How to Delete Your LinkedIn Account (or Hibernate It)

Want to quit LinkedIn? Then you can close your account, after which your profile, connections and messages disappear. Not sure yet? You can also put your account in hibernation for a while. This article shows how to delete your LinkedIn account on a computer and a phone, what to sort out first, what happens to your data and how to get a closed account back.

Sort this out first

Download your data. Go to Settings & Privacy > Data privacy > Get a copy of your data. You receive your connections, messages, recommendations and profile data by email as an archive.
Cancel Premium. If you have LinkedIn Premium, Sales Navigator or Recruiter, cancel that subscription first. You can't close an account with a paid subscription.
Hand over groups and pages. If you're the only owner of a group or company page, make someone else an admin first.
Keep what you need. Recommendations and endorsements are lost for good, even if you come back later.

Delete your LinkedIn account on a computer

Sign in at linkedin.com.
Select your profile picture (Me) at the top > Settings & Privacy.
Go to Account preferences and scroll to Account management.
Select Close account.
Choose a reason, select Next, enter your password and confirm with Close account.

In the LinkedIn app

Tap your profile picture at the top left > Settings.
Tap Account preferences > Close account.
Follow the same steps: reason, password, confirm.

Removing the app from your phone does not close your account. Your profile stays visible.

What happens after closing?

Your profile disappears from LinkedIn immediately.
Search engines like Google may show your old profile for a while until they update their index.
Your connections, followers, endorsements and recommendations are removed.
Messages you sent stay visible to the recipient, under the name LinkedIn Member.
Your name may still appear on group posts or comments until LinkedIn processes them.

Rather pause for a while?

Hibernate account under Account preferences > Account management hides your profile and activity, but keeps your connections and data. Your profile then shows LinkedIn Member. You can only reactivate after 24 hours, simply by signing in again. Hibernation also requires you to cancel a paid subscription first.

Get your account back

Within 14 days you can reopen a closed account: sign in with your email address and password and follow the steps to restore it. You get your profile and most connections back, but not endorsements, recommendations, followers, group memberships or pending invitations. After 14 days the account is gone for good and you can only create a new one.

Problems

"Close account" is missing or doesn't work: you still have a paid subscription or you still manage a page or group.
Forgot your password: reset it first with Forgot password on the sign-in page.
Two accounts: close the one you don't use, or ask LinkedIn support to merge them.

Nederlandstalige versie: Je LinkedIn-account verwijderen (of in slaapstand zetten)

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Delete your LinkedIn account (or put it in hibernation)