You can delete a contact from LinkedIn in three steps, and it does not notify them
Open LinkedIn on a desktop browser or the mobile app. Find the person's profile by searching their name or locating them in your connections list. Click the three dots next to their name (or the menu icon on mobile), select "Remove connection," and confirm. The person will not receive a notification that you removed them, though they may notice you are no longer in their network if they check.
The removal is when ready. They cannot see that you deleted them unless they specifically look at their connection count or try to view your profile and find it is no longer connected. If you want to prevent them from seeing your profile altogether, removing the connection is the first step — but it does not hide your past activity from them, like comments you left on their posts before the removal.
Key Takeaways
- Removing a connection takes 10 seconds and happens when ready, with no notification sent to the other person.
- The person can still see your profile and your past activity on their posts unless you block them separately.
- Blocking is different from removing: a block prevents them from messaging you or finding your profile in search results.
- Deleted connections remain in LinkedIn's records for your account history, but you will not see them in your active connections list.
- On mobile, the three-dot menu appears next to each connection name in your connections list.
The difference between removing and blocking
Removing a connection and blocking a person are two separate actions that do different things. When you remove someone, they stay in your network's view — they can still see your profile, message you, and interact with your posts. You straightforward will not see them in your connections list anymore.
Blocking prevents them from finding your profile in search, viewing your posts, or sending you messages. A blocked person cannot see that you blocked them, but they will notice they cannot access your profile. Use blocking if you want to cut off contact entirely. Use removal if you just want to clean up your connections list but do not mind if they can still see your public activity.
How to block someone instead
Go to the person's profile. Click the three dots in the top right corner of their profile card. Select "Block" from the menu. LinkedIn will ask you to confirm, and you can choose whether to also remove the connection at the same time. If you block without removing, they will be blocked but the connection will remain in your history.
Once blocked, the person cannot search for you, see your profile, or message you. You also will not see their profile or posts in your feed. If you change your mind, you can unblock them the same way — go to your privacy settings, find "Blocking and hiding," and select "Unblock" next to their name.
What happens to your past interactions
Removing or blocking someone does not delete your past activity. If you commented on their post before you removed them, that comment stays visible on their post. If you sent them messages, those messages remain in both inboxes unless you delete them from your side. Removing the connection does not erase the conversation history.
If you want to delete a specific message, open the conversation, find the message, click the three dots next to it, and select "Delete." You can only delete messages you sent, not messages they sent to you. Deleting a message removes it from your inbox but not from theirs.
Removing connections on mobile versus desktop
On the LinkedIn mobile app, open your connections list by tapping your profile photo, then "Connections." Find the person you want to remove. Tap the three dots next to their name and select "Remove connection." The process is the same as desktop, just with a mobile interface.
On desktop, you can also remove someone directly from their profile page by clicking the three dots next to the "Connected" button. Both methods work when ready. The mobile app sometimes takes a few seconds to refresh your connections list after removal, but the action completes right away.
Why you might want to remove connections
People remove connections for different reasons. You might clean up your list if you no longer work with someone and want to reduce clutter. You might remove someone if the relationship ended badly but you do not want the visibility that comes with blocking. You might remove old colleagues you no longer interact with to keep your network focused on current professional contacts.
LinkedIn does not penalize you for removing connections. Your connection count goes down, but that does not affect your profile visibility or how the platform treats you. Some people remove connections regularly to keep their network to people they actually communicate with.
What LinkedIn stores about removed connections
LinkedIn keeps a record that you were connected to this person, even after you remove them. This data is part of your account history and helps LinkedIn show you relevant content and connection suggestions. You cannot see this history yourself, but LinkedIn uses it behind the scenes.
If you want to know what data LinkedIn has about you, including past connections, you can request a data read from your privacy settings. Go to "Settings and privacy," then "Data privacy," and select "Get a copy of your data." LinkedIn will send you a file with information about your account, including connection history.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the person know I removed them?
No. LinkedIn does not send a notification when you remove a connection. They will only know if they manually check their connections list and notice you are no longer there, or if they try to view your profile and see the "Connect" button instead of "Connected."
Can I remove someone and then reconnect with them later?
Yes. After you remove someone, you can search for their profile and send a new connection request whenever you want. They will see it as a fresh request, not a reconnection. They can accept or decline like any other request.
Does removing a connection delete our message history?
No. Your messages stay in both inboxes. Removing the connection does not affect the conversation. If you want to delete specific messages, you have to do that separately by opening the conversation and deleting individual messages.
What is the difference between removing and unfollowing?
Unfollowing someone means you stop seeing their posts in your feed, but you remain connected. Removing them means they are no longer in your connections list at all. You can unfollow someone without removing them if you want to stay connected but see less of their activity.
If I block someone, do they see that I blocked them?
They do not get a notification, but they will notice they cannot find your profile or access it. If they try to view your profile directly, they will see a message saying the profile is not available. Blocking is more visible than removal because they will actively encounter the block when they try to interact with you.