LinkedIn offers a multitude of configuration options. It is not always easy to keep track of all the various settings offered and to select the best settings for your purposes. Our checklist is meant to assist you to protect your account and all your published information in the best possible way.
We have tried to draw up as universally applicable a set of instructions for private users as possible. Nevertheless, the individual configuration options and settings may differ in specific cases. This checklist refers to the LinkedIn settings available as of 10th August 2022 as displayed in a desktop computer browser.
As a rule, the settings described here are automatically adopted in the LinkedIn app. Depending on your smartphone and operating system though, there may be some additional settings in the app which are not discussed here.
To display the account settings in LinkedIn, click the arrow symbol next to “Me” top right of the page, and select “Settings & Privacy” from the menu.
Account preferences
| Category | Sub-category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Profile information | Name, location, and industry | Restrict yourself to details which are relevant to the world of work. |
| Personal demographic information | Do not submit any demographic data | |
| Display | Dark mode | Depending on your requirements |
| Site preferences | Language | Depending on your requirements |
| Content language | Depending on your requirements | |
| Autoplay videos | Depending on your requirements | |
| Showing profile photos | Depending on your requirements | |
| Feed preferences | Only follow people and institutions which are relevant to you from a professional and specialist point of view. | |
| People also viewed | Off | |
| People you unfollowed | Depending on your requirements | |
| Syncing options | Sync calendar | Don’t use, “Remove All” if necessary |
| Sync contacts | Don’t use, “Remove All” if necessary | |
| Subscriptions & payments | Upgrade for Free | Depending on your requirements |
| View purchase history | If you are using chargeable functions, you can track your transactions here. | |
| Partners & services | Microsoft | Don’t use, “Remove All” if necessary |
| Twitter settings | Don’t use, “Remove All” if necessary | |
| Account management | Merge accounts | Depending on your requirements |
| Hibernate account | Depending on your requirements | |
| Close account | As soon as you no longer wish to use LinkedIn |
Sign in & security
| Category | Sub-category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Account access | Email addresses | Use a free address without any indication of your identity (e.g. ferrari397@gmail.com). |
| Phone numbers | Optionally, you can also register a mobile number, which will then be required for log-in confirmations as necessary. | |
| Change password | Manage your passwords outside of Facebook, for instance using a password manager. | |
| Where you’re signed in | Regularly close sessions you no longer need. | |
| Devices that remember your password | Check this regularly, and keep the number of devices where your password is saved to a minimum. | |
| Two-step verification | Activate. |
Visibility
| Category | Sub-category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility of your profile & network | Profile viewing options | Private mode |
| Edit your public profile | Only ever allow the display of the minimum details, which are absolutely necessary. Information visible here can be searched and viewed directly from the Internet. | |
| Who can see or download your email address | „Who can see … on your profile or in approved apps?” -> Only visible to me
“Allow your connections to download your email (...) in their data export” -> Off | |
| Connections | Off | |
| Who can see your last name | Depending on your requirements | |
| Representing your organization and interests | Off | |
| Profile discovery and visibility off LinkedIn | Off | |
| Profile discovery using email address | 2nd-degree connections | |
| Profile discovery using phone number | 2nd-degree connections | |
| Blocking | Depending on your requirements | |
| Visibility of your LinkedIn activity | Manage active status | No one |
| Share profile updates with your network | Off | |
| Notify connections when you're in the news | Off | |
| Mentions or Tags | Off | |
| Followers | Connections |
Communications
| Category | Sub-category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| How you get your notifications | On LinkedIn | Depending on your requirements |
| Depending on your requirements | ||
| Push | Depending on your requirements | |
| Who can reach you | Invitations to connect | Depending on your requirements |
| Invitations from your network | Depending on your requirements | |
| Messages | „Message requests“ -> No „InMail messages“ -> No „Sponsored Messages“ -> No | |
| Research invites | Off | |
| Messaging experience | Read receipts and typing indicators | Off |
| Messaging suggestions | Off | |
| Message nudges | Depending on your requirements |
Data privacy
| Category | Sub-category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| How LinkedIn uses your data | Manage your data and activity | Depending on your requirements |
| Get a copy of your data | Depending on your requirements | |
| Manage cookie preferences | „Cookies“ -> Off | |
| Salary data on LinkedIn | Do not submit any salary data | |
| Search history | Regularly delete your search history | |
| Personal demographic information | Do not submit any demographic data | |
| Social, economic, and workplace research | Off | |
| Job seeking preferences | Job application settings | “Save and manage your resumes and answers” -> Off |
| Sharing your profile when you click Apply | Depending on your requirements | |
| Signal your interest to recruiters at companies you've created job alerts for | Off | |
| Stored job applicant accounts | Check the accounts listed and delete it from the applicants tracking system and LinkedIn if necessary. | |
| Other applications | Permitted services | Check regularly and remove any services not required. |
| Microsoft Word | Off |
Advertising data
| Category | Sub-category | Our recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising preferences | Profile data for personalizing ads | Off |
| Interest categories | Off | |
| Data collected on LinkedIn | Connections | Off |
| Location | Off | |
| Demographics | „Use your age for ads“ -> Off „Use your gender for ads“ -> Off | |
| Companies you follow | Off | |
| Groups | Off | |
| Education | Deselect all | |
| Job information | Deselect all | |
| Employer | Deselect all | |
| Third-party data | Audience insights for websites you visit | Off |
| Ads outside of LinkedIn | Off | |
| Interactions with businesses | Off | |
| Ad-related actions | Off |
