LinkedIn Privacy Summary

The one thing to know: AI training is on by default

LinkedIn's privacy policy says it may use member data to develop and train AI models and to generate AI insights. The policy also says it can infer attributes, including age and gender. The opt-out is in the privacy controls, not in the policy text, and it applies only from the day you change the setting. ^{[1] [2]}

Private messages and InMail are excluded from the listed training categories, and members under 18 are not trained on even if the setting shows as on. If you want your profile and posts out of training, turn the setting off before you post more. ^{[2] [3]}

Identity checks: what you may be asked to hand over

LinkedIn's User Agreement requires real names but describes no verification process. Reviewers describe repeated ID checks, with Persona named as the provider. One was asked to send notarised documents four times. ^{[4] [8] [7]}

LinkedIn's help routes identity cases through its own verification, so treat an ID request that arrives by message as suspicious and check it through your account settings. ^[5]

What happens to your data, and when it stops showing

LinkedIn's policy lists resumes, job applications, messages and activity logs among the data it holds. When you close an account, LinkedIn says your data generally stops showing to other members within 24 hours and is generally deleted within 30 days. Some data is kept longer for legal, security or dispute reasons, and messages and group posts may stay visible. ^[1]

Past breaches, as reported

Wikipedia reports a 2012 password breach, a 2016 password reset after 117 million credentials were stolen, and 2021 reports of about 500 million users' data taken from the site and about 700 million records. ^[9]

How to delete your account, in order

1. Cancel Premium at least one day before the next billing date, since cancellation takes effect at the end of the cycle.
2. Turn off AI training in the privacy controls if you want that setting off before you leave.
3. Close the account from your account settings.
4. Expect your data to stop showing to other members within 24 hours.
5. Expect deletion within about 30 days. Messages and group posts may remain visible. ^{[6] [2] [1]}

The verdict

Turn off AI training if you don't want your profile used for it, and do it before you post more. Keep ID checks inside LinkedIn's own verification step. If you're leaving, cancel Premium before you close the account, so the billing date doesn't catch you afterwards. ^{[2] [5]}