How to Delete LinkedIn Account?

Social media is constantly evolving. With each passing year, new modes of communication are being developed. Remember Myspace, Yahoo, or Orkut, the online platforms that launched us into the now-famous world of social media? Though these platforms are no longer operational, their counterparts, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others, have become an integral part of the world as a means of communication and social interaction.

Now that there are these many social media platforms, it is inevitable that one has an account in them. After all, today, a majority of the world’s population communicates (only) online. 

Then what happens if one is unable to attend to their profile, has issues with account management, does not have the right knowledge to use the account, or isn’t interested in having the account anymore. 

In this blog, we will touch base about just that. 

Keep reading to find out how you can deactivate your LinkedIn account or delete your LinkedIn account, or simply close your LinkedIn account by removing all your LinkedIn data from the site.

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn, as most of us are aware of, is a social networking site similar to Facebook or Instagram. But, to be precise about its functions, LinkedIn is mainly used for professional purposes. It is a platform that you can utilize to showcase your skills, expertise, education, work experience, and other professional achievements while connecting with people from the same profession or who are similar-minded.

A resume can also do all of these things, but one needs to keep in mind – no one gets to see your resume unless you personally send it over. Even when a resume is updated on a job portal, its reach is restricted. Whereas on a LinkedIn account, as long as one is a part of your connection, they can see every professional achievement you update on your profile.

And LinkedIn as a social media platform is distinct from the others. Unlike its counterparts like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, the platform encourages its members to network and grow their careers instead of posting curated images of an extraordinary life or random memes.

Thus it is rightful to say that LinkedIn is not for everyone. You may have initially downloaded the LinkedIn app in order to expand your professional network. However, depending on the circumstances, you can decide to either temporarily deactivate or permanently close your LinkedIn account, depending on the circumstances.

Many people open a LinkedIn account to improve their professional connections and gain professional insights from industry experts. But then they close account or have permanently deleted their page because they are unable to use it or socialize with their peers.

This scenario can apply to anyone, and in such cases, it is always best to know how to completely delete your LinkedIn account or temporarily pause your LinkedIn page.

Types of LinkedIn Account Preferences

There are two options to choose from when setting up their LinkedIn profile.

• Basic membership account
• Premium Account

For Premium membership, professionals have four options to choose from, 

• Premium Career
• Premium Business
• Sales Navigator Core
• Recruiter Lite
• LinkedIn Learning

Steps to Tempsorarily Deactivate Your Linkedin Account

If you are the type of person who visits their LinkedIn profile once every few months or in a year and thinks it is best to delete your LinkedIn account, this is the best alternative for you. You can temporarily deactivate your LinkedIn account and log in to it whenever you wish to come back. 

LinkedIn hibernate

We would not recommend for you to delete your Linked profile completely. Instead, you can use the LinkedIn hibernate feature to hold on to your network and information temporarily from other users by pausing your LinkedIn account.

What does LinkedIn hibernate do?

Once you activate LinkedIn Hibernate, 

• Profile Visibility: Your LinkedIn profile, profile photo, and account information will not be visible to anyone, including your connections.
• Messages: Your messages will remain intact but shown as from “A LinkedIn member.”
• Recommendations and Endorsements: The recommendations and endorsements or the feedback you’ve given to others will remain but be shown as from “A LinkedIn member” until you’re back online.
• Posts and comments: Your LinkedIn posts and comments will stay intact but shown as from “A LinkedIn member.” And your profile picture will be replaced by a placeholder icon. 
• Searches: While your page is hibernating, your LinkedIn profile won’t appear in searches on the LinkedIn platform. Meaning if someone tries to visit your profile it would be completely hidden from them.

How to enable LinkedIn Hibernate

Step 1: Click on your LinkedIn profile picture on the top right side of your LinkedIn homepage. Select the Settings page from the dropdown.

Step 2: Click on ‘Account preferences‘ and click on the ‘Account Management’ section.

Step 3: Click Change next to the ‘Hibernate account‘ option. 

Step 4: Select the suitable reason for hibernating your LinkedIn Profile.

Step 5: Enter your LinkedIn password and click ‘Hibernate account‘ and finish the process.
Check out the related guide, how to unfollow on Facebook.

Steps to Permanently Delete Your LinkedIn Account

Step 1: Click the ‘Me‘ icon on the top right-hand corner of the navigation bar.

Step 2: In the drop-down menu, under ‘Account‘, choose the ‘Settings & Privacy’ option.

Step 3: Click on ‘Account preferences’ and then click on the ‘Account Management‘ option. 

Step 4: Next to ‘Close Account,’ select the ‘Change‘ option.

Step 5: After that, mention the reason to delete your account and click the ‘Next’ option.

Step 5: Enter your LinkedIn account password and select the ‘Close Account‘ tab.

Step 6: A mandatory process is that you need to request archive for all your Linkedin data.

But before you delete your LinkedIn account, please make sure that you are not the owner of any active LinkedIn groups. And if you own and manage any LinkedIn Group or a Company page, LinkedIn will not let you permanently delete your LinkedIn account. However, you can change the administration of these accounts and then choose to delete your LinkedIn profile. Check out the ultimate ideas in this guide, the LinkedIn background banner.

How to delete your LinkedIn Account From an iOS device

To delete your LinkedIn Profile from an iOS device:

Step 1: Tap on your LinkedIn profile picture, click on > Settings and Privacy and choose the ‘Account Preferences’ option. 

Step 2: Tap on the ‘Close account‘ option under ‘Account Management.’

Step 3: Tap on ‘Continue’ and proceed with closing your account. Choose the reason for closing your LinkedIn account.

Step 4: Next, enter your LinkedIn account password and confirm by selecting ‘Done.’

How to delete your LinkedIn account From an Android device

To delete your LinkedIn account from your Android device:

Step 1: Tap on your LinkedIn profile picture and select Settings and Account Preferences.

Step 2: Under the ‘Account Management‘ option, click ‘Close account.’

Step 3: Tap on ‘Continue’ and proceed with closing your account. Choose the reason for the closing account.

Step 4: Next, enter your LinkedIn account password and select ‘Done.’

What happens when you close your LinkedIn account

What happens to your LinkedIn account when you close it? The following information will help you decide whether you should delete your LinkedIn account.

• You won’t be able to access any of your connections or any information on your account.
• Your social profile icon will no longer be visible on LinkedIn.
• Search engines like Google may temporarily display your information due to cached data.
• You’ll lose all your information, recommendations, and endorsements or details on your LinkedIn profile. Also, check out Facebook touch.