How to Keep Your LinkedIn Connections More Private

Your LinkedIn network can be one of your most valuable professional assets.

For some people, leaving their connection list visible can be useful. It may help demonstrate the breadth of their professional relationships, make introductions easier and give others a clearer sense of their professional community.

For others, particularly senior leaders, consultants, recruiters, business-development professionals and people working with confidential client relationships, it can make sense to keep the full list of connections more private.

LinkedIn gives you a setting that allows you to decide whether your first-degree connections can browse your connection list.

What this setting does

When the setting is switched on, your first-degree connections can view your list of connections.

When it is switched off, they cannot browse your full connection list.

This can be useful when you would prefer more discretion around your network, particularly where your role involves referrals, commercial partnerships, client relationships or sensitive stakeholder connections.

It is important to remember that shared connections may still be visible. Turning off the setting does not remove every visible link between you and another LinkedIn member, but it does prevent people from browsing your complete list of first-degree connections. (LinkedIn)

How to change the setting on desktop

1. Click Me at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
2. Select Settings & Privacy.
3. Choose Visibility from the left-hand menu.
4. Under Visibility of your profile & network, select Connections.
5. Switch the setting to Yes or No, depending on whether you want your first-degree connections to see your connection list. (LinkedIn)

A useful professional boundary

This setting is not about treating every new connection with suspicion. LinkedIn works best when people connect with those they know, trust or have a genuine professional reason to engage with. It is also reasonable to decide how visible you want your network to be.

Professional visibility includes more than the content you publish or the information in your profile. It also involves making thoughtful decisions about your network, your boundaries and the personal information you are comfortable sharing.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner recommends that people actively use privacy settings and choose the options that best suit their own needs when using social platforms. (OAIC)

Further privacy reading

Your connection list is only one part of your wider LinkedIn privacy settings. You may also find it useful to review:

• LinkedIn’s guidance on managing account, privacy and visibility settings
• LinkedIn’s settings for profile viewing, public-profile visibility and who can discover you using your email address or phone number. (LinkedIn)