I get asked about LinkedIn privacy all the time. One of the most common questions is How to Hide followers on LinkedIn? If you’re wondering whether you can control who sees your followers or how to manage your LinkedIn privacy settings, you’re in the right place.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about LinkedIn followers’ privacy. I’ll show you step-by-step how to hide your followers, manage your connections, and protect your professional network.
Can Anyone See My Followers on LinkedIn?
Here’s the truth about LinkedIn followers visibility. By default, yes – people can see your followers on LinkedIn. But there’s good news. You have some control over this.
When someone visits your LinkedIn profile, they can see your follower count. They can also see who follows you if your settings allow it. This is similar to other social media platforms, but LinkedIn gives you more privacy options.
The key thing to understand is that LinkedIn has different privacy levels. You can control who follows you and who can see your network activity.
Can I Hide My Number of Followers on LinkedIn?
This is where it gets tricky. You can’t hide the follower number shown in your profile. LinkedIn always shows your follower count on your profile. This number stays visible to anyone who visits your profile.
But here’s what you can do. You can limit who can follow you in the first place. This way, you control the size of your follower base from the start.
Think of it like this. While you can’t hide the number, you can control who gets to be part of that number. It’s about managing access rather than hiding information.
How Do I Hide My Followers’ Activity on LinkedIn?
Your followers’ activity is different from your follower list. When your followers like, comment, or share posts, this activity can sometimes show up in other people’s feeds.
You can’t completely control what your followers do. But you can manage your own activity visibility. This affects how your actions appear to others and how much network activity people see from you.
Here’s what I recommend. Focus on your own privacy settings first. Then worry about managing who can follow you. This gives you the most control over your LinkedIn privacy.
How to Get Rid of Followers on LinkedIn?
Sometimes you want to remove certain followers from your network. LinkedIn doesn’t have a simple “block follower” button, but you have options.
The best approach is to change your follower settings. You can limit followers to only your 1st-degree connections from the Settings & Privacy page.
When you do this, people who aren’t connected to you can’t follow you anymore. This automatically reduces your follower count to just your direct connections.
You can also block specific users if needed. This removes them from your followers and prevents them from seeing your content or following you again.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Hide Followers on LinkedIn
Let me show you exactly how to manage your LinkedIn followers’ privacy. Follow these steps to control who can see your network.
Step 1: Access Your Privacy Settings
First, click on your profile picture at the top right of LinkedIn. Look for “Settings & Privacy” in the dropdown menu. Click on it to open your privacy controls.
This is your privacy control center. From here, you can manage all your LinkedIn visibility settings.
Step 2: Navigate to Visibility Settings
Select Visibility on the left pane. This section controls who can see different parts of your profile and network activity.
You’ll see several options here. Look for the section about followers and connections. This is where the magic happens.
Step 3: Manage Your Follower Settings
Under the Visibility of your LinkedIn activity section, click Followers. Here you’ll see “Who can follow you” options.
You have two main choices:
- Everyone on LinkedIn (default setting)
- Your connections only
Choose “Your connections” if you want to limit followers. This means only people connected to you can follow your posts and updates.
Step 4: Control Connection Visibility
You can manage who can see your connections from your Settings page. Go to the “Connections” section under “Visibility of your profile & network.”
Switch the toggle to Yes or No to choose if your connections can see your connections list. Setting this to “No” means only you can see your full connection list.
Step 5: Manage Following Activity
Look for the “Members you follow” section. You control how others can see your follow activity via your Settings page.
Set this to “Only you” if you want to keep your following activity private. This way, people can’t see who you follow on LinkedIn.
How to Hide Your LinkedIn Connections
Your connections list is separate from your followers. But managing both gives you better overall privacy on LinkedIn.
Choose “Only you” to make your connection list completely private. This means no one else on LinkedIn will be able to see your full list of connections.
Here’s how to do it:
Go to Settings & Privacy, then Visibility. Find “Who can see your connections” and select “Only you.” This keeps your professional network completely private.
