LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 850 million members. As a platform focused on professional networking and job seeking, user privacy is a major concern. Many LinkedIn users browse and search in “private mode” to prevent their activity being tracked. There are several key reasons why privacy matters on LinkedIn.
Viewing Profiles Discreetly
A common reason is discreetly viewing other people’s profiles and activity without leaving a trace. Viewing someone’s profile normally shows up in the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” section. Private browsing prevents the user’s profile views from being logged. This allows discreet research of connections, competitors, and prospective employers. Some examples of reasons users may want to browse privately include:
- Viewing the profiles of coworkers or managers without them knowing.
- Checking out recruiters and hiring managers before connecting with them.
- Researching competitors without revealing competitive intelligence activities.
- Looking up prospective partners, clients, vendors without signaling your interest.
Private browsing gives users more control over their professional network visibility and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Avoiding the “You’re inTheir Network” Notice
When viewing someone’s profile who is not already in your network, LinkedIn normally shows the “You’re in their network” notice with the option to connect. This can be disruptive if discretely researching without wanting to connect. Searching privately avoids this notice and allows invisible browsing.
Confidential Job Search Activity
Many people use LinkedIn to look for their next job opportunity. Conducting this search while currently employed can be sensitive if colleagues or managers notice. Browsing job listings, researching prospective employers, and contacting recruiters privately can prevent awkward questions and career exposure.
Keeping Your Job Search Discreet
Examples of private mode job search activity:
- Browsing job ads without recruiters and hiring companies seeing your profile view.
- Researching potential new employers to learn about their culture, values, and workplace.
- Messaging recruiters or hiring managers about opportunities without appearing in your network activity.
- Applying for jobs without current employer finding out.
Enabling private browsing reduces the risk of your job search being noticed before you’re ready to announce it.
Separating Personal and Professional Networks
Many LinkedIn members use their account both for business and personal connections. This can create a dilemma when managing visibility between different groups in your network. Private browsing allows cleanly separating when you want your activity seen.
Keeping Different Audiences Unaware
Some examples include:
- Searching for family, friends, or romantic interests without business connections seeing.
- Browsing jobs anonymously without your employer noticing.
- Viewing profiles of attractive contacts without others misinterpreting.
- Following political or social causes privately away from work network.
Overall, browsing privately helps balance professional and personal context collapse many users experience on LinkedIn and other social networks.
Avoiding Sponsored Ads and Content
Private browsing on LinkedIn also blocks sponsored content and ads from being personalized based on your activity and profile. This provides an ad-free experience and prevents marketing personalization while searching.
Preventing Targeted Ads
Examples of avoiding targeted sponsored content include:
- Job ads will not customize to your skills, experience and searches.
- Sponsored posts will not align with your industry and interests.
- Promoted content will not be based on your profile and connections.
- Ads for paid services will not match your usage behavior.
Enabling private mode can therefore help focus on organic content and reduce noise while browsing.
Private Internal Research
Lastly, private browsing allows discreet internal research at an organization. Employees often analyze their own company and personnel for talent management, internal mobility, assessment and other purposes. This is best done confidentially without internal visibility.
Uncovering Organizational Insights
Examples of private internal research include:
- Talent management teams researching high potentials.
- Learning who top performers are for mobility programs.
- Leaders discreetly assessing team capabilities and gaps.
- Benchmarking internal profiles against other companies.
- Competitive intelligence researching employees at rival firms.
Conducting such sensitive research privately avoids internal exposure before action is taken.
Conclusion
Here are some key reasons and examples of why people use private browsing on LinkedIn:
| Reason | Examples |
|---|---|
| Viewing profiles discreetly | – Researching connections, employers discreetly |
| Confidential job search | – Browsing jobs anonymously while employed |
| Separating audiences | – Personal browsing away from professionals |
| Avoiding targeted ads | – Preventing sponsored content based on profile |
| Internal research | – Analyzing own firm’s talent confidentially |
With privacy and transparency a major concern today, it’s no surprise many LinkedIn members leverage private mode for more control over their professional networking. Understanding these use cases can help optimize both individual profiles and company presence on LinkedIn amidst shifting expectations.
