How to Delete Your LinkedIn Account (and What You Lose)

I've lost count of the number of people who've told me they want to quit LinkedIn, usually after a week of cringe posts or a flood of sales messages. Sometimes leaving is the right call. Sometimes a break is all you need. Either way, it's worth knowing exactly what closing your account wipes out before you click the button, because a few things can't be brought back.

Below I'll walk you through LinkedIn's own close account route on a computer and on the app, the checks it makes you clear first, the short window for changing your mind, and the softer option of hibernating. Everything here follows LinkedIn's Help Center articles on closing, enterprise accounts and hibernation.

Before you delete your LinkedIn account: three things to sort first

LinkedIn won't let you close a basic account while certain things are still attached to it. Clear these up first and the closing steps run smoothly.

1. Premium. If you have LinkedIn Premium, cancel it first. LinkedIn's help says a Premium membership, group ownership or a premium licence must be resolved before the basic account can close. You can also cancel Premium and keep a free basic account if you only want to scale back.
2. Groups you own. If you own a LinkedIn group, hand ownership to someone else before you go.
3. Work tools. If you've ever used Recruiter, LinkedIn Learning or Sales Navigator through an employer, your account may be tied to an enterprise account. LinkedIn says your account administrator (current or former employer) has to remove you, or you contact LinkedIn support if you don't know who that is.

It's also worth downloading a copy of your data. LinkedIn's closing article recommends it, and it's the only way to keep your connections list, messages and other records once the account has gone.

How to delete your LinkedIn account on a computer

1. Click the Me icon (your photo) at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Select Settings & Privacy.
3. Go to Account preferences.
4. Under Account management, click Close account.
5. Pick a reason for leaving and continue.
6. Enter your password and confirm to close the account.

If LinkedIn stops you partway with a message about Premium, a group or an enterprise account, go back to the checklist above, fix that item, then start again.

Closing a LinkedIn account from the mobile app

1. Tap your profile photo.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Account preferences.
4. Under Account management, tap Close account.
5. Choose your reason, then enter your password to finish.

Menus vary a little by app version, so if you can't see Account preferences, look for Account management further down the Settings screen. The option you want is always labelled Close account.

What closing your LinkedIn account deletes

This is the part people skim, then regret. According to LinkedIn, closing permanently deletes your profile and takes away your access to your LinkedIn information. That includes:

• your messages and your connections
• recommendations and endorsements on your profile
• the profile itself, including your work history and posts

If you signed up using Google, Apple or Microsoft, LinkedIn's help also says to unlink LinkedIn on that provider's own site. Your public profile might still show up in Google or other search engines for a while, until those search engines refresh their copies. That's normal and it fades on its own.

If you've listed your profile on your CV or website, remember to take that link down too. I've written about putting your LinkedIn profile on your CV, and the reverse applies here: a dead link on a job application looks careless.

Changed your mind? Reopening a deleted LinkedIn account

LinkedIn gives you a short safety net. Its help page says that, in most cases, you can reopen an account that's been closed for less than 14 days. After that, treat it as gone.

Even inside that window, you won't get everything back. LinkedIn lists these as not recovered:

• endorsements and recommendations
• invitations that were pending or ignored
• followings
• group memberships

So if recommendations from clients or past managers matter to you, screenshot or save them before you close. They're the hardest thing to rebuild.

Hibernate instead of deleting your LinkedIn account

If what you need is a pause rather than a goodbye, LinkedIn has a hibernate option in the same Account management area. Here's what its help article says happens:

• your profile is hidden from everyone, including your connections, and it won't show in searches, including Recruiter
• your messages, posts, comments and recommendations stay, but your name shows as A LinkedIn member and your photo becomes a generic icon
• you can come back after 24 hours by signing in again
• your connection and follower counts can look wrong for up to 48 hours after you return

One catch: an active Premium membership is cancelled the moment you hibernate. If you bought Premium through Apple, LinkedIn says you also need to cancel it with Apple separately.

What you want	Close account	Hibernate
Profile visible to others	No, deleted	No, hidden
Connections and messages kept	No	Yes
Way back in	Reopen within 14 days, with losses	Sign in after 24 hours
Premium	Must be cancelled first	Cancelled automatically

Should a business owner delete their LinkedIn account?

I'll be honest with you: for most small business owners and job seekers, I'd hibernate or tidy up rather than delete. Your connections are years of relationships, and they don't come back. If the problem is noise, LinkedIn's own closing article points out you can turn down email and notification frequency instead.

If you run a Company Page, make sure a colleague is set up as an admin before you leave, so the page isn't left without anyone to look after it. My guide to managing a LinkedIn Company Page covers how admin roles work. And if your real question is whether LinkedIn's worth your time at all, I've weighed that up in my piece on whether you should be posting on LinkedIn.

If you can't delete your LinkedIn account

1. Check for Premium, group ownership or a premium licence and resolve it first.
2. Look for an enterprise link (Recruiter, Learning, Sales Navigator) and ask the admin to remove you.
3. Make sure you're signed in to the right account. Plenty of people have a forgotten duplicate.
4. If you're still blocked, contact LinkedIn through its Help Center rather than any third-party service.

Frequently asked questions

Is deleting a LinkedIn account permanent?

Yes, after the reopening window. LinkedIn says you can usually reopen an account closed less than 14 days ago, but endorsements, recommendations, followings and group memberships won't come back.

Do I need to cancel LinkedIn Premium before closing my account?

Yes. LinkedIn's help says Premium must be resolved before the basic account can close. You can cancel Premium on its own and keep a free basic account if you prefer.

What's the difference between hibernating and closing LinkedIn?

Hibernating hides your profile but keeps your connections and messages, and you can return after 24 hours. Closing deletes your profile, messages and connections.

Will my LinkedIn profile disappear from Google straight away?

Not always. LinkedIn notes your public profile can still appear in search engine results until those search engines refresh their cache.

Why won't LinkedIn let me close my account?

Usually it's Premium, a group you own, or a link to an enterprise account such as Recruiter or Sales Navigator. Clear that first, then try again.