Content Creation
Yasmina Akni Ebourki
Last updated: Jul 25, 2025
Ever felt like LinkedIn has become more draining than beneficial?
Constant notifications, irrelevant messages, or simply needing a digital detox can make you want to disappear for a while.
If your profile feels more active than you are, this quick tutorial will show you how to deactivate LinkedIn in under 60 seconds, while preserving all your connections and data.
7 Step‑by‑Step Guide to Deactivate Your LinkedIn Account
Follow these 8 simple steps to cancel your free or Premium LinkedIn account while ensuring your data remains safe and secure:
1. Click your profile picture (top‑right)
Click on your profile picture located in the top-right corner of your screen to open the main dropdown menu.
2. Select “Settings & Privacy”
From the dropdown menu, click "Settings & Privacy" to access your account configuration options.
3. Go to “Account Preferences”
Inside the settings section, go to "Account Preferences" where you'll find account management options.
4. Under “Account Management,” click “Hibernate account”
Scroll down to the "Account Management" section and click "Hibernate account" to begin the deactivation process.
5. Click “Hibernate” to start the deactivation
Press the "Hibernate" button to confirm that you want to deactivate your account temporarily.
6. Select a reason and provide feedback, and click “Next”
LinkedIn will ask you to choose why you're deactivating. Select an option and optionally add comments.
7. Enter your password and confirm by clicking “Hibernate account”
Enter your password to verify the request, and confirm by clicking "Hibernate account" to deactivate your account.
8 Things to Consider Before Deactivating or Deleting
But before you hit that hibernate button, are you sure you're making the right choice?
While deactivating LinkedIn might seem like the perfect solution, there are hidden consequences that could impact your LinkedIn account, networking opportunities, and professional reputation in ways you haven't considered.
Here are the 8 critical factors you should evaluate before deactivating your account:
1. Download Your Data First
Before deactivating or deleting your LinkedIn account, it’s important to download a copy of your data, which includes your connections, messages, profile history, endorsements, and more.
You can request this data from Settings & Privacy > Data Privacy > Get a copy of your data.
LinkedIn typically takes up to 24 hours to prepare your download file.
Having this backup ensures you don’t lose important contacts or professional information that could be valuable later.
2. Loss of Messages and Job Applications
If you delete your LinkedIn account, you will lose permanent access to all your messages, job applications, and conversation history.
This means you won’t be able to track your application statuses or continue conversations with recruiters and contacts.
If you rely on LinkedIn for ongoing job searches or professional communication, this loss can be significant.
3. Removal from Groups, Recommendations, and Endorsements
Deleting your account will remove you from all LinkedIn groups you are a member of.
Additionally, all recommendations and endorsements you’ve received will disappear, which can impact your professional credibility.
These social proof elements often enhance your profile visibility and trustworthiness, so losing them could harm your online professional reputation.
4. Cancel Your Premium Subscription
What happens to all your LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator subscriptions?
If you are a LinkedIn Premium subscriber, make sure to cancel your subscription before deleting your account.
LinkedIn does not automatically stop premium billing when you close your account, which can lead to unwanted charges.
Go to Settings & Privacy > Account > Subscriptions and Payments to manage and cancel your Premium plan. Keep in mind that you won’t have access to Premium features after cancellation.
5. Results on Google Searches
Even after deleting your LinkedIn account, your profile may continue to appear in Google and other search engine results for several weeks or even months.
This is due to cached versions stored by search engines.
Over time, these results will update and eventually disappear, but this delay means your professional footprint may linger online longer than expected.
6. Impact on Your Personal Brand
Have you considered the potential impact on your personal brand and professional network before deactivating or deleting your LinkedIn profile?
LinkedIn is often used by recruiters, colleagues, and clients to verify experience and contact professionals.
Removing your profile can reduce your visibility, limit networking opportunities, and affect job search prospects, especially in industries heavily reliant on LinkedIn.
7. Connections and Contacts
When you delete your LinkedIn account, you permanently lose all your connections and contacts with no way to recover them later.
Unlike deactivation, which hides your profile temporarily, deletion removes your network entirely.
This means rebuilding relationships and networks from scratch if you decide to return to LinkedIn in the future.
8. Reactivation Timeframe
If you choose to hibernate (deactivate) your LinkedIn account instead of deleting it, you can reactivate it anytime simply by logging back in.
Your profile, connections, and data will be fully restored, making hibernation a flexible option for those who want a temporary break without losing their professional presence.
Deactivation vs Deletion: Which Option Suits You?
Curious about what happens when you hibernate your LinkedIn account?
Even though temporarily hiding your profile limits your visibility, there are important things to keep in mind about what still happens during the deactivation period:
Your Data Remains Stored on LinkedIn’s Servers
While your profile is invisible to others, LinkedIn retains all your data securely, including your connections, messages, endorsements, and activity history. This allows for seamless reactivation without data loss.
No Profile Visibility or Search Appearances
Your profile will not be searchable on LinkedIn or indexed by search engines like Google during hibernation.
This means recruiters, contacts, and potential employers will not find your profile in searches while it’s deactivated.
You Will Not Receive Notifications or Messages
LinkedIn suspends notifications, connection requests, and messages during hibernation.
Any new activity directed at your profile will be paused, and you won’t be alerted until you reactivate.
Group Memberships and Invitations Are Temporarily Disabled
Although you remain a member of any LinkedIn groups, you won’t have access or receive updates from these groups until you reactivate your account.
Your Account Remains Linked to Third-Party Services
If your LinkedIn account is connected to external apps or services (for example, job boards or CRM tools), these integrations will remain inactive but intact during hibernation.
You Can Reactivate Anytime
Simply logging back in reactivates your account fully, restoring profile visibility, notifications, and all previous connections immediately.
What Still Happens After Hibernation?
Hibernating your LinkedIn account sounds like a clean break, but your profile doesn’t completely disappear. So, what happens when you hit pause?.
Your profile and data (connections, messages, endorsements) are hidden but safely stored; nothing is deleted.
You won’t appear in LinkedIn or Google searches, so recruiters and contacts can’t find you while your account is inactive.
You won’t receive notifications or messages during this time, giving you a true break from LinkedIn.
Your group memberships and third-party app links stay intact but are paused.
In short, if you want to take a temporary break from LinkedIn without risking your connections or losing your data, hibernation is your best option.
Just keep in mind, it’s a pause, not a permanent deletion. Your profile and network remain intact, ready for you whenever you decide to return.
What is LinkedIn Deletion (Close Account)?
Deleting your LinkedIn account means permanently removing your profile and all associated data from the platform.
Here’s what you need to know:
It’s permanent: Once you delete your account, LinkedIn begins permanently erasing your data after a 14-day grace period, with no way to recover it afterward.
You lose all contacts and messages: All your connections, messages, job applications, recommendations, and endorsements will be deleted and cannot be restored.
Your online presence disappears: Your profile will no longer appear in LinkedIn searches or on external search engines like Google.
No going back: If you change your mind, you’ll need to create a brand-new LinkedIn account from scratch; your old data won’t be retrievable.
FAQ
How do I temporarily disable my LinkedIn account?
To temporarily disable your LinkedIn account, use the "Hibernate account" feature found under Settings & Privacy > Account Preferences > Account Management.
This feature completely hides your profile from search results, removes you from your network's feeds, and stops all notifications while preserving your connections, messages, and profile data.
