LinkedIn – How To Delete Your LinkedIn Account [Permanently] Using The Browser Or App
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Want to permanently delete your LinkedIn account? Have you discovered an outdated account that no longer applies to you? Do you want to start over and delete your current account? Whatever your motivation, this guide will show you how to permanently delete your LinkedIn account.
Despite being a social network, LinkedIn is a great place to hang out because it is populated by positive individuals who are working to advance their careers and build networks of business contacts.
It helps that LinkedIn is populated by professionals rather than just random individuals and that the majority of the members are employees, business professionals, and career-related individuals. You might want to delete your LinkedIn account for a variety of reasons, including going dark or starting over in your career.
LinkedIn is different from most social networks, which try to hold onto your information like a terrier will a ball. You are free to delete or hibernate your account.
Note: A deletion request will always succeed, but it gets considered a request because you can reinstate your LinkedIn account within a certain period.
Permanently Deleting Your LinkedIn Account
Your profile, pictures, contacts, and everything else associated with your LinkedIn life are all deleted permanently if you decide to close your LinkedIn account.
When you use this shortcut to close your LinkedIn account, all of the recommendations and endorsements you’ve accumulated will vanish forever and you have 14 days to reinstate it.
The page also states that before attempting to delete your account, you must first cancel your “Premium” status and any owned LinkedIn groups. Your account becomes a LinkedIn Basic account that you can delete once those procedures are finished.
The “Close Account” button at the top of the LinkedIn account closure page should be clicked to launch the closure wizard, which will walk you through the account deletion procedure.
You can also close your account by using the mobile app or a web browser. Here’s how to carry out both.
How To Delete Your LinkedIn Account Using A Browser
Many users find it easier to close their LinkedIn accounts by using a desktop browser. Here’s how to do it.
- Log in to LinkedIn and click on your profile icon.
- Select “Settings & Privacy.”
- Click on “Account Preferences” in the menu on the left-hand side, then select “Account Management.”
- Scroll down and click on “Change” in the “Close Account” section.
- From the list provided, select one of the reasons for closing your account. Then, type a description of the reason for the closure (this is required). Finally, click “Next” at the bottom.
- Type in your password to verify your account, then select “Close Account.”
LinkedIn won’t make a big deal out of you leaving, but you will still see a warning about data deletion and the ever-popular phrase, “We’re sorry to see you go.”
How To Delete Your LinkedIn Account Using The App
You can also delete your LinkedIn account from the app if you so decide. The process is much the same as using a browser.
- Log into the LinkedIn app.
- Tap your “profile icon” in the upper left-hand corner.
- Select “Settings” at the top.
- Choose “Account Preferences.”
- Select the “Close Account” option at the bottom of the Account tab.
- Tap on “Continue” and add your reason for leaving.
- Enter your password to confirm the action, then select “Done.”
- A notification appears talking about data loss and being sorry to see you go, but your account gets set for permanent deletion once you continue.
How To Reopen Your LinkedIn Account
Account closure isn’t permanent until 14 days have passed. The account is put in a cue for deletion beforehand as a safety measure. Your account is placed in a removal queue as soon as the request to delete it is made.
If you decide to reactivate your LinkedIn Basic account after it has been closed, you have up to 14 days to do so. The word “Basic” once more implies that you have already terminated any “Premium” status, “Premium” account license, or LinkedIn group.
Your account will be permanently deleted after 14 days (on your end, at least)!
If you decide to reopen your LinkedIn account within the 14-day limit, follow the steps below.
- Sign in to LinkedIn as you used to.
- Select Reactivate from the options you see once logged in.
- Wait for the confirmation email LinkedIn sends to your registered email account
- Acknowledge the reactivation from the email.
When you successfully restore your LinkedIn account, it is immediately made active again. Reactivation will not work if you attempt this procedure after 14 days have passed since you submitted your deletion request, and your LinkedIn Basic account will actually have been permanently deleted.
LinkedIn is fair about deleting your account and your data and is surprisingly transparent about its data policies. The Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) state that some data will be kept but anonymized while the majority is deleted.
