step of sending them a connection request on your behalf to link you up.
You have shared connections
LinkedIn actively looks for connections between its members. One way it does this is by looking for shared connections.
For example, if you are connected to John, and John is connected to Sarah, LinkedIn may suggest that you connect with Sarah or even go ahead and add her to your network automatically since you already have a shared connection.
The idea is that if you and Sarah have a mutual connection, there is a good chance you may know each other or would benefit from being connected. So LinkedIn tries to make these type of connections happen seamlessly in the background.
You were in the same LinkedIn Group
Being a member of the same LinkedIn Groups can also trigger an automatic connection. LinkedIn allows Group admins to automatically add members to each other’s networks in order to facilitate engagement within the Group.
So if you joined a new Group and suddenly had a bunch of its members added to your LinkedIn network, this auto-connect setting is likely the reason.
You have similar profiles and interests
LinkedIn also tries to introduce you to new connections by looking at similarities between profiles. For example, if you and another user work in the same industry, went to the same school, have joined similar Groups, etc. then LinkedIn may decide there is a good chance you would benefit from connecting.
In this case, LinkedIn would use its automatic connection system to link you up without any action needed on your part.
You dismissed a previous connection suggestion
Sometimes LinkedIn will make connection suggestions based on profile similarities, shared connections, Groups, etc. If you dismiss or ignore the suggestion, LinkedIn may go ahead and add the person to your network anyway at a later date.
This prevents you from missing out on potential connections just because you did not act on the initial recommendation.
Your profile is open to connections
In your LinkedIn account settings, you can control who is allowed to send you connection invites. The options are:
- Only people who know your email address or appear in your “Imported Contacts” list
- Only people who know your email address or appear in your “Imported Contacts” list + Group Members
- Everyone on LinkedIn
If your profile is set to the 3rd option – allowing anyone on LinkedIn to connect with you, then LinkedIn will likely add more people to your network automatically without needing your explicit approval.
You clicked “Add Connections” during profile setup
When you first joined LinkedIn and went through the initial profile setup, one of the options may have been something like “Add Connections” or “Find Alumni.” If you clicked yes on this, it authorized LinkedIn to add relevant connections for you as part of helping build your initial network.
You have a Premium account
LinkedIn Premium subscribers get some additional features to help them grow their network. One of these includes an expanded “People You May Know” section which will automatically add more suggested connections with relevance indicators such as shared Groups, education, experience, etc.
Accepting these recommendations or just having a Premium account can result in more regular automatic connections added by LinkedIn.
You have an open profile
If your LinkedIn profile visibility is set to “Public”, your profile and network size is visible to everyone even people who are not LinkedIn members. This openness can lead to more incoming connection requests and LinkedIn adding more connections on your behalf.
So check your profile visibility settings and consider changing it to “Connections only” if you want to limit unsolicited connection requests.
You share common traits with their target audience
LinkedIn allows advertisers to target users based on information in their profile such as job title, company, education, interests, etc. This means you may have been added to someone’s network automatically because you fall within the audience they want to reach based on your profile details.
For example, a recruiter may have used targeted advertising to connect with profiles matching “software engineers at XYZ company.” If your profile fits that target audience, you may have been automatically connected.
LinkedIn Recruiter membership
If someone has a premium LinkedIn Recruiter account, they have access to more filters and search functions to find relevant profiles. Recruiters can then send batch connection requests to those profiles instead of inviting connections one by one.
So recruiters or talent acquisition professionals may have used their advanced search to identify prospects like yourself and connect with you en masse.
They mistyped someone’s email or name
It’s possible the person was trying to connect to someone else but accidentally mistyped an email or name, which resulted in you receiving the connection request instead. The misspelling just happened to closely match your profile.
This scenario is less common but can occasionally happen if someone connects via email address and accidentally enters the wrong one.
How to prevent unwanted connections
If you want to limit random people from connecting with you on LinkedIn, here are some tips:
- Change your profile visibility to “Connections only”
- Customize your LinkedIn settings to restrict who can send you invites
- Be selective in accepting connection requests
- Hide your profile from search engines in your preferences
Should you remove the unwanted connections?
If someone you don’t know was added to your network, you have a few options:
- Accept it – you never know who could be a valuable connection
- Politely decline the connection
- Just ignore it
- Remove the connection
It’s up to you how picky you want to be with your connections. Maintaining a strictly relevant network helps keep your feed focused, but having openness to new connections can lead to unexpected opportunities.
Conclusion
LinkedIn aims to provide value by making relevant connections between its members. While the platform tries to be intelligent about automatically linking you with potential contacts, sometimes unwanted connections can occur.
Understanding how you may have been added can help you evaluate the new connection and take steps to manage your network’s growth and composition going forward.