Remember, even with these settings, people might still see mutual connections. LinkedIn shows mutual connections to help people network, and this can’t be completely hidden.
LinkedIn Privacy Settings: What Else Can You Control?
Beyond followers, LinkedIn offers many privacy controls. You can manage:
- Who sees your profile views
- Whether your profile appears in search engines
- Who can send you messages
- Whether you appear in “People You May Know” suggestions
- Activity broadcasts and notifications
I recommend reviewing all these settings. Create a privacy setup that works for your professional goals.
Mobile App Privacy Settings
The LinkedIn mobile app has the same privacy controls. Tap your profile photo. Tap Settings. Tap Visibility to access the same options.
The mobile interface looks slightly different, but the privacy options are identical. You can manage followers, connections, and visibility from your phone just as easily.
Best Practices for LinkedIn Privacy
Here are my top tips for managing LinkedIn privacy:
Review your settings regularly. LinkedIn sometimes updates their privacy options, so check every few months.
Think about your professional goals. Sometimes being more visible helps your career. Sometimes privacy is more important.
Use selective sharing. You can choose who sees individual posts, even if your overall profile is public.
Consider your industry. Some professions benefit from open networking. Others require more discretion.
Privacy Across Platforms: If you’re concerned about privacy on other social media platforms, you might also want to learn about hiding followers on Facebook or managing TikTok follower privacy. Each platform has different privacy controls that work together to protect your overall online presence.
Important Things to Remember
LinkedIn privacy has limits. You can’t hide everything from everyone. The platform is designed for professional networking, so some information stays visible.
Generally, your profile is fully visible to all LinkedIn members who’ve signed in to LinkedIn.com or our apps. Your basic profile information will always be visible to other LinkedIn users.
Your follower count always shows on your profile. While you can control who follows you, the number itself stays visible.
Mutual connections may still appear even with privacy settings enabled. LinkedIn uses this information to suggest networking opportunities.
FAQs: Hide Followers on LinkedIn
1. Can I completely hide my LinkedIn profile?
No, you can’t make your LinkedIn profile completely invisible to other users. However, you can control what information appears on your profile and who can see specific details like your connections and activity.
2. Will people know if I hide my followers list?
People won’t get a notification that you’ve changed your privacy settings. They simply won’t be able to see your followers list anymore. The change is silent and immediate.
3. Can I hide followers without hiding connections?
Yes, these are separate privacy settings. You can control follower visibility independently from connection visibility. Each has its own setting in your privacy controls.
4. What happens to existing followers when I change settings?
When you limit followers to connections only, people who follow you but aren’t connected will stop receiving your updates. They won’t be notified about this change.
5. Can I see who unfollowed me on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn doesn’t provide a direct way to see who unfollowed you. Your follower count will change, but you won’t get specific notifications about who stopped following.
6. Do privacy settings affect my LinkedIn visibility in searches?
Your follower privacy settings don’t directly affect search visibility. However, having fewer visible connections might make your profile seem less active to some viewers.
7. Can recruiters still find me if I hide my followers?
Yes, hiding followers doesn’t affect how recruiters find you. Your profile still appears in LinkedIn searches and recruiter tools. Privacy settings mainly control network visibility, not profile discoverability.
Conclusion
Managing your LinkedIn followers and privacy doesn’t have to be complicated. While you can’t hide your follower count, you have good control over who can follow you and who sees your network activity.
The key is finding the right balance for your professional goals. Some people benefit from open networking and high visibility. Others need more privacy and selective connections.
Start with the basic privacy settings I’ve outlined here. Limit followers to connections if you want more control. Hide your connections list if you prefer privacy. Review and adjust these settings as your career evolves.
Remember that LinkedIn is a professional platform. The goal is networking and career development. Use privacy settings to support these goals, not to hide from professional opportunities.
Take action today. Review your current LinkedIn privacy settings and make the changes that work best for your professional situation. Your future professional self will thank you for taking control of your LinkedIn privacy now.
