Have you ever wanted to check someone's LinkedIn profile without them finding out?

What is Private Mode on LinkedIn

LinkedIn's Private Mode is a feature that enables LinkedIn users to browse at LinkedIn's member's profiles anonymously.

LinkedIn Analytics: When you visit someone's profile, they will receive a notification in their profile views analytics by default.

If a LinkedIn member has the private mode setting applied, you will not be able to see who the person is who visits your profile, as explained in the video below.

Profile viewing settings allow you to control what information other LinkedIn members can see when you visit their profile.

Turning your profile private doesn’t mean, nobody can see your profile.

This means that you view someone's LinkedIn profile without them being aware, allowing you to browse anonymously.

Summary Of Video

In this video, I will show you how to use LinkedIn's private mode and explore the different settings for viewing profiles.

By adjusting your visibility preferences, you can control what information is displayed when you view someone's profile.

Pay attention to the options for profile characteristics, such as your business or sector, and where you are from.

Take note of the implications of each option, as it will be visible to others when they check who's viewed their profile.

Understanding these settings will help you navigate LinkedIn's private mode effectively.

Notes about LinkedIn Private Mode

All LinkedIn users with FREE or Premium Accounts can access LinkedIn Private Mode with ease on desktop and mobile devices.

FREE LinkedIn accounts however have limitations in using private mode.

Free Account

Basic (free) account

The LinkedIn Basic account will have the following Who’s viewed your profile features:

● If you have set your profile viewing options to display your name and headline. When viewing profiles, you will see the five most recent viewers in the last 90 days, as well as a list of suggestions for increasing your profile views.

The list displays viewer insights such as:

• Number of profile viewers
• Interesting views
• Where your profile viewers work
• Where they found your profile
• Their job titles

Business and Premium Career Accounts

A Premium Business and a Premium Career subscriber will be able to see a list of viewers, viewer trends, and insights for the past 365 days.

Read the full help article from LinkedIn

Neither FREE or Premium accounts can see who viewed their profile if that person has private mode switched on.

When is the Right Time to Utilize LinkedIn Private Mode?

In many instances, it is advisable not to keep your profile on private mode, since you may wish to demonstrate your interest in others and their businesses.

By keeping it non-private, you can see who is viewing your profile.

By keeping your profile public, you can track who views it. However, there are instances when switching to a private profile might be beneficial.

4 Ways to Make the Most of LinkedIn's Private Mode

1. Hiring New Staff: When considering potential candidates.

LinkedIn is an indispensable tool for recruiters to discover quality talent and candidates for jobs.

At the beginning of your recruitment process, it is recommended to utilize

LinkedIn's private mode.

If someone applies to your job post, It is advisable to use LinkedIn's private mode at the start of your hiring process.

Using private mode allows you to quietly study an applicant's profile and determine whether they are a fit for the job description

Once you have prepared a list of suitable candidates, switch back to public mode and send them an invitation request.

Here is a Podcast I created recently which you could find helpful for recruiting on LinkedIn

Why Use LinkedIn for Hiring Top Talent

2. Business Research on Your Competitors Without Them Noticing

Examining your competitor's performance on LinkedIn can provide valuable insights into areas where you can improve or adapt.

Whether you are analysing company employees or individual users, if they see who you are they might get an idea of what you are doing.

When examining businesses, employees or LinkedIn users, if they see who you are and what you are doing it might attract attention that is not in your interest.

By using private mode, you can examine your competition without their knowledge, giving you an advantage as by seeing how they behave, you could get ideas on how to outperform them.

3. Expanding Your LinkedIn Network

Using private mode can be an excellent way to get started with your LinkedIn networking plan.

Getting started, your profile may need work as our career changes and develops. We acquire new skills and other skills become outdated or you change direction in your career.

We must keep our LinkedIn profile updated to build trust and showcase our achievements and progress.

A little progress every day adds up to BIG results.

Satya Nani

Or are you starting from scratch and creating your LinkedIn account and profile?

Have you considered using private mode to do your research to help you determine who to connect with, the right people? Who can help you build your business and career?

If you try to connect before your profile is ready and optimized, you are less likely to be accepted. Credibility is very important to build trust and help you achieve results on LinkedIn.

By keeping your profile private, you can create a list of people you wish to connect with and save them for when the time is right to begin actively promoting yourself.

After you find people you believe you know, or if they work in your industry or sector, you can make your profile public again to visit their profiles, so they get a notification and potentially visit yours back.

Once you discover individuals who are a fit for what you are trying to achieve. For example, consider people who could be potential customers, influencers to help you stay ahead of your competition or people who can educate you and help you develop skills for your career.

By making your profile public for viewing, LinkedIn members will receive a notification and might visit your profile in return to learn more about you.

That is why very important to have your profile up to date. Not outdated and not relevant.

With all the information you have acquired and considered, it’s just a matter of sending a personalized message and connecting.

After doing your research and deciding whom you wish to connect to send a personalized message, that is relevant and easy to understand for a busy time shy professional.

That will encourage the connection to accept your request.

Here is a previous article I wrote you could find of interest

Expanding engagement in your LinkedIn network for your content?

Using LinkedIn to generate sales you will understand how it is essential that you are seeking to connect with people who can help you grow your business.

Activating private mode enables you to collect information and compile lead lists discreetly before you actually get in touch.

Once you have a list of relevant leads and are prepared to start your LinkedIn outreach efforts. You can then start to use the list by initiating conversation with a connection request message.

By using private mode – you will avoid appearing like a stalker who repeatedly visited prospects' profiles but does nothing

I would suggest in Conclusion that:

Using LinkedIn’s private mode has many benefits on occasion when you want to view LinkedIn profiles in private without anyone knowing it.

Another article I wrote you might find of interest

Creating Leads On LinkedIn

My name is Rosemary O'Shaughnessy and my mission is to support freelancers, coaches, and adults with dyslexia to succeed and thrive in their businesses with tailor-made support and expertise.

You can delegate to me and focus on growing your business and not worry about creating content.

𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩: Are you a remote worker, service provider, a coach or educator?

𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

• Tailored One-on-One sessions
• Small group workshops for personalised guidance

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬

• Professional, done-with/for-you content
• That aligns with your brand’s unique value proposition

Soft Skills Training

• Soft skills training enhances communication, adaptability, and leadership, driving productivity and success.

• It enhances emotional intelligence, teamwork, and networking, opening doors to new opportunities.

Send me a DM or schedule a Zoom Call via my website

- 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘔𝘦 (𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚢)

- 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 Article