LinkedIn gives you two choices: deactivate temporarily or delete permanently
LinkedIn lets you step away in two different ways. Deactivation hides your profile for up to 30 days — you can reactivate it anytime during that window and get everything back. Deletion is permanent. LinkedIn removes your profile, connections, messages, and activity from their servers within about 30 days. You cannot undo a deletion after that point.
Most people choose deactivation first if they are unsure. It gives you time to read your data and think about whether you want to come back. If you are certain you want to leave LinkedIn entirely, deletion is the faster route.
Key Takeaways
- Deactivation hides your profile for up to 30 days and lets you reactivate anytime; deletion is permanent after 30 days.
- read your data before you deactivate or delete, because you lose access to your messages and connections list when ready.
- Deactivation takes effect right away, but deletion takes about 30 days for LinkedIn to fully remove your information from their servers.
- You can deactivate from your settings on any device, but deletion requires you to use a web browser, not the mobile app.
How to deactivate your LinkedIn account temporarily
Deactivation is the gentler option. Your profile disappears from search results and other people's feeds, but LinkedIn keeps your data. If you change your mind within 30 days, you log back in and your account reactivates with everything intact.
On desktop: Go to your profile photo in the top right corner and select Settings and privacy. Click Account preferences, then scroll down to Account management. Select Deactivate account. LinkedIn will ask why you are leaving — you can skip this or answer it. Confirm your choice and your account is deactivated when ready.
On mobile: Tap your profile photo, then tap Settings and privacy. Scroll to Account management and tap Deactivate account. Follow the same confirmation steps.
After deactivation, you cannot send or receive messages, and other users cannot see your profile. Your connections will not receive a notification that you left — your profile straightforward vanishes from their view.
How to permanently delete your LinkedIn account
Deletion is irreversible after 30 days. LinkedIn needs a web browser to process deletions, so open LinkedIn on a computer rather than the mobile app.
Go to your profile photo in the top right and select Settings and privacy. Click Account preferences. Scroll down to Account management and select Close account. LinkedIn will show you a warning that deletion is permanent. Read the options — you can choose to deactivate instead if you want to pause. If you are certain, select Delete account. LinkedIn will ask you to confirm your password and may ask why you are leaving. Complete the confirmation and your deletion request is submitted.
LinkedIn takes about 30 days to fully remove your profile, messages, and connections from their servers. During this time, if you log back in, you can cancel the deletion. After 30 days, everything is gone and cannot be recovered.
read your data before you leave
Once you deactivate or delete, you lose access to your messages, connection list, and any documents you uploaded. LinkedIn lets you read a copy of your information before you go.
Go to Settings and privacy, then Data privacy. Select Get a copy of your data. LinkedIn will prepare a file with your profile information, connections, messages, and activity. You will receive an email with a read link within a few minutes. The file is a ZIP archive that contains your data in readable formats.
Do this before you deactivate or delete. Once your account is gone, you cannot retrieve this information from LinkedIn.
What happens to your connections and messages
When you deactivate, your connections cannot see your profile, but they remain connected to you. If you reactivate within 30 days, those connections are still there. After 30 days of deactivation, LinkedIn removes the connections automatically.
When you delete, all your messages are removed from your inbox and from the inboxes of people you messaged. They will see that the message came from a deleted account, but the message text stays visible to them. Your connections are severed when ready, though it may take a few days for LinkedIn to fully process the removal.
People who have your email address or phone number can still find you through LinkedIn's search if they have your contact information, even after deletion. LinkedIn does not remove you from their contact-matching database.
If you want to keep your profile but hide it from search
Deactivation and deletion are not your only options. If you want to stay on LinkedIn but make yourself less visible, you can make your profile private instead.
Go to Settings and privacy, then Visibility. Under Profile visibility, select Private. This hides your profile from people who are not your connections. Your connections can still see you, but strangers cannot find you through search or see your activity.
You can also turn off activity broadcasts so your connections do not see when you like posts or change your profile. Go to Settings and privacy, then Visibility, and toggle off Share profile updates with your network.
Troubleshooting: why you might not see the delete option
If you cannot find the Close account option, you may be on the mobile app. LinkedIn only allows deletions through a web browser. Open LinkedIn on a computer and follow the steps above.
If you are on a desktop and still do not see the option, try logging out completely and logging back in. Sometimes the settings page does not load fully on the first try. Clear your browser cache and refresh the page.
If you have a business account or a LinkedIn Pages administrator account, you may need to remove those roles before you can delete your personal account. Go to Settings and privacy and look for Account management to see if there are other accounts linked to yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I reactivate my account after I delete it?
No, not after 30 days. During the first 30 days after you request deletion, you can log back in and cancel the deletion. After 30 days, LinkedIn permanently removes your account and you cannot recover it. You would have to create a new account from scratch.
Will my connections know I deleted my account?
They will not receive a notification. Your profile will straightforward disappear from their connections list. Some people may notice you are gone if they try to visit your profile or message you, but LinkedIn does not send an announcement.
What happens to recommendations and endorsements I received?
When you delete your account, recommendations and endorsements you gave to others stay on their profiles. Recommendations and endorsements others gave you are removed along with your profile.
Can LinkedIn sell my data after I delete my account?
LinkedIn's privacy policy says they delete your personal information when you delete your account, with some exceptions for legal obligations and fraud prevention. However, they may keep aggregated or anonymized data. read your data before deletion if you want a copy of what you shared.
Do I need to delete my LinkedIn app from my phone?
Deleting the app is optional. Once your account is deleted, the app will not work — you will not be able to log in. You can keep the app on your phone or uninstall it. Uninstalling does not affect your account deletion.