How to delete contacts in LinkedIn
You can remove individual contacts from your LinkedIn account through your connections list. LinkedIn does not have a bulk delete feature, so you remove people one at a time. The person you remove will not receive a notification that you deleted them, but they will no longer appear in your connections list, and you will lose access to their profile information through your direct connection.
Deleting a contact is different from blocking them. When you delete a contact, they can still search for you and send you a message request. If you want to prevent someone from contacting you at all, you would need to block them instead. This guide focuses on the deletion process.
Key Takeaways
- You remove contacts one at a time by opening your connections list and selecting the remove option next to each person's name.
- The person you remove will not be notified, but they can still find your profile and send you a message request afterward.
- Deleting a contact is permanent — you cannot undo it, though you can always send a new connection request later.
- LinkedIn's mobile app and desktop website use slightly different steps, but both reach the same result.
Removing a contact on the LinkedIn website
Open LinkedIn in your web browser and sign in to your account. Click the My Network icon in the top navigation bar — it looks like two people and appears between the Home and Jobs icons. This takes you to your network page.
On the left side of the page, click Connections. This shows your full list of connections. You can search for a specific person using the search box at the top of the connections list, or scroll through to find them manually. Once you locate the person you want to remove, hover your mouse over their name or profile card.
A three-dot menu icon will appear on the right side of their profile card. Click this menu. A dropdown will show several options, including Remove connection. Click that option. LinkedIn will ask you to confirm — click Remove again to finalize the deletion. The contact is now removed from your connections list.
Removing a contact on the LinkedIn mobile app
Open the LinkedIn app on your phone and tap the My Network icon at the bottom of the screen. On Android, this appears as a people icon. On iPhone, it is in the bottom navigation bar. Tap Connections to see your full list.
Search for the person you want to remove using the search box, or scroll to find them. Tap their profile card or name to open their profile. At the top right of their profile, you will see a three-dot menu icon. Tap it to open the options menu.
Select Remove connection from the menu. LinkedIn will ask you to confirm the removal. Tap Remove to complete the action. The contact is deleted from your connections list when ready.
What happens after you delete a contact
Once you delete someone, they disappear from your connections list and you can no longer view their profile through your direct connection. However, if their profile is public, you can still find them by searching LinkedIn. They can also search for you and send you a new connection request at any time.
The person you removed will not see a notification about the deletion. LinkedIn does not send alerts when someone removes a connection. If you want to explain why you removed them, you would need to message them separately — though they may not understand why you removed them first.
Deleting a contact is permanent and cannot be undone through an undo button. If you change your mind, you can send them a new connection request, but they will see it as a fresh request rather than a restoration of the old connection.
The difference between removing, blocking, and archiving
LinkedIn offers three ways to manage unwanted connections, and each works differently. Removing a connection takes them off your list but allows them to message you and find your profile. Blocking prevents them from finding your profile, sending you messages, or seeing your activity — this is more restrictive and is meant for people you want to avoid entirely.
Archiving conversations is different from both. This hides a direct message thread from your inbox without removing the connection itself. You can archive a message from someone you still want connected to but do not want to see their messages cluttering your inbox. To archive a message, open the conversation, tap the three-dot menu, and select Archive.
Choose removal if you straightforward want to clean up your connections list. Choose blocking if someone is harassing you or you want to prevent all contact. Choose archiving if you want to keep the connection but hide their messages.
Cleaning up your connections list
If you have many contacts to remove, the process takes time since LinkedIn requires you to remove them individually. Start by using the search box to find people by name, company, or location. This is faster than scrolling through your entire list. Remove them in batches — for example, remove all contacts from a former employer, then move to the next group.
Consider whether you actually want to remove someone before you delete them. Connections on LinkedIn can be useful for your professional network even if you do not interact with them regularly. Removing someone closes a door that is straightforward to reopen but still requires them to accept a new request. If you are straightforward trying to reduce clutter, archiving messages or muting notifications from certain people might be a better option than deletion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the person know I deleted them?
No. LinkedIn does not send notifications when you remove a connection. The person will not receive an alert or message about the deletion. However, they may notice over time that you are no longer in their connections list if they check.
Can I delete multiple contacts at once?
No. LinkedIn does not have a bulk delete or select-multiple feature. You must remove each contact individually by opening their profile or card and clicking the remove option. There is no way to speed this up beyond using the search box to find people quickly.
What if I delete someone by accident?
You cannot undo a deletion directly. However, you can send the person a new connection request. They will see it as a fresh request, and you can include a note explaining that you removed them by mistake and would like to reconnect.
Can I see who I have deleted in the past?
LinkedIn does not show a list of people you have deleted. Once someone is removed, there is no record of the deletion in your account. If you need to reconnect with someone, you will need to search for them by name.
Does deleting a contact remove my recommendations or endorsements?
Deleting a connection does not automatically remove recommendations they wrote for you or endorsements they gave you. Those remain on your profile. However, you can remove individual recommendations or endorsements yourself by editing your profile.