Posting Best Practices
Yasmina Akni Ebourki
Last updated: Oct 2, 2024
Have you received a LinkedIn restriction notification that made your blood run cold?
Yes, LinkedIn has decided to restrict your account.
But wait, don’t panic, first of all, take a deep breath.
Let me break down for you what it means, and everything you can do to remove this restriction.
TL;DR: LinkedIn restrictions are usually temporary. To avoid future restrictions, connect only with people in your niche, use manual connection requests, and enable multifactor authentication for security. If you believe the restriction is an error, you can file an appeal through LinkedIn’s Help section.
Why LinkedIn Restricts Accounts
The first and most important thing to know is that when you receive a message saying your account has been restricted, it doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to access your LinkedIn account again.
It simply means your account is blocked for a certain period of time.
And there is something that you have done that is not okay according to LinkedIn’s terms.
Essentially, LinkedIn won’t immediately block your account permanently.
They’ll give you a warning or alert with a message saying what you have done wrong, then log you out temporarily, and after a few days, you’ll be able to access your account again.
Now, if your account is banned, it means you’ve made too many mistakes, and you will no longer be able to access your LinkedIn account.
But let’s not assume the worst.
First, let’s look at why LinkedIn might restrict your account.
Common Reasons for LinkedIn Account Restrictions
There are many reasons why your account might get blocked, and all of them are related to LinkedIn’s terms of service or suspicious activity.
However, the most common reasons are the following:
Sending too many connection requests.
Not having your connection requests accepted or having too many rejected.
This usually happens when you send a connection requests to someone you are not truly connected with or have nothing in common with.
Using LinkedIn automation tools.
Lastly, using inappropriate or illegal content, or scamming people through your LinkedIn account.
How LinkedIn Detects Suspicious Behavior
You should keep in mind that LinkedIn is, after all, a social network, and it puts in significant effort in preventing fake accounts, reducing spam, and most importantly protecting the professional community to keep it as authentic as possible.
To do such a thing, LinkedIn uses bots that classify accounts and run them through a detection process that identifies suspicious behavior patterns.
At the same time, LinkedIn has more advanced features in the “About this profile” section, which allow it to analyze the authenticity of the account and monitor its behavior.
This helps to catch spamming activities or attempts to push conversations off the platform.
Essentially, with all of this, LinkedIn is trying to protect you.
And for that, it has developed protection mechanisms to prevent these issues and ensure the platform remains as safe as possible.
How to Appeal a LinkedIn Restriction
Now, let’s imagine you’ve received a notification from LinkedIn saying that your account has been restricted for X reason and that the restriction will last for X amount of time.
During this period, you won’t be able to use LinkedIn until the restriction is lifted.
So now the question you may be asking yourself is...
What steps can I take to have the restriction removed?
The first thing to do is review LinkedIn’s terms of service to understand what you may have done wrong, so you don’t repeat it, and to fully understand what’s allowed and what’s not.
Once you’ve done that, carefully assess whether you actually committed the violation.
If you’re absolutely sure you didn’t, you can always file an appeal with LinkedIn.
To do this, go to the Help section in your account, where you’ll find the option “Appeal an account restriction.”
Preparing the Information Before Filing an Appeal
If you still decide to submit the appeal to LinkedIn as a message keep in mind that you need to clearly understand the reason for your restriction.
Look for this information in the notification or the email they sent you, where they should detail the cause.
Once you’ve got it, you need to access the Contact LinkedIn support page.
On that page, they will ask you different questions to understand your situation but also ask you for an ID card or passport, especially if you’re suspected of having a fake account.
These documents are primarily for additional verification to make sure all documents are legitimate.
Remember, this type of appeal needs to be polite, concise and to the point.
If there are mistakes in your message, the response may take longer.
And, of course, if you’ve been using automation tools, make sure to remove them before sending your appeal.
Lastly, the hardest part will be being patient, as LinkedIn will inform you that depending on the number of requests they’re handling, it might take more or less time to reply.
If there are many restrictions in process, it could take weeks for them to respond.
So, be patient, and let’s hope you get your account back soon.
How to Contact LinkedIn Support for Account Recovery
The next step is to contact LinkedIn’s support service through the Help section.
Essentially, once you’ve identified the process and have all your questions answered, and you want to ask specifically what caused your account to be restricted, you can go directly to LinkedIn’s Support Team page and send a message.
On this page, you’ll find the option to create a support ticket.
There, you can select the account in question and explain what happened.
Keep in mind that this process can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the volume of messages they receive.
Please be patient and do not create a new account.
Preventing Future Restrictions
After some time and once you’ve regained access to your account, the first thing to do is celebrate.
Take a deep breath, and use this moment to understand what really caused the issue.
This will help ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Here are a few key things to focus on:
Check if you exceeded the allowed number of connections.
Verify if you have any automation tools connected to your LinkedIn account.
If so, stop using them or switch to tools with configurable limits, which can improve your connection quality.
Make sure your connections are sent manually, with personalized messages, and are relevant to your industry.
Additionally, don't use LinkedIn solely for prospecting.
It’s also important to generate engagement on the platform and optimize your profile before sending out connection requests.
Best Practices for LinkedIn Account Security
First of all, if you want to know some tips or recommendations to keep your account secure and prevent this from happening, here are a few of them:
Connect only with people you know or who are in your niche.
This is crucial because it will reduce the likelihood of your connection requests being rejected.
Enable multi-factor authentication.
LinkedIn allows you to link your email address, but you can also verify your account by submitting your ID to get a verified profile.
Keep your software and antivirus up to date.
Avoid using outdated extensions or software, as they may make your LinkedIn account appear suspicious.
How to Avoid LinkedIn Automation Tools that Violate TOS
The real issue with automation tools is that they don't comply with LinkedIn's Terms of Service (TOS), meaning they result in a "terms of service violation."
This brings me to my final point, which is also crucial.
You need to understand that LinkedIn automation tools generally have a bad reputation on LinkedIn because of how often they lead to account restrictions.
If you're wondering whether this is because they're illegal, the answer is that they're illegal because they violate LinkedIn’s User Agreement, even though most people use them anyway.
The first type of automation that generates the most restriction are the pods.
And yes, they can surely take your account from low engagement and impressions to a major spike in interactions, but they could cost you your access to your LinkedIn account.
LinkedIn quickly recognizes that this isn’t natural behavior but rather caused by automation. Additionally, LinkedIn’s terms clearly state that the use of bots is prohibited, so the answer is no—you cannot use them.
