How to Delete Account From LinkedIn: Complete Step-by-Step Guide

If you're searching for how to delete account from LinkedIn, you may be ready to permanently close your LinkedIn profile and stop using the platform.

Deleting a LinkedIn account is straightforward, but it is worth understanding exactly what happens before you confirm the closure. LinkedIn says that closing an account permanently deletes your profile and removes access to your LinkedIn information, while some account data may still be retained for legal, security or other legitimate reasons.

This guide explains how to close your account from a desktop browser, Android, iPhone and mobile browser, along with important things to check before deletion.

How to Delete a LinkedIn Account

LinkedIn currently provides an account-closing option through Settings & Privacy.

Delete Your LinkedIn Account on Desktop

Follow these steps:

1. Sign in to LinkedIn.
2. Click the Me icon at the top of the LinkedIn homepage.
3. Select Settings & Privacy.
4. Open Account preferences.
5. Under Account management, find Close account and click Change.
6. Select the reason you are closing the account.
7. Click Next.
8. Enter your LinkedIn password.
9. Click Close account.

These are the current steps provided by LinkedIn Help.

Delete Your LinkedIn Account on Android or iPhone

LinkedIn's current mobile instructions are:

1. Open the LinkedIn app.
2. Tap your profile picture.
3. Go to Settings.
4. Open Account preferences.
5. Tap Close account under Account management.
6. Tap Continue.
7. Select your reason for closing the account.
8. Tap Next.
9. Enter your password.
10. Tap Done.

LinkedIn provides similar account-closure navigation for its mobile experiences.

What Happens When You Delete Your LinkedIn Account?

Closing your LinkedIn account has several consequences.

According to LinkedIn, closing the account means permanently deleting your profile and removing access to the information associated with your account. You also lose access to your connections and other account information.

LinkedIn's help documentation also says that closing an account removes items such as recommendations and endorsements you have given or received, as well as messages and connections.

Before clicking the final confirmation, make sure you're comfortable losing access to this information.

Does LinkedIn Delete Everything Immediately?

Not necessarily.

LinkedIn's Privacy Policy says that personal data will generally stop being visible to others within 24 hours after account closure, and LinkedIn generally deletes closed-account information within 30 days, subject to exceptions.

LinkedIn may retain certain information where reasonably necessary for purposes such as:

• Legal obligations
• Regulatory requirements
• Security
• Fraud and abuse prevention
• Dispute resolution
• Enforcement of its User Agreement

LinkedIn also explains that information you previously shared with other people may remain visible in some circumstances, and it cannot control information other members have copied outside its services.

Can You Recover a Deleted LinkedIn Account?

This is an important point.

LinkedIn's current Help documentation says you can reopen your account in most cases if it has been closed for less than 14 days. However, certain information cannot be recovered even when the account is reopened.

That means you should treat deletion as a serious decision rather than assuming you can restore everything later.

What Should You Do Before Deleting LinkedIn?

Before closing your account, consider completing a few checks.

Download Important Data

LinkedIn specifically recommends considering downloading a copy of your data before closing the account.

You may want to keep important information such as:

• Connections
• Messages
• Profile information
• Career history
• Articles
• Other account data

The exact data available for download depends on your account and LinkedIn's current data tools.

Save Important Contacts

If you have professional relationships that you may need later, make sure you have another way to contact important people.

Deleting your LinkedIn account should not be treated as simply uninstalling the app.

Check Your Premium Subscription

If you have LinkedIn Premium or another paid LinkedIn service, review the subscription before closing the account.

LinkedIn's Help documentation notes that Premium-related issues may need to be resolved before a Basic account can be closed.

Check Groups and Other Account Responsibilities

Certain account relationships can affect the closure process.

For example, LinkedIn notes that users who own a LinkedIn group or have certain premium or enterprise-related relationships may need to address those accounts or responsibilities before closing the account.

What Happens to Your LinkedIn Profile?

Your LinkedIn profile will no longer be visible on LinkedIn after the account is closed.

However, you may still see your old profile information appear temporarily in search-engine results.

LinkedIn specifically notes that search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo may continue showing information temporarily because they need time to update their indexes.

So don't assume that deleting your LinkedIn account instantly removes every reference to your profile from every search engine.

What Happens to Messages You've Sent?

Closing your account affects your LinkedIn information and messages, but information that has already been shared with other people can be more complicated.

LinkedIn's Privacy Policy explains that information you have shared with others may remain visible after account closure in some situations, particularly where another member has copied or retained information outside LinkedIn's control.

This is another reason to review your account before deleting it.

Delete LinkedIn Account vs Hibernate LinkedIn Account

You don't always need to permanently delete your account.

LinkedIn offers hibernation as an alternative to closing an account. LinkedIn's data-deletion guidance explicitly identifies hibernation as an alternative option.

This can be useful when you want to take a break from LinkedIn but aren't ready to permanently remove your account.

Deletion

Permanent account closure is appropriate when you no longer want to maintain the account.

Hibernation

Hibernation can be a better choice when you want to step away temporarily and may return later.

Think carefully about your objective before selecting either option.

When Should You Delete Your LinkedIn Account?

There are several legitimate reasons someone may choose to close an account.

