Linkedin Private mode: complete guide
LinkedIn Private mode is available to all LinkedIn members for free. No one has to pay for it like you have to pay to benefit from a premium LinkedIn account.
Private mode hides your information from the users. It can negatively affect your networking. You will not appear in their “who’s viewed your profile” section.
There are three visibility sections on LinkedIn. The first is public, the second is semi-private, and the third is the private mode.
In the public option, your name and other information are visible to the user whose profile you visited.
Public users get the advantage of building more connections and get their network larger very easily.
If they go private, they will lose this benefit. Marketing experts may need to show their identity to the public.
They may want to get noticed. It is part of their marketing strategy to get noticed.
The semi-private mode makes your name invisible, although your job or company information is shared.
The private mode makes all of your information invisible to the individual whose profile you viewed.
Managers and business owners want to hide themselves to save themselves from unintended connections. They want to secretly search for candidates and potential partners.
They want to connect with individuals only, once they find the person valuable for the company or once they find the perfect partner for the growth and spread of their business.
Once you go private, you cannot be detected by anyone on LinkedIn except the information you want (in case of semi-private mode).
Even the premium account members are not able to see you secretly viewing their profile.
Using private mode has its benefits and disadvantages. It depends on you, what you want to gain by using private mode.
Career builders, business owners, sales navigators and recruiters all have a different set of goals to achieve when they use private LinkedIn mode.
Note:
If you use linkedin private mode, the profile you have visited will not be able to see who are you and will not connect with you. This will decrease the chances of growing your connections.
A large number of connections will raise your chances of having trusted repute. With large connections, you can get more recommendations and more views.
Chances are there that you may get a job, a client or a partner for your business.
LinkedIn private mode: Step by step guide
On your desktop or laptop browser. Type linkedIn.com in the search bar. Press Enter
The Linkedin webpage will appear. Then click on the sign-in option and sign in to your profile by adding your phone number/email and password.
After signing in to your profile, go to the option “Me” in the top bar of the LinkedIn home page.
In the Account section, you will see the “setting & privacy” option. Hit this option for visibility settings.
The above page will appear. Click the option visibility in the left vertical menu.
In the visibility tab, you will see two options. “Visibility of your profile & network” and “visibility of your LinkedIn activity”.
Go for the first one and then click on the first option “Profile viewing options”
Here you have three options that we discussed earlier. Choose the “private mode” option.
How to use Linked Private mode on Mobile?
At times you don’t have access to your pc, and you have a mobile in your hand. Don’t worry; you can also use the LinkedIn mobile app to turn on the private mode.
Follow these simple steps to turn on the private or semi-private mode from the mobile app.
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- If you already have a LinkedIn mobile app on your mobile, just sign in to your account. If not, then download the app from the play store in android or iTunes on iPhone and sign in to your account.
- Hit the profile picture in the upper left corner of the mobile screen.
- A menu bar will appear from the left tap on the Settings option.
- The settings section will appear on the screen. Now go to the visibility section.
- In the visibility section, tap on profile viewing options. Here are the three options public, partially private, and fully private. Choose the option that best suits you.
Why should you use LinkedIn private mode?
When you see other people’s profiles in private mode, it makes you anonymous. If you don’t want your profile information shared with the users you view, you may opt for this option.
There are many reasons to use LinkedIn private mode. Jobs seekers who want to search for jobs secretly. Individuals who are already employed may want to change jobs.
Individuals who are already employed may use it to browse jobs in their industry without their boss knowing that they are researching for a new job.
Recruiter or sales navigators do not want their names to be exposed when they are searching for sales leads and potential candidates.
Business owners and recruiters want to be hidden when they are searching for potential clients or employers for their company.
Keep in mind there are chances of being exposed even if you have been viewing in private mode.
As an example, if you viewed a profile in private mode, and then you browse the same profile again within 90days without using the private mode. If they are a premium account, they will see your past activity.
Remember not to visit the same profile that you viewed secretly within these 90 days. Otherwise, the private mode is ineffective.
More about private mode
LinkedIn Private Mode was introduced in early 2015, and it gives you control over what you want to share with others.
LinkedIn is one of the best ways for professionals to make connections, develop contacts and increase networking and marketing.
It is one of the best social media platforms you may use for career building. It has the edge over other social media websites that it is worth growing your business or career.
LinkedIn provides a simple yet worthy medium to connect with professionals of your choice. It has also made it simple to display your professional experience and capacity.
The information shared by professionals on linked in is acknowledged as trusted and authenticated among the masses.
LinkedIn Private Mode is a privacy setting. You browse through the LinkedIn website in private mode means your name and profile information is not visible.
You will steer around the website without leaving your footprint behind.
In a basic LinkedIn account, the person who uses LinkedIn private mode can view other people’s profiles; however the individual will not be able to see who has viewed their profile as well.
This is its main disadvantage that the information in your who’s viewed your profile section wipes away. Therefore you can not make connections to the people who viewed your profile.
To overcome this limitation, you can opt for LinkedIn premium. However, some limitations are still there with a premium membership.
That is, if a person with a premium account chooses to browse secretly, their name will not appear in your who viewed your profile list.
In the Linkedin Premium account, the person will see other individual’s profiles without their name being revealed. At the same time, they can view their profile views for the last 90 days.
In case you have a premium account and another person with a premium account views your profile, then you would bot able to see their name in profile views.
Note that Private mode viewers cannot be blocked from viewing your profile.
Conclusion
It’s all your choice whether you use this amazing social platform secretly or publicly. If you do it secretly, you will lose your profile views or rather, you have a premium account.
Keep in mind the limitations and advantages of using the private mode. So you choose wisely. If you keep private mode plays on, you will not be able to make more connections.
You will lose possible clients, potential conversations, and greater opportunities to grow your business. This is one of the main goals of Business owners and marketing persons, and sales navigators.
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