Make Your LinkedIn Account Secure with These 7 Security Tips

Are you a user of LinkedIn? Have you recently checked your security and privacy settings? While LinkedIn is useful for setting your professional profile, it is necessary to be careful of your personal privacy and security when using the platform. For example, LinkedIn recently acquired the Newsle app to promote the accuracy of the content. In this post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about LinkedIn security.

Disable Share Profile Edits

This privacy setting is less focused on your personal security and more engaged with how your contacts see you and your activity. Because you may not want to notify your network of every small update you make to your profile, you can disable profile edits (previously called activity broadcasts) in your profile.

Tap Choose Whether or Not to Share Your Profile Edits to do so. Uncheck the box and then click Save Changes in the window that shows. You can also change this from your profile. To disable this feature, choose No on the right side of your profile under Notify Your Network?

When you have important news, turn these notifications back on for a short period of time (you started a new job, signed a new client, got promoted, or added something significant to your profile). Then turn them off again. 

Choose who can see your activity feed

Your updates used to be visible in your LinkedIn activity feed. It now only refers to actions taken, such as following influencers and joining groups. By default, your network can see your activity feed. You probably don’t want your small actions to clutter your connections’ feeds, therefore you can make your activity feed private. Click Select Who Can See Your Activity Feed to make the setting more private. 

Select the Only You option in the following window and click Save Changes. Remember that, regardless of your activity feed settings, public updates are visible to everyone.

Decide what others see on your profile

Most of the time, you want people to know when you’ve looked at their LinkedIn profile. It keeps you at the forefront of people’s minds and enhances the know-like trust factor. However, there may be situations when you want to keep your profile private. For example, if you’re carrying out research on LinkedIn and don’t want others to see you, make yourself fully private. Use this approach when researching competitors or possible employers, employees, or partners.

Tap Select What Others See When You View Their Profile to update this setting. Then, decide whether you want to show your name and headline, simply semi-private profile characteristics, or remain entirely hidden.

Here’s the drawback of staying anonymous. You won’t be able to see who has viewed your profile if you have a free LinkedIn account. Your history is removed as soon as you make your profile private. If you want to go private, first check to see who has viewed your profile, then change the option. It makes no difference if you have a premium account. You can still see who has looked at your profile.

It is advised to maintain yourself as visible as possible since this helps to develop trust, which in turn grows your business.

Decide who can see your connections

Many people believe that all LinkedIn users can see who their connections are. This is not the case at all. Only your first-degree connections can view your other first-degree connections by default. (People you invited or who invited you are considered first-degree connections.)

If you don’t want your connections to see each other, turn this setting off. Click Select Who Can See Your Connections and select Only You or drag it to No. Then press the Save Changes button.

Choose who has access to your contact number

All LinkedIn members who have your phone number can find and connect with you by default. As a result, you’ll probably want to control how people who have your phone number can contact you. Select that option from the Privacy Controls menu.

Because of the updated mobile app, LinkedIn added this setting. You may want to be more selective about who can see your phone number than the default setting of All LinkedIn Members enables. Select People in My First and Second Degree Networks and then click Save Setting.

Edit your public profile

Everyone with Internet access can see your public profile, whether they have a LinkedIn account or not. LinkedIn by default makes all features of your profile public to everyone. You’ll need to make some changes to secure your privacy.

Click Edit Your Public Profile under Helpful Links. Then personalize it. Make your photo, headline (including your location and industry), and websites available on your public profile. (To add any websites, go to the bottom right of your standard profile page and click on Edit Contact Information.)

To prevent yourself from identity theft, avoid disclosing too much personal information to the public. If you haven’t already, edit your LinkedIn URL to reflect your name while you’re in the Edit Your Profile section. That way, no one else will be able to claim it.

Review your account

There are several places you might want to look under the Account tab (also under Privacy & Settings).

To begin, go to Add & Change Email Addresses to add email addresses to your account. It’s a good idea to include all of your email addresses. If someone tries to connect with you using one of your less frequently used email addresses, LinkedIn will not try to create a duplicate account. LinkedIn will send you an email for verification after you add an address. To confirm the change, click the link in the LinkedIn email.

To export an archive of your LinkedIn activity and data, click Request an Archive of Your Data. It’s a good idea to do this once a month so you always have access to the most recent LinkedIn data in case something goes wrong with your account. Finally, this is where you can change your password or close your account if required.

Conclusion

The tactics outlined above can help you in remaining safe as an individual while remaining visible as a marketing expert. Although this post focused on the most important settings to review, ensure that you check all of the LinkedIn privacy and security settings for the best protection. Also, secure your other social media platforms i.e, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.