LinkedIn is a useful platform for networking, job searching, and building your career. But if you no longer use it or want to reduce your online presence, you might be thinking about deleting your LinkedIn account.
Before you do, it’s important to know what happens when you delete your account and whether it’s the right choice for you.
If you’re unsure, LinkedIn also offers a hibernate option, which allows you to temporarily deactivate your account instead of permanently deleting it.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through:
- How to delete your LinkedIn account step by step
- What happens after you delete it
- An alternative option: hibernating your account if you want a break but don’t want to lose everything
Things to Consider Before Deleting Your LinkedIn Account
Before you go ahead and delete your LinkedIn account, there are a few things you should know. Once your account is gone, you won’t be able to get certain information back.
Let’s go over what happens when you close your account so you can make the right decision.
You Will Lose All Your LinkedIn Data
When you delete your account, everything on your LinkedIn profile disappears. That includes your profile picture, work experience, skills, endorsements, recommendations, and connections.
If you've spent years building your LinkedIn network, keep in mind that once your account is deleted, you’ll have to start over if you ever want to come back.
You Will Be Removed from LinkedIn Groups
If you're a member of any LinkedIn groups, deleting your account will remove you from them. You won’t be able to post, comment, or interact with group members anymore.
You Will Lose Access to Messages and Job Applications
If you've applied for jobs through LinkedIn, those applications and conversations with recruiters will be deleted along with your account.
If there’s any important information in your messages, be sure to save it somewhere before you close your account.
Download Your Data Before Deleting Your Account
If you want to keep a copy of your connections, messages, posts, and profile data, LinkedIn lets you request an archive of your account before deleting it.
You can find this option in the account management section under settings. This is helpful if you want to keep track of your professional contacts even after leaving LinkedIn.
Cancel Your Premium Subscription First
If you have a premium account, make sure to cancel it before deleting your account. If you don’t, you might still get charged even after your profile is gone.
To cancel your premium plan, go to your settings, find "Manage Premium Account", and cancel it there.
Consider Deactivating Instead of Deleting
If you're unsure about permanently deleting your account, LinkedIn has an option to hibernate it instead.
This temporarily hides your profile from others, but you can log back in anytime to reactivate it. This is a good choice if you just need a break but might want to use LinkedIn again later. We will guide you with the steps below.
How to Delete Your LinkedIn Account
If you've decided to delete your LinkedIn profile and you're sure about it, let's go through the steps.
The process is slightly different depending on whether you're using a desktop computer or the LinkedIn app on a mobile device, but both are easy to follow.
How to Delete LinkedIn Account on a Desktop
1. Log into LinkedIn: Open your web browser, go to the LinkedIn homepage, and log in with your email and password.
2. Go to Your Account Settings: Click on your profile icon (Me icon) in the top right corner, then select "Settings & Privacy" from the dropdown menu.
3. Find the Account Management Section: In the "Account Preferences" tab, scroll down until you find "Account Management" and click on it.
4. Click Close Account: Look for the option that says "Close account" and click on it. This will take you through the account deletion process.
5. Choose Why You’re Leaving: LinkedIn will ask why you’re closing your account. Pick an option that best describes your reason and then click Continue.
6. Confirm with Your Password: To make sure it’s really you deleting the account, LinkedIn will ask you to re-enter your password. Type it in and move to the next step.
7. Finalize the Deletion: Click "Close Account", and that’s it—your LinkedIn account will be permanently deleted.
8. You Will Receive a Confirmation Email: After closing your account, LinkedIn will send you an email confirming that your profile has been deleted.
How to Delete LinkedIn Account on the Mobile App
If you're using the LinkedIn app on your phone or tablet, the steps are a little different, but just as simple.
1. Open the LinkedIn App: Launch the app and log in if you’re not already signed in.
2. Go to Your Profile Menu: Tap on your profile icon in the top left corner to open the menu.
3. Open Settings: From the dropdown list, select "Settings".
4. Find the Account Management Section: Go to "Account Preferences", then tap "Account Management".
5. Tap Close Account: Scroll down and find the "Close Account" option. Tap it to start the process.
6. Pick a Reason for Leaving: Just like on the desktop version, LinkedIn will ask why you want to delete your LinkedIn account. Choose an option and tap Continue.
7. Enter Your Password and Confirm: Type in your account password to confirm your decision, then tap Close Account.
8. You Will Receive a Confirmation Email: After closing your account, LinkedIn will send you an email confirming that your profile has been deleted.
What Happens After You Delete Your LinkedIn Account?
Once you delete your LinkedIn account, it’s gone for good. That means your profile, connections, messages, and endorsements will be erased.
But there are a few things to keep in mind about what happens next.
Your Profile Will No Longer Be Visible: As soon as your account is closed, your LinkedIn profile will no longer show up when someone searches for your name on LinkedIn. Any LinkedIn posts, comments, or articles you share will also be removed.
Your Data Will Be Deleted: All your messages, recommendations, skills, and connections will be erased from LinkedIn’s system. However, if you requested an archive of your data before deleting your account, you can still keep a record of your LinkedIn connections and messages.
Your Profile May Still Appear on Search Engines: Even though your LinkedIn account is deleted, your profile might still show up on Google or Bing for a while. This happens because search engines store old information, and they take time to update their results.
You Can't Recover Your LinkedIn Account: If you change your mind, LinkedIn gives you 14 days to reactivate your account. However, some things, like group memberships and recommendations, will not come back, even if you restore your account.
Alternative: Hibernate Your LinkedIn Account
If you’re not sure about permanently deleting your LinkedIn account, you can hibernate it instead. This option hides your profile, activity, and messages, but allows you to come back whenever you’re ready.
What happens when you hibernate your LinkedIn account?
- Your profile won’t be visible to others, but LinkedIn will save your account data.
- You will stay in your LinkedIn groups, but you won’t be able to interact.
- Your messages will still be available when you reactivate your account.
How to Hibernate Your LinkedIn Account in a Few Steps
If you want to temporarily deactivate your account instead of deleting it, follow these steps:
1. Log into LinkedIn: Open LinkedIn on your browser and sign in.
2. Go to Account Settings: Click on your profile icon in the top right corner, then select "Settings & Privacy".
3. Find the Hibernate Option: Under "Account Preferences", scroll down to "Hibernate Account" and click on it.
4. Choose a Reason: LinkedIn will ask why you want to hibernate your account. Select the reason that applies to you.
5. Confirm Your Password: To proceed, you’ll need to re-enter your password.
6. Click Hibernate: Once you confirm, your account will be temporarily deactivated.
Get More Out of LinkedIn with Podawaa
If you’ve decided to keep your LinkedIn account, but one of the reasons you considered deleting it was low engagement, you might not have been using the right tools.
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Before giving up on LinkedIn, try Podawaa for free and see how it can transform your experience!