How to Manage Your LinkedIn Privacy Settings

LinkedIn is a professional network, but it can expose your home city, employer history, and connections to strangers. Here's how to limit what is visible.

In this guide (5 steps):

1.Open LinkedIn Privacy Settings
2.Control who can see your profile
3.Turn off activity broadcasts
4.Restrict your connections list
5.Manage LinkedIn ads and data

Open LinkedIn Privacy Settings

~15s

On desktop: click your profile photo → SettingsVisibility. On the mobile app: tap your profile photo → SettingsPrivacy.

Control who can see your profile

~18s

In SettingsVisibilityProfile viewing options → select "Your name and headline" (limited) or "Private mode" (fully anonymous). Note: Private mode means you also cannot see who viewed your profile.

Quick Tip

If you are actively job searching, keep your profile public. If you are not, restricting to connections-only significantly reduces unsolicited contact.

Turn off activity broadcasts

~15s

In SettingsVisibilityShare profile updates with your network → toggle to "No." This prevents LinkedIn from notifying everyone when you update your profile.

Restrict your connections list

~15s

In SettingsVisibilityWho can see your connections → select "Only you." This prevents people from scrolling through your network to find new targets.

Manage LinkedIn ads and data

~21s

In SettingsData PrivacyManage your data and activity → you can limit LinkedIn's ability to use your data for third-party advertising and review what data LinkedIn has collected about you.

Warning

LinkedIn job offer scams are common — fake recruiters ask for your resume and personal information. Verify any recruiter's profile carefully, and never share sensitive personal data (SSN, bank info) over LinkedIn.

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LinkedIn is the world's largest professional networking site. It is useful for career connections, job searching, and industry news, but it also exposes a lot of personal information by default — your current and past employers, education history, location, connections, and even your activity (posts you like, jobs you view).

For older adults who are not actively job searching, LinkedIn privacy settings can be significantly tightened without losing the value of the platform.

Who can see your profile

: LinkedIn allows you to restrict your profile to connections only, 1st/2nd degree connections, or keep it public. Recruiters and sales people routinely search LinkedIn for leads, so restricting visibility reduces unwanted messages.

Activity broadcast

: By default, LinkedIn notifies your connections when you update your profile, change your job, or add a skill. You can turn this off if you prefer to make changes quietly.

Connection visibility

: Your connections list is valuable to recruiters and scammers alike. Restricting who can see your connections reduces this exposure.

Scams on LinkedIn

: LinkedIn has seen a significant increase in scam activity — particularly fake job offers requesting personal information, investment scams from fake "financial advisors," and romance scams from fake profiles. Be skeptical of unsolicited messages from people you have not met, especially those quickly asking for personal information or moving conversation to other platforms.

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