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

If you're searching for how to delete account LinkedIn, you may want to permanently close your LinkedIn profile, remove your account information or leave the platform.

LinkedIn calls permanent deletion closing your account. Its current help documentation says that closing your account permanently removes your profile and access to your LinkedIn information from the site. 

Before closing your account, however, it's worth downloading important data, saving professional contacts and checking whether you have Premium, enterprise services or duplicate accounts.

What Happens When You Delete a LinkedIn Account?

Closing your LinkedIn account has several consequences.

LinkedIn says you will lose access to:

• Your profile
• Your connections
• Information you've added to LinkedIn
• Recommendations and endorsements
• Messages and other account information
• Purchase history

Your public profile will no longer be visible on LinkedIn, although search engines such as Google and Bing may continue showing information temporarily until their indexes update. 

Before You Delete Your LinkedIn Account

Download Your LinkedIn Data

If you've used LinkedIn for professional networking, download anything you may need later.

LinkedIn provides a data-download option through Settings & Privacy. Its current data-management documentation recommends downloading a copy of your information before closing the account. 

You may want to save:

• Professional contacts
• Important messages
• Profile information
• Articles or posts
• Other account records

Save Important Contacts

Once your account is closed, you won't have access to your LinkedIn connections. 

For important business contacts, save the information somewhere else before deleting the account.

Check LinkedIn Premium

Don't close your entire account if your only goal is to stop Premium.

LinkedIn says you can cancel Premium and retain a free Basic account with your profile, connections and other information. 

Check for Duplicate Accounts

If you accidentally have multiple LinkedIn accounts, consider whether merging them is more appropriate than deleting one.

LinkedIn provides a separate process for duplicate accounts and recommends downloading the account data before merging or closing an account. 

How to Delete Account LinkedIn on Desktop

LinkedIn's current desktop instructions use:

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

Step 1: Sign In

Open LinkedIn and sign in to the account you want to close.

Step 2: Open Settings & Privacy

Click the Me icon at the top of the LinkedIn homepage.

Select:

Settings & Privacy

Step 3: Open Account Preferences

Under the settings navigation, open:

Account preferences

Step 4: Find Account Management

Look for the Account management section.

Click Change next to Close account. 

Step 5: Choose a Reason

LinkedIn will ask why you're closing your account.

Select the reason that best matches your situation and continue.

Step 6: Enter Your Password

Enter your LinkedIn account password.

Step 7: Confirm Account Closure

Click the final option to close the account.

LinkedIn then begins its account-closure process.

How to Delete LinkedIn Account on Mobile

LinkedIn's current mobile instructions use the following route:

Profile picture → Settings → Account preferences → Close account

Then:

1. Tap Close account under Account management.
2. Tap Continue.
3. Select your reason.
4. Tap Next.
5. Enter your password.
6. Tap Done.

The exact layout can vary slightly depending on the LinkedIn app version and device.

How to Delete LinkedIn Account From a Mobile Browser

If you're using LinkedIn in a mobile browser, LinkedIn's current instructions provide a similar route through the profile and settings area:

Profile → Settings → Close account

Continue through the reason, password and confirmation steps. 

What Happens to Your LinkedIn Connections?

When you close the account, you lose access to your connections and other information stored in the account. 

That's why saving important professional contacts before deletion is strongly recommended.

What Happens to Your LinkedIn Messages?

Closing your account removes your access to your LinkedIn information, but information already shared with other people may not disappear from their copies or conversations.

This is an important distinction between closing your account and controlling information that other people may already have retained.

What Happens to LinkedIn Recommendations and Endorsements?

LinkedIn says closing your account deletes recommendations and endorsements you've given or received. These should therefore be treated as information you may lose when the account is closed.

How Long Does LinkedIn Take to Delete Your Data?

LinkedIn says information is generally removed from its production system within 24 hours after account closure.

It also says closed-account information is generally deleted and relevant logs or backups de-identified within 30 days, subject to exceptions in its privacy policy. 

Its privacy FAQ similarly says it takes about 30 days to fully remove information from its systems. 

Does Google Remove a Deleted LinkedIn Profile Immediately?

Not necessarily.

Even after LinkedIn closes the account, search engines may temporarily display information from an older index.

LinkedIn explicitly warns that Google, Bing and Yahoo may continue showing profile information until their search indexes refresh.

Can You Reopen a Deleted LinkedIn Account?

In most cases, LinkedIn says you can reopen a closed account if it has been closed for less than 14 days.

However, LinkedIn says some information cannot be restored, including:

• Endorsements
• Recommendations
• Ignored or pending invitations
• Followings
• Group memberships 

So reopening isn't necessarily the same as completely undoing the deletion.

Delete LinkedIn Account vs Hibernate LinkedIn

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

LinkedIn's account-closure documentation distinguishes closing an account from temporary alternatives.