You No Longer Use LinkedIn

If you're no longer using LinkedIn professionally or personally, maintaining the profile may not be useful.

You Have Multiple Accounts

If you accidentally created more than one LinkedIn profile, you may need to close or merge the duplicate rather than keeping multiple accounts. LinkedIn says creating multiple personal profiles is not allowed under its policies.

You Want to Start Fresh

Sometimes people prefer to close an old profile and create a new professional presence.

However, consider whether updating your existing profile would be easier before deleting everything.

You Are Taking a Career Break

In this case, hibernation may be worth considering instead of permanent deletion.

Should You Delete LinkedIn or Just Uninstall the App?

Uninstalling the LinkedIn app does not delete your LinkedIn account.

Your account remains active unless you actually close or otherwise deactivate it through LinkedIn's account controls.

If you simply don't want notifications, you can adjust your notification and email preferences instead. LinkedIn specifically provides controls for reducing emails and notifications through Settings & Privacy.

What If You Only Want to Remove Your LinkedIn Data?

You may not need to close the entire account.

LinkedIn provides controls for deleting specific types of data, including certain:

• Posts
• Articles
• Messages
• Feed activity
• Email addresses
• Search history
• Resume/CV information
• Profile-related information

LinkedIn's data-deletion guidance explains that if you want to delete all account data, you need to close the account, while individual categories of information can sometimes be removed separately.

This makes selective deletion a useful alternative when you want to keep the account but remove certain information.

What If You Cannot Log In?

You generally need access to the account to close it normally.

If you've forgotten the password, LinkedIn recommends recovering access first. Its Help documentation provides account-access and password-reset routes for users who can't sign in.

If you no longer have access to the email address associated with the account, LinkedIn may require an account-recovery or identity-verification process.

What If You Have a Duplicate LinkedIn Account?

LinkedIn provides separate guidance for duplicate accounts.

If you have two accounts, you may be able to merge them rather than simply deleting one. LinkedIn notes that data from the account being closed can be purged, so downloading an archive beforehand may be important.

Some information does not transfer during a merge, so review LinkedIn's current duplicate-account instructions before taking action.

What If You Signed Up With Google, Apple or Microsoft?

If you originally used a third-party identity provider to sign up, LinkedIn advises unlinking the associated email account through the third party's service as well.

This is worth checking when you're trying to completely clean up your online account setup.

LinkedIn Account Deletion Checklist

Before selecting Close account, use this checklist:

Taking a few minutes to review these items can prevent unnecessary problems later.

Common Mistakes When Deleting a LinkedIn Account

Mistake 1: Deleting Without Saving Important Contacts

Once your account is closed, you may lose convenient access to your LinkedIn connections.

Mistake 2: Forgetting Paid Services

Review Premium and other relevant subscriptions before closing the account.

Mistake 3: Assuming Search Results Disappear Immediately

Search engines may continue showing cached or indexed profile information temporarily.

Mistake 4: Deleting a Duplicate Instead of Merging

If you accidentally created multiple profiles, merging may be a better solution depending on your situation.

Mistake 5: Assuming Everything Can Be Recovered

LinkedIn says an account can generally be reopened if it has been closed for less than 14 days, but some information cannot be recovered.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I delete my LinkedIn account?

Go to Me → Settings & Privacy → Account preferences → Account management → Close account, select your reason, enter your password and confirm the closure.

Can I delete my LinkedIn account from my phone?

Yes. In the LinkedIn app, go to your profile picture → Settings → Account preferences → Close account and follow the confirmation steps.

Does deleting LinkedIn delete my profile immediately?

Your profile will no longer be visible on LinkedIn, but LinkedIn says personal data generally stops being visible within 24 hours and account information is generally deleted within 30 days, subject to exceptions.

Can I recover my LinkedIn account after deleting it?

In most cases, LinkedIn says you can reopen a closed account if it has been closed for less than 14 days. Some information cannot be recovered.

Will Google still show my LinkedIn profile after deletion?

Possibly, temporarily. LinkedIn says search engines may continue displaying profile information until their indexes are updated.

What happens to my LinkedIn connections?

Closing your account removes access to your connections and other LinkedIn account information.

Can I hide my LinkedIn account instead of deleting it?

LinkedIn provides hibernation as an alternative to closing the account.

Can I delete only some LinkedIn data?

Yes. LinkedIn provides options for deleting certain types of account data without necessarily closing the entire account.

What if I have two LinkedIn accounts?

LinkedIn provides a process for merging or closing duplicate accounts. Review that process before deleting either account because some information may not transfer during a merge.

Do I need my LinkedIn password to close the account?

LinkedIn's current closure instructions require you to enter your account password before completing the closure process.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to delete account from LinkedIn is simple once you know where the account-management controls are located.

On desktop, go to:

Me → Settings & Privacy → Account preferences → Account management → Close account

On mobile, go to:

Profile picture → Settings → Account preferences → Close account

Before confirming, download anything important, review your connections and messages, check Premium or other account responsibilities, and consider whether hibernation or selective data deletion would be a better option.

LinkedIn currently says a closed account can generally be reopened within 14 days, but some information cannot be recovered.

For current LinkedIn account-management information, always give priority to LinkedIn's own Help Center because interface labels and account options can change over time.