Even though the built-in setting in LinkedIn is to notify users when someone visits their profile, it is possible to view LinkedIn profiles anonymously by switching to Private Mode; which prevents your name, company, position and location information from being included in the notification.
In general, the reasons for viewing LinkedIn profiles anonymously by Job Seekers, Recruiters, Business owners and Employed Individuals can be summarized as the following.
- Job Seekers: Taking an anonymous look at potential employers and their key employees can help job seekers during job search, while preparing for interviews and considering job offers.
- Recruiters: Anonymous viewing of LinkedIn profiles, allows recruiters to go through hundreds of LinkedIn profiles without generating “Who viewed your profile” notification.
- Business owners: It makes perfect business sense for Business owners to analyze the competition anonymously without alerting the competitors.
- Employed Individuals: It is better for those who are already employed to protect their privacy; while viewing LinkedIn profiles of people in their own and other companies.
Note: Even when you choose to remain anonymous on LinkedIn, people will still see be able to see that someone has viewed their profile. However, they will not be able to see your real Name and other details.
Related: How to Hide One Friend From Another on Facebook.
View LinkedIn Profiles Anonymously
When you visit someone’s profile, LinkedIn automatically sends a “Who viewed your profile” notification; with your name, job title and picture to the owner of the profile. While this default setting is designed to provide a community feeling, it is not suitable for all users in all cases.
Hence, LinkedIn provides the option to switch to Private Mode, which allows you to view LinkedIn profiles anonymously; without triggering “Who viewed your profile” notifications.
When you browse LinkedIn profiles in Private Mode, your LinkedIn connections and other people whose profiles you are viewing won’t be to see that you are viewing their profile.
1. View LinkedIn Profiles in Private Mode
You can find below the steps to view LinkedIn profiles anonymously by using the Private Mode feature as available within LinkedIn.
1. Login to your LinkedIn Account on a computer.
2. Once you are logged-in, click on your Profile icon located in the top-menu bar and select Settings & Privacy option in the drop-down menu.
3. On the Privacy screen, click on How others see your LinkedIn activity on the left pane. In the right-pane, scroll down and click on Profile viewing options.
4. On the next screen, scroll down and select Private Mode option.
Selecting the “Private Mode” will display your profile as Anonymous LinkedIn Member.
The other option is to select “Private Profile Characteristics” option, which allows you to display your LinkedIn Name as “Someone at XYZ Corp” or something else.
Disadvantage of Private Mode in LinkedIn
A major disadvantage of using the Private Mode in LinkedIn is that it also prevents you seeing the names of other people who view your profile.
If you are a Recruiter or a Business owner, you can bypass this restriction by upgrading to the Premium version of LinkedIn; which allows you to view LinkedIn profiles anonymously and still see who has viewed your profile during the last 90 days.
2. View LinkedIn Profiles Privately Without Account
If you are not a member of LinkedIn, you can view available public information on LinkedIn profiles by performing a Google search.
1. Open the Google Chrome browser on your computer.
2. On the browser screen, click on 3-dots icon and select New Incognito window option.
3. With the browser in Incognito mode, type Name of the person followed by LinkedIn in the search box and press the enter key.
4. Click on the right Search Result and view the public content about this person that LinkedIn has made available for Search engines.
Limitations of Viewing Public Profiles
While LinkedIn allows certain profile information like name, company, location and partial work history to be available on web browsers; this method of viewing public LinkedIn profiles has the following limitations.
- Limited Information: LinkedIn restricts access to detailed information for non-logged-in users.
- Limited Views: After viewing few profiles, you will find LinkedIn blocking access to more profiles with Login-in pop-up.
- LinkedIn TOS: Using any other method to bypass LinkedIn login requirements to view full profiles violates LinkedIn’s terms of service.