If you're unsure about leaving LinkedIn permanently, hibernation may be a better choice.

What Is LinkedIn Hibernation?

Hibernation is intended for people who want to temporarily step away from LinkedIn rather than permanently delete their account.

It can be useful when you want to:

• Hide your profile temporarily
• Take a break
• Stop appearing in LinkedIn searches
• Return to LinkedIn later

Use hibernation when the goal is a temporary break rather than permanent account removal.

What If I Only Want to Cancel LinkedIn Premium?

You don't have to delete your LinkedIn account to cancel Premium.

LinkedIn says cancelling Premium allows you to retain your Basic account, profile, connections and other account information. 

This is one of the most common reasons people close the wrong account.

What If I Have an Enterprise LinkedIn Account?

Enterprise services can complicate account closure.

LinkedIn notes that enterprise-related accounts may need additional action before a Basic account can be closed.

If LinkedIn won't let you close your account, check whether your profile is associated with an enterprise product or organisational account.

What If I Have Two LinkedIn Accounts?

If you accidentally created two accounts, don't automatically delete the account containing important information.

LinkedIn supports duplicate-account merging in eligible situations. It notes that some information won't transfer during a merge, including profile content, endorsements, recommendations, saved articles and group memberships. 

Download your data before closing or merging the account you don't intend to keep.

What If You Forgot Your LinkedIn Password?

The normal account-closure process requires your account password.

If you've forgotten it, recover access through LinkedIn's official password-reset process first.

LinkedIn's guidance for account-access problems recommends recovering access to the account before completing account-management actions. 

Avoid unofficial services that claim they can bypass LinkedIn security.

What If You Can't Access Your Email?

If you can't access the email address associated with the account, LinkedIn provides account-recovery and identity-verification options for certain situations. 

Do not give your password or verification information to another person claiming to be able to recover the account for you.

Can I Delete Only Some LinkedIn Data?

Yes.

LinkedIn provides controls for deleting or managing certain categories of personal data without necessarily closing the entire account. 

For example, you may decide that you only want to remove certain profile information, comments or searches rather than permanently leave LinkedIn.

Why Can't I Delete My LinkedIn Account?

Possible reasons include:

• Active Premium arrangements
• Enterprise account associations
• Group ownership
• Outstanding LinkedIn services
• Multiple or duplicate accounts
• Access or password problems

LinkedIn's current documentation identifies several of these account-management situations as things that may need to be resolved before closure. 

Delete Account LinkedIn Checklist

• Download your LinkedIn data.

• Save important professional contacts.

• Save important messages or records.

• Check your Premium subscription.

• Check enterprise services.

• Review group ownership.

• Check for duplicate accounts.

• Decide whether hibernation is better.

• Sign in to LinkedIn.

• Open Settings & Privacy.

• Go to Account preferences.

• Open Account management.

• Select Close account.

• Select your reason.

• Enter your password.

• Confirm closure.

Common Mistakes When Deleting LinkedIn

Avoid:

• Closing the wrong account
• Forgetting to download your data
• Losing important professional contacts
• Deleting the account when you only wanted to cancel Premium
• Ignoring enterprise-account restrictions
• Forgetting duplicate-account options
• Assuming Google removes your profile immediately
• Expecting every piece of information to be recoverable

Frequently Asked Questions

How to delete account LinkedIn?

Sign in to LinkedIn and go to Me → Settings & Privacy → Account preferences → Account management → Close account. Select your reason, enter your password and confirm the closure. 

How do I delete LinkedIn from my phone?

Open your profile, go to Settings → Account preferences → Close account, then continue through the reason, password and confirmation steps. 

Does deleting LinkedIn delete my connections?

Yes. LinkedIn says you will lose access to your connections and information added to the account after closure. 

How long does LinkedIn take to delete an account?

LinkedIn says information is generally removed from its production system within 24 hours and closed-account information is generally deleted within 30 days, subject to stated exceptions. 

Can I recover a deleted LinkedIn account?

In most cases, LinkedIn says an account can be reopened if it has been closed for less than 14 days, although some information cannot be restored. 

Can I cancel LinkedIn Premium without deleting my account?

Yes. You can cancel Premium and continue using the free Basic account. 

What happens to my LinkedIn profile in Google?

Search engines may temporarily continue showing your profile after account closure until their indexes refresh. 

Should I hibernate or delete LinkedIn?

Use hibernation when you want a temporary break; use account closure when you intend to permanently leave the platform.

Final Thoughts

If you're searching for how to delete account LinkedIn, the official process is straightforward: open Settings & Privacy, go to Account preferences → Account management, select Close account, choose your reason, enter your password and confirm. 

Before you close the account, download your data, save important contacts and check Premium, enterprise services and duplicate accounts. LinkedIn says information is generally removed from its production system within 24 hours and closed-account information is generally deleted within 30 days, although some information may be retained under its policies.

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