LinkedIn profile viewing can be useful when it is part of thoughtful professional research.
You may be reviewing how peers in your field describe their work, preparing for a meeting, researching an organisation, looking at potential collaborators, or learning from people whose careers you admire. Leaders and professionals often do this quietly while refining their own visibility, career direction or business-development approach.
LinkedIn offers settings that allow you to choose how much information is shown when you view another person’s profile.
Private browsing can be appropriate. It should also be used with care.
When private browsing can be useful
There are legitimate reasons to view a LinkedIn profile without announcing your visit. For example, you may be:
- researching an organisation, sector or prospective client
- preparing for an interview, meeting or board conversation
- reviewing profiles for inspiration as you update your own
- exploring career paths, roles or professional communities
- undertaking recruitment, partnership or business-development research.
In these situations, private browsing can give you space to learn, reflect and prepare before deciding whether a connection or conversation is appropriate.
It is not a substitute for respectful professional engagement.
A note about boundaries
Anonymous browsing should never be used to monitor, intimidate, harass or repeatedly watch another person.
LinkedIn is a professional platform, but professional visibility does not remove a person’s right to safety, boundaries or peace of mind. If your interest in someone’s profile is personal rather than professional, pause before you search. Consider whether viewing their profile serves a reasonable purpose, and whether a direct, respectful conversation would be more appropriate.
Where someone has indicated they do not wish to be contacted, connected with or followed, respect that boundary.
How to change your LinkedIn profile viewing settings
On desktop:
- Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
- Select Settings & Privacy.
- Choose Visibility from the left-hand menu.
- Under Visibility of your profile & network, select Profile viewing options.
- Choose the option that best suits your purpose.
LinkedIn provides three options:
- Your name and headline: the person can see your name and headline when you view their profile.
- Private profile characteristics: the person may see limited details, such as your job title, company, school or industry, without seeing your name.
- Private mode: the person can see that someone viewed their profile, but not who it was.
Your choice is saved automatically.
Choosing the right setting
For most everyday professional activity, I recommend remaining visible.
A visible profile view can be a small but meaningful signal. It can open a conversation, prompt someone to look at your work, or create a natural reason to connect. Visibility is part of how professional relationships begin.
Private mode is better reserved for situations where discretion is genuinely needed, such as early-stage research, sensitive career planning, recruitment activity or preparation for an important conversation.
Be aware that private profile characteristics are not completely anonymous. Depending on what LinkedIn displays, a person may still be able to make an educated guess about who has viewed their profile.
What happens when you use private mode?
When you browse in private mode, your name and profile information are not shared with the people whose profiles you visit.
LinkedIn Premium members can browse in private mode and still access their own list of profile viewers. Basic account holders who choose private mode will not be able to see who has viewed their profile.
Even Premium members cannot identify people who have chosen to browse in private mode. LinkedIn respects the viewing preferences selected by each member.
Frequently asked questions about how to browse LinkedIn profiles
Can Premium members see who viewed their profile anonymously?
No. Premium members cannot see the names of people who have chosen private mode.
Will changing to private mode hide profile views I made previously?
No. Your viewing setting applies at the time you visit a profile. Changing it later will not alter earlier views.
Can I switch back to visible browsing later?
Yes. You can change your profile viewing option at any time.
Will previous private profile views become visible when I switch back?
No. Views made while you were in private mode remain private.
Use LinkedIn with intention
LinkedIn works best when it supports genuine professional relationships, useful conversations and thoughtful visibility.
Browse with curiosity. Learn from others. Prepare well. But use the platform in a way that respects the person behind the profile.
Your LinkedIn presence is not simply a collection of settings. It is part of how you show up in your work.
Need help using LinkedIn more strategically?
Think Bespoke supports professionals, leaders and organisations across Australia with LinkedIn mentoring, profile writing and training.
Karen Hollenbach helps thoughtful professionals, leaders and organisations show up with greater clarity, confidence and purpose.
Subscribe to How We Show Up, Karen's fortnightly newsletter featuring small observations from work, books and conversations on thoughtful visibility in a noisy world. You can also connect with Karen on LinkedIn.