What's visible to others on your LinkedIn profile
Yes, other people can see some of your LinkedIn connections, but not all of them. What shows up depends on your privacy settings and who is looking. Your first-degree connections — the people you directly connected with — are visible to anyone viewing your profile unless you change that setting. Second-degree and third-degree connections (connections of your connections) are visible only to logged-in members, and the exact list is hidden from most people.
The default setting on LinkedIn makes your connections list public. This means someone who is not logged in, or someone you have never connected with, can still see who you are directly connected to. LinkedIn does this to help people find mutual connections and understand your professional network at a glance.
If you want to restrict who sees your connections, you can change this in your privacy settings. The option to hide your connections list entirely exists, but it is not the default — you have to turn it on yourself.
Key Takeaways
- Your first-degree connections are visible to anyone on the internet by default, including people who do not have a LinkedIn account.
- You can hide your entire connections list by going to Settings and Privacy, then choosing "Connections" and changing who can see them.
- Second-degree and third-degree connections are never shown as a complete list to other people, only indicated as "2nd" or "3rd" next to their names.
- Recruiters, salespeople, and people researching you can all see your first-degree connections unless you restrict the visibility.
How to check what your connections list looks like to others
The easiest way to see what others see is to view your own profile as a visitor would. On your profile page, click the three dots in the top right corner and select "View profile as." You can then choose "Public" to see what anyone on the internet sees, or select a specific connection to see what that person sees.
When you view your profile as public, your connections list will show all your first-degree connections with their names and job titles. If you view it as a specific person, you will see which of your connections are also connected to them (marked as mutual connections), and which are not.
This preview tool is useful because it shows you exactly what information is exposed. Many people are surprised to discover their full connections list is visible when they thought it was private.
Changing your connections privacy settings
To hide your connections list, go to your profile and click the "Me" icon at the top left. Select "Settings and privacy," then click "Settings." In the left menu, find "Visibility" and click "Connections visibility."
You will see three options: "Public" (anyone can see your connections), "Your connections" (only people you are connected to can see your list), or "Private" (no one except you can see your connections list). Choose the option that matches what you want.
Keep in mind that changing this setting does not remove your connections from LinkedIn or notify them. It only controls who can see the list when they visit your profile. If you set it to private, even your own connections will not be able to see your full list.
Why LinkedIn shows connections by default
LinkedIn displays your connections publicly because the platform is built around the idea of mapping professional networks. The company's business model depends on helping people find connections, recruiters, and job opportunities through mutual relationships. When your connections are visible, it makes the network more useful for everyone on the platform.
This also benefits LinkedIn's search and recommendation features. The algorithm uses your connections to suggest new people you might want to connect with and to show you relevant job postings. Hiding your connections does not break these features, but it does reduce how much information the system has to work with.
From a business perspective, visible connections also encourage people to build larger networks, which keeps users more engaged with the platform.
What recruiters and salespeople can learn from your connections
Recruiters use your connections list to understand your industry, experience level, and the companies you have worked with. If your connections include senior people at a target company, a recruiter might reach out to you as a potential referral source. Salespeople do the same thing — they look at your connections to find warm leads or to understand whether you have decision-making power in your industry.
This is one reason many professionals choose to hide their connections list. If you do not want recruiters or salespeople using your network to target you or your connections, restricting visibility is an effective way to reduce that contact.
Your connections also signal your credibility. Someone researching you before a meeting might look at who you are connected to as a way to verify your background or understand your professional standing.
The difference between hiding connections and disconnecting
Hiding your connections list is not the same as removing connections. When you hide your list, the people you are connected to remain connected to you — they just cannot see your full list of other connections. When you disconnect from someone, that relationship is removed entirely, and they will no longer see you in their network.
If you want to remove a specific person from your network without notifying them, you can visit their profile, click the three dots next to the "Connected" button, and select "Remove connection." This does not send them a notification, but if they visit your profile later, they will see that you are no longer connected.
Hiding your entire connections list is a blanket privacy choice. Disconnecting is a targeted action for specific people you no longer want in your network.
What happens if you make your connections private
If you set your connections to private, your profile will still show that you have connections — it just will not display the list. People viewing your profile will see "Connections" as a section, but it will be blank or show a message like "This member has chosen to make their connections private."
Making connections private does not affect your ability to use LinkedIn's features. You can still search for people, send messages, and receive connection requests. The only thing that changes is that visitors to your profile cannot see who you are connected to.
Some people worry that hiding connections makes them look less credible or less active on the platform. In practice, this is not true. Many professionals, especially those in sensitive industries or executive roles, keep their connections private as a standard practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone see my connections if they are not on LinkedIn?
Yes. Your connections list is public by default, which means anyone can view it through a web browser without logging in. They can see your first-degree connections and their job titles. To prevent this, you must change your connections visibility to "Your connections" or "Private" in your settings.
Do my connections get notified if I hide my connections list?
No. Changing your connections visibility does not send any notification to the people you are connected to. They will straightforward see a blank connections section if they visit your profile, depending on your privacy setting.
If I hide my connections, will LinkedIn still recommend people to me?
Yes. LinkedIn's recommendation system still works when your connections are hidden. The platform uses your connections internally to suggest new people and opportunities, even if other users cannot see your list.
Can I hide my connections from specific people?
No. LinkedIn does not offer granular controls to hide your connections from some people but not others. Your setting applies to everyone — either your connections are visible to your connections only, visible to everyone, or private to you alone.
What if someone screenshots my connections list?
If someone takes a screenshot of your connections list while it is visible, hiding it later will not remove that screenshot. However, changing your visibility prevents them from seeing an updated list in the future or sharing a current link to your profile with your connections visible.