LinkedIn is all about networking and quality connections. Its main job is to help you advance your career or business. However, like every social media network, not all connections are welcome.
Many will connect with you with a hidden agenda in mind that you don’t agree with. You also likely have one too many connections you don’t personally know. Or, even worse, you could end up with a connection that does nothing but clutter your feed.
To maintain the quality of your connections, it is paramount that you give your contact list a quick clean-up now and then. You want to be informed about relevant connections, not spammed by content with no point or purpose. So, let’s talk about why and how you should remove a connection on LinkedIn.
When to Remove Connections on LinkedIn
As a business owner or a professional, you want your LinkedIn account to be an effective tool rather than your average social media network.
So, if your feed is home to irrelevant memes, personal stories, or political opinions, it might be the right time to remove some of your connections and clear the feed up. If you are using LinkedIn to grow your business, you’ve likely amassed many connections on the platform. Removing those you don’t want to be associated with will create the much-needed space for adding people you’d like to build a relationship with.
Ultimately – it’s your network. You have every right to mute, unfollow, block, and remove any connection you might have for whatever reason!
So let’s move on to how to remove connections on LinkedIn.
How to Remove Connections on LinkedIn
Deciding to remove someone isn’t an easy task. You’ll likely be terrorized by “What if” questions and self-doubt. However, once you do decide to remove connections on LinkedIn, it’s a simple process – a couple of clicks is all it takes.
LinkedIn will not notify that person of this change. If you do it wisely, it could all end even without an uncomfortable talk with the person you are deleting. Think of it as next-level, professional ghosting.
There are two ways to remove someone as a connection – through the person’s LinkedIn profile, or via your own connections list.
Probably the easiest way to delete someone is to go to their profile on LinkedIn:
- Navigate to the person’s profile. The first two action buttons you’ll see there are “Message” and “More.”
- Click on “More”. In the dropdown menu, you will find all the options, including the “Remove Connection” one. Simply click on it to remove that person from your connections list.
And just like that, you are no longer a connection. Also, you’ll find the option to unfollow or block at the same place, so depending on why you are deleting this person – you might want to opt for one of those instead.
However, here’s the thing – if you decide to take this route, you’ll have to visit their profile first. It likely means that, unless you have tweaked your privacy settings, LinkedIn will notify the person that you’ve viewed their profile. If they do decide to return the favor, they will quickly notice you’re no longer a connection. From there, they’d either get offended or think it a weird coincidence and try to send you a connection request again.
Which is why we’d recommend route no.2:
- Head on to the “My network” tab on your profile.
- Select connections from the left navigation bar.
- Find the person you’d like to remove as a connection and click on the three dots next to the “Message” button. It will allow you to remove the person as a connection without viewing their profile.
If you’d like to take some time out of your commute to do this, you can also clean up your connections list on your mobile phone. The process is the same through the mobile app on either Android or iOS. Simply visit the person’s LinkedIn profile, click “More,” and remove them as a connection.
For those with a significant number of people on their list looking to bulk-remove LinkedIn connections, it might be a good idea to export your LinkedIn connections first. Once you have them in an Excel sheet, for example, it will be much easier to go through your contact list and find the people you no longer wish to be associated with.
Blocking vs. Removing Connections
Some people in your network “deserve” more than a simple kick-off of your networking list. Yes, you know who we’re talking about. If someone popped into your mind right now, you might consider blocking them instead. This option is great for those people who are being too pushy or spammy and who are, frankly, giving you anxiety in any way.
But, what’s the difference between blocking someone and simply removing them from your connections list? The main difference is that by blocking them you can ensure they won’t be able to contact you or follow your activity on the network. Bonus point, you also won’t pop up in their “People you may know” section, either.
To block someone on LinkedIn, you’ll have to visit their profile, so make sure to tweak your privacy settings before you go ahead and give them the good ol’ blocking. You’ll find this option under the “more” button, in the same spot you’ll find the option to remove them as a connection.
Alternatives to Removing Connections
You also might have some former coworkers, friends, or family whose posts on LinkedIn make you cringe, yet you can’t simply delete those connections. In that case, a better alternative is to unfollow those people.
On the other end of blocking people, the “Unfollow” feature means you won’t be bombed by their content, while effectively maintaining your relationship with them. While it will save you some nerves, keep in mind – unfollowing people also means you won’t receive notifications when being mentioned in something they posted. A good alternative is to set up a search for your name to not miss out on any mentions you might get.
FAQ:
No, LinkedIn won’t notify someone you’ve removed them as a connection. Now, if you were very active on the platform, or if they decide to dig deeper, they will likely notice that you are no longer connected. The remaining threat is that they will see you among the list of people LinkedIn suggests you should follow – and then they’d send you a connection request again.
The main difference between the two is whether you can see them in your feed, and message them. Essentially, when you “unfollow” someone, the only difference is that you will no longer see their posts on your feed. If you decide to “remove” the connection, you will no longer be able to message them, too.
The main difference between the two is whether you can see them in your feed, and message them. Essentially, when you “unfollow” someone, the only difference is that you will no longer see their posts on your feed. If you decide to “remove” the connection, you will no longer be able to message them, too.
Yes, they can still see your profile. However, they will be able to see your public profile. If there is information on your LinkedIn profile that you might not want to share with the public, we’d advise you to tweak your privacy settings to hide it.
Conclusion
Many people shy away from “purging” their contact list on LinkedIn. In all fairness, you never know who might be a good lead or who could be the next business opportunity.
Still, not all people use LinkedIn properly. So, if your LinkedIn feed is giving you anxiety because it is far from the professional setting you’d like it to be, giving your contacts a good scrub might be for the best.
After all, if your list is free from all the “persona non grata” and you feel comfortable using LinkedIn, it will improve your engagement with the platform and help you get the most out of this professional network!