At the time of this writing (summer 2023) there are over 5000 Google searches every month for the term “how to delete LinkedIn account.”
Why are all those people deleting LinkedIn? Why not just deactivate LinkedIn and save all your connections in case you need them?
Maybe my story will help you understand why someone would delete their LinkedIn account.
Why I Deleted My LinkedIn Account
It may be useful to know that I was one of the first 25,000 users on LinkedIn. (Early adopter bragging rights!) There are over 738 million people on LinkedIn, or roughly 13% of the adults in the world.
How do I know I was one of the first users? Easy, LinkedIn told me.
They didn’t just drop a message in my inbox, they sent me some snail mail congratulating me on my early adopter-ness and foresight to get involved at such an early date.
(Vomit)
The reason they sent this particular piece of mail was because they were drumming up interest for their upcoming IPO at the time. There had not been a big tech IPO for a while (2011) and LinkedIn was doing everything in their power to make sure theirs was a success.
So I got some mail.
No certificate, no candy, no LinkedIn swag, just a pat on the back in the form of a letter.
Their IPO seemed to go well and I didn’t pay much attention to them after that.
My LinkedIn experience continued like it does for many people–lots of spam from recruiters, occasionally snooping on people from my past and wasting hours of my time trying to figure out how to turn off LinkedIn emails.
You know…the never ending onslaught of emails that nobody asked for, or wants.
This continued for a few years without any issues, then one day in 2023, something changed.
Privacy Concerns With LinkedIn
I travel a lot for work. That means I’m frequently logging into my accounts (banking, social, etc.) from IP addresses that are not in the US.
And like a good Boy Scout, I use a VPN for as much as I can as part of a healthy personal internet hygiene plan.
Well, one day LinkedIn decided they didn’t like that very much. I tried to log into my account and was told that I needed to verify my identity with a government issued ID of some sort because my login activity seemed “suspicious.”
As a rule, I have learned not to trust many places online with sensitive stuff, like copies of my passport, driver’s license or credit card information.
So I wasn’t thrilled about needing to do some ID verification by giving LinkedIn access to more information about me.
What exactly is LinkedIn doing with your personal data?
There was some disclaimer that assured me they would not keep copies of my ID in their files. For some reason, I don’t trust companies when they say that.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that large companies and governments get hacked all the time. Even if LinkedIn was telling the truth about their intentions, it is irresponsible to believe that they are unhackable.
Not being a person who takes kindly to administrators who try to wield power over me, I uploaded a government-issued ID from a country where I have permanent residency. It’s not my primary country, nor is it an ID card I use for anything else.
Well, they didn’t like that either. Mostly because my ID card didn’t match the country where I am a citizen.
However, after a little back and forth, they allowed my profile to remain as it was.
Fine.
A few more months went by and I didn’t have any issues with my account.
Then, something else changed.
What is LinkedIn doing with your facial recognition data?
One day, I got an email from LinkedIn saying my profile photo was not “a clearly visible image of my face.”
Well, duh. That wasn’t an accident. I did that on purpose. Again, it was due to my trust issues with places that have so much of my personal identifying information.
Do they REALLY need all that information in order to run a business networking website, or are they doing nefarious things with it?
I was using a digitally distorted image on purpose. (You gotta love those AI headshots!) I make it a rule not to use photos of my face anywhere online. That includes places like LinkedIn.
At this point, I decided I had enough of LinkedIn and deleted my LinkedIn account.
I was not willing to upload a clear, crisp image of my face to add to the pile of sensitive information LinkedIn already had on me. I was getting minimal value from their website anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal to me or my career to throw it in the trash.
An added bonus from deleting my LinkedIn account
There is a certain calmness that comes from eliminating distractions in your life. LinkedIn was not serving any real purpose in my life other than the occasional distraction.
It was nothing more than responding to random connection requests, or InMail from recruiters or some new thing LinkedIn invented that would give them an excuse to clog my inbox with their official LinkedIn spam.
Now all of that is done and I have fewer distractions in my day. It helps with my focus and my peace of mind.
That’s why I deleted my LinkedIn and I’m not going back.
Should I delete my LinkedIn?
Excellent question. Maybe you should and maybe you shouldn’t.
Here are some of the reasons why someone might delete their LinkedIn account:
They are no longer looking for a job. If someone is no longer actively looking for a job, they may not see the need to keep their LinkedIn profile up-to-date.
They are unhappy with the way LinkedIn is handling their data. Some people may be concerned about how LinkedIn collects and uses their data. If they are not comfortable with this, they may choose to delete their account.
They are concerned about privacy issues. LinkedIn is a public platform, and anyone can see your profile and contact information. If someone is concerned about their privacy, they may choose to delete their account.
They are tired of the constant notifications. LinkedIn can be a noisy platform, with notifications for new connections, messages, and job postings. If someone finds the notifications to be overwhelming, they may choose to delete their account.
They no longer use LinkedIn and don’t see the point in keeping their account. If someone has not used LinkedIn in a long time, they may not see the point in keeping their account active.
They have been hacked and are concerned about their personal information being compromised. If someone’s LinkedIn account has been hacked, they may choose to delete their account to protect their personal information.
They are starting their own business and don’t want to be associated with LinkedIn. Some people may believe that LinkedIn is not a good fit for their business or industry. If this is the case, they may choose to delete their account.
They are moving to a different country and don’t need a LinkedIn account in their new location. If someone is moving to a different country, they may not need a LinkedIn account in their new location. If this is the case, they may choose to delete their account.
They are simply bored with LinkedIn and want to try something new. Some people may simply get bored with LinkedIn and want to try something different. If this is the case, they may choose to delete their account.
It is important to note that deleting your LinkedIn account is a permanent decision. Once you delete your account, you will not be able to recover it.
If you are considering deleting your account, you might want to make sure that you have a backup of your profile information and connections.
As a half-measure, you might consider deactivating your account instead of deleting it.
Deactivating your account will hide your profile from public view, but it will not delete your account or your data. If you decide that you want to reactivate your account in the future, you can do so at any time.
Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to delete a LinkedIn account:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile page.
- Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner of the page.
- Click on Account.
- Under Account management, click on Close account.
- Enter your LinkedIn password and click on Continue.
- Select a reason for closing your account and click on Next.
- Click on Yes, I want to close my account.
- LinkedIn will ask you to confirm your decision. Click on Close account again.
Your LinkedIn account will be deleted permanently within 24 hours.
Here are some additional things to keep in mind:
- Once you delete your account, all of your data will be removed from LinkedIn’s servers, including your profile, connections, messages and groups.
- You will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve your data.
- If you have any paid subscriptions, they will be canceled automatically when you delete your account.
- If you are using LinkedIn to connect with your current or former employer, you should let them know that you are deleting your account.
If you are not sure whether you want to delete your LinkedIn account, you can always hibernate it instead. This will hide your profile from public view, but your account and data will still be saved. You can reactivate your account at any time by logging back in.
To hibernate your LinkedIn account, follow these steps:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile page.
- Click on the Settings icon in the top right corner of the page.
- Click on Account.
- Under Account management, click on Hibernate account.
- Enter your LinkedIn password and click on Hibernate account.
Your LinkedIn account will be hidden from public view within 24 hours. You can reactivate your account at any time by logging back in.