TL;DR
LinkedIn’s private mode allows anonymous browsing but disables statistics, connections, and advanced features.
– Browse without generating profile view notifications for your prospects
– Ideal for competitive intelligence, prospect analysis, and discreet confidential recruitment
– Simple activation: privacy settings > activate private mode > photo/name become invisible
– Blocks connection requests, dashboard, prospect tracking, and Recruiter Lite features
– Email and phone number remain visible despite activating private mode
Have you ever heard of LinkedIn’s privacy mode? This mode allows LinkedIn users to hide their identity from other members. LinkedIn states that the new privacy mode is designed to help its users “connect with potential employers, business partners, and clients more confidently.”
How does LinkedIn’s private mode work? How to use it wisely? What are the stakes for businesses?
In this article, we will review LinkedIn’s private mode and its main advantages for btob prospecting and recruitment.
What is private mode on LinkedIn?
Private mode is a search feature launched that allows users to hide their identity from other members.
By activating this mode, users can browse the platform, view a LinkedIn profile or a user, inspect their skills and experience without being seen by other members. On the other hand, as soon as they try to send messages and connection requests, anonymous mode disappears.
This feature is very similar to the one found on other social networks like Facebook or for marketing on Twitter.
Essentially, LinkedIn prioritizes professional exchanges, and private mode can therefore be particularly useful for those who wish to prospect in the digital space or recruit discreetly.
Please note: LinkedIn’s private mode does not change your profile’s visibility. Someone searching for your profile will still have access to your information and the data you have granted access to the social network. Similarly, you will continue to receive notifications and connection requests.
What are the advantages of LinkedIn’s private mode?
The main advantage of LinkedIn’s private mode is that you become invisible on the platform and can analyze profiles from LinkedIn URLs.
As we mentioned earlier, using LinkedIn in private mode allows users to browse the platform without being seen by other members. This can be particularly useful for those who want to do LinkedIn prospecting.
Indeed, if you click on a profile you want to target in private mode, that person will not receive the notification: “X viewed your profile”.
However, when you switch your LinkedIn profile to anonymous, you will no longer have access to all of the social network’s services, such as account statistics tracking.
It is also a good way to conduct competitive intelligence: if you want to inspect competitor profiles without generating views, LinkedIn’s private mode is a good way to gather information about people and businesses while masking your activity.
At LaGrowthMachine, we prefer to see profile view notifications as an advantage, and we consider it a very important element of the sales approach.
It is also one of our main triggers for starting your sequence thanks to our LinkedIn automation tool: you can, for example, schedule an initial profile visit to tease them with a notification, then send them an invitation to join your network along with a message.
How to switch to private mode on LinkedIn?
No tutorial needed to switch to private mode on LinkedIn: it’s very simple!
On your LinkedIn profile, go to the “privacy settings” section in the menu and select the “Activate private mode” option.
Once you have activated this mode, your profile picture and name will no longer be visible to other members, and you will appear as “invisible” on the platform.
You can still browse the site and view other users’ profiles, but they will not be able to know that you have viewed them.
Furthermore, when you wish to contact another LinkedIn member, you can only do so through your private messaging. Users will therefore not receive a notification that you have viewed their profile.
What are the disadvantages of LinkedIn’s private mode?
The main disadvantage of LinkedIn’s private mode is that it considerably limits the features available to you on the platform.
Indeed, when you are in private mode, you cannot use certain features of LinkedIn basic plan (or any other plan like LinkedIn Recruiter Lite) such as connection requests, account statistics, dashboard access, or prospect tracking.
On the other hand, