LinkedIn is a valuable tool for people at all stages of their career path, whether they’re looking for their first job or trying to move up the corporate ladder.
However, you may eventually want to delete your account to reduce your online footprint, move on to another networking platform, or another reason. Unfortunately, while opening a LinkedIn account is straightforward, it’s not as clear how to delete an account, which can lead to confusion when you try.
To help you out, this guide explains how to delete your LinkedIn account in a few easy steps.
Key Takeaways
- Once you know the steps, deleting your LinkedIn account is quick and easy.
- Before deleting your account, download any data you want to keep, such as messages, connections, and other profile information.
- If you have connections you’d like to stay in touch with, share other contact methods with them—such as your email address—before you delete the account.
- While your information isn’t visible on LinkedIn once you delete your account, search engines may still display residual details about the account until it updates its search data.
How To Delete Your LinkedIn Account: Step-by-Step Instructions
While deleting your LinkedIn account is easy, the steps are slightly different depending on where you’re deleting the account from.
Deleting Your LinkedIn Account on the Computer
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- Click the Me icon at the top of the screen on your LinkedIn homepage.
- In the dropdown menu, click Settings & Privacy.
- Scroll to Account management (in the Account preferences section) and click Close account.
- Choose the reason you’re closing your account (e.g., “I have a privacy concern,” “I’m not getting any value from my membership,” or “Other”). Then, click Next.
- Enter your password and click Close account.
Deleting Your LinkedIn Account on the Mobile App (iOS or Android)
- Tap your profile picture.
- Go to Settings, then select Account Preferences.
- Under Account Management, tap Close Account, and press Continue.
- Choose the reason for closing the account, then tap Next.
- Enter your password and tap Done.
The complete deletion process takes time, so search engines may still display your profile information until search data is updated.
However, rest assured that once you delete your account, your profile is no longer visible on the platform, you’ll no longer be in any LinkedIn groups, and all endorsements and recommendations you’ve given get deleted.
Downloading Your LinkedIn Data Before Deleting Your Account
One of the biggest mistakes people make when deleting their LinkedIn accounts is forgetting to download their data from the platform first.
If you delete your account without downloading your data, some of what you’ll lose includes your:
- Messages
- Contacts
- Courses
- Recommendations and endorsements
- Profile data (education, job history, certifications, and skills)
- Job application details
- Settings preferences
This data is nice to have, whether for future reference or to help you set up a new account later.
To download your data from LinkedIn, follow these steps:
- Visit your homepage and click the Me icon at the top of the screen.
- From the drop-down menu, select Settings & Privacy.
- Click Data Privacy on the left side of the screen.
- Navigate to the section called How LinkedIn uses your data, and click Get a copy of your data.
- Choose the data you want to download, and click Request Archive.
LinkedIn emails you a link within 24 hours that you use to download the information. Be sure to do this quickly, as the data is available to download for 72 hours only.
Also, because you’ll lose your meaningful connections when you delete your account, make sure to share your other social media accounts, email address, or other ways to contact you if you want them to stay in touch.
Conclusion
Whether you’re looking for an effective solution for reducing your digital footprint or want to move to another platform, there are many cases where you’ll want to delete your LinkedIn account. The process is straightforward and clear, but ensure you download your data beforehand.
If you want to learn more about LinkedIn, check out our guides on making your LinkedIn profile stand out and the latest LinkedIn scams to avoid.
