You can delete your LinkedIn Account very easily with a few simple steps. Go to your profile by clicking on your Profile icon in the navigation bar. Select the settings option and choose the account management option after that. Tap on "close account".
You will be asked why you want to close the account and choose the appropriate reason. Tap on "next", and you will be asked to fill in your current password for the account. Once you are done putting in your password, tap on "done", and your account is successfully scheduled for deletion. However, you can reactivate your deleted account in 14 days.
Step-by-Step: Here is how to close your LinkedIn Account
Sign in to your LinkedIn account.
Click on your profile-avatar located on the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
Select the "Settings and Privacy"-option.
Select "Account preferences" from the sidebar on the left. Now, click on the option which says "Account Management". Click on the "change" option next to "close account".
You will be asked the reason for closing your account. Choose the most suitable reason. If you can't find the option in the list, you can also write your reason in the box given. Click on "next".
You will be asked to enter your current password. Once you are done, click on "close account". Your account is now successfully deactivated and scheduled for deletion.
What Happens Once You Close Your Account?
Once you delete your account, it will cease to exist on the LinkedIn platform. You will no longer be able to access your connections via LinkedIn. Apart from this, the following things will also happen:
You will lose access to your connections that you had made on LinkedIn. You will also lose access to all the information that you had put on your profile.
Your profile will be deleted from LinkedIn. Your connections wouldn't be able to see it. People who are not on your connection list wouldn't be able to find you.
Search Engines might display your name and information when somebody googles your name. But they wouldn't be able to visit your profile or interact with you. It happens due to how search engines collect data. However, it won't happen after a while.
The information that you lose includes all the recommendations and endorsements that you might have collected over the period.
Downloading a copy of your data for future reference might be a good option before deleting your account.
If you have a LinkedIn premium membership, you will have to cancel the Premium subscription before deleting your account.
If you are deleting your account because you have more than one, there is an option available for merging accounts. Make sure you explore that before deleting it.
Can I recover my LinkedIn account once it is deleted?
Yes, you can recover your LinkedIn account after deleting it but only within 14 days of deletion. However, you will lose the following information after reopening:
Endorsements and recommendations that you might have collected.
Ignored and pending invitations in your account.
All the groups, companies, and people you had been following.
Group memberships.
Can I deactivate my LinkedIn without deleting my account forever?
Earlier, temporary deactivation was not available on LinkedIn but now you can hibernate your account. However, you might want to consider alternatives. You can choose to receive fewer notifications via email or on your phone. You can also choose to hide information from search engines which will decrease your visibility. You can change your public profile settings to "visible to none" to remove yourself from visible searches.
If not, then you can choose hibernation mode, which will make you disappear from the platform temporarily. It is similar to deactivating your account temporarily. You can hibernate your account with the following steps:
Click on your profile icon located on the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
Select the "Settings and Privacy" option.
Select "Account preferences" from the sidebar at the left of the page. Now, click on the option which says "Account Management". Click on the "change" option next to "Hibernate account".
You will be asked the reason for hibernating your account. Choose the most suitable reason. If you can't find the option in the list, you can also write your reason in the box given. Click on "next".
Your account is successfully put into hibernation mode now. However, you will be able to access it by logging in with your username and password.
A few reasons you should NOT delete your LinkedIn account
In today's day and age, LinkedIn has become a really important platform. It caters to much more than professional needs and goes beyond the definition of a social media platform. There are some serious drawbacks to deleting your account from LinkedIn. Besides, you will miss out on updates from friends and colleagues. Here are few things that you can lose out on after deleting your account:
You will miss out on recruitment opportunities that might be helpful for your professional growth.
You will miss out on trends and updates from your profession, industry, or field without constant updation from LinkedIn.
You can also miss out on opportunities from inside your job. LinkedIn plays an important role in describing who you are and what value you can bring to an organization. You can miss out on expansion or promotion if you choose to opt out of LinkedIn.
Demonstrating your skills and interests on LinkedIn for workplaces has become important. So, you will appear obsolete. It can influence your professional image.
You will miss out on updates from friends, families, and colleagues from their professional life.
How to hide your LinkedIn profile?
Click on your avatar on the navigation bar.
Tap on the "Settings and Privacy" option.
Click on "visibility" and then click on the "change" option.
If the "Profile visibility off LinkedIn" is on, turn it off. Tap on "done" to save this setting.
Summary
Deleting your LinkedIn has its pitfalls, especially now since more of our interactions happen online. Networking has been made really easy and relatively more accessible due to LinkedIn. However, if you find that you cannot be on LinkedIn anymore for whatsoever reason, you need to follow the simple steps that are mentioned above.
It is easy to delete your account. However, you can consider decreasing your visibility or choosing a hibernation option. Remember, if you delete your account then you will lose valuable data even if you reopen it within 14 days. So, it is better to weigh in all the options and then proceed to decide whether you wish to delete your LinkedIn account.