When LinkedIn introduced a process of automatically logging you in using your Google account details when you open LinkedIn from a Chrome browser, it caused an issue for many of us, who soon found we had duplicate LinkedIn accounts. The process is so slick you’ll barely notice it’s happened, and suddenly you're working from an account with no connections, no profile data and no history.
Whether you accidentally created a duplicate LinkedIn account in this way or you have another reason to delete a LinkedIn account, it's a good idea to keep your LinkedIn account tidy, and the New Year can be a great time to get on top of your housekeeping.
Deleting a LinkedIn account is a pretty straightforward process, but you should bear in mind the following:
- You’ll lose the hard work spent building your profile, generating endorsements and recommendations
- You’ll lose all of your connections. If you change your mind and want to start using LinkedIn again it can take years to rebuild your network
An alternative to closing your account is to hibernate your account. This means it will sit dormant but retain your connections and profile endorsements and content until you are ready to activate it again.
If you’re wondering what happens to your data when you delete your account, let’s clarify:
- Your profile picture, posts and content will be permanently deleted
- Group memberships and endorsements will be permanently deleted
- Most of your personal data will be deleted, although LinkedIn may retain some for legal reasons
LinkedIn states that it will remove your data within 24 hours of you closing your account, although it may take longer for search engines to update their data.
Still keen on closing your account? We’ll show you how.
Deleting your LinkedIn account from a desktop
Step 1: Go to your Settings & Privacy
From LinkedIn, click on ‘Me’ on the the toolbar along the top, then on ‘Settings & Privacy’ from the drop-down menu.
Step 2: Cancel any paid subscriptions
If you have a Premium LinkedIn Plan, you’ll want to cancel this before closing your account. under ‘Subscriptions & payments’ click on ‘Manage Premium account’.
Now you can choose to cancel your subscription.
Step 3: Click on ‘Close account’
You’ll be asked to confirm your instruction and select why you’re closing your account. Then re-enter your password as the final step. Once you’ve done this, LinkedIn will confirm that your account has been closed.
Deleting a LinkedIn account from the app
Step 1: Go to 'Settings'
Step 2: Click on 'Account Preferences'
Step 3: Click 'Close account'
Follow the same confirmation steps to permanently delete your account from the app.
What if I’ve made a mistake?
If you close your account by mistake or change your mind then you can log in within 14 days of closing your account to reinstate it. However, you will no longer have access to uploaded content, profile details, connections, endorsements, group memberships, invitations and followers. These are permanently deleted when you initially confirm the closure of your account.
Troubleshooting closing your account
As we see below, you may be told you can’t close your account.
This may be for a few reasons:
1. You have a paid subscription that you need to cancel before closing your account
2. You own a LinkedIn Group. In this case you’ll need to close down any LinkedIn Groups you own before you can close your account
Unlinking LinkedIn from Third-Party Sites
If you accidentally created a duplicate LinkedIn account using login credentials from a third-party provider (such as Google Account, Facebook, or Apple), you can prevent this from happening again by unlinking that account from LinkedIn via the third party’s site. To learn how visit their help centers such as the Google Help Center or Apple Support.
Hibernating your account
An alternative to deleting your LinkedIn account is to hibernate your account:
- You can reactivate your account 24 hours after hibernating it
- Endorsements, messages, posts, comments, and recommendations will remain, but you’ll be identified as ‘a LinkedIn member’ until you reactivate your account
- Your profile won’t appear in any searches while your account is hibernated
To hibernate your account, from your profile go to ‘Settings & Privacy’.
Select ‘Hibernate’ under account management. Enter a reason, and confirm your password.
Note that:
- Any Premium subscriptions will automatically be canceled when you hibernate your account
- Any Sales Solutions licenses will remain active when you reactivate your account. You may want to speak to the admin holder to cancel this subscription
Looking to streamline your LinkedIn processes?
If you still have your main LinkedIn account, did you know that you can streamline your lead generation processes? Sending automated connection messages, running multi-touch outreach campaigns, gathering email addresses and downloading LinkedIn data are just some of the cool things you can do to generate leads and save time while you're at it.
Why not install Dux-Soup for a free 2-week trial and we’ll show you how this works in our tutorials series?
For more LinkedIn lead generation hacks subscribe to our Learning Hub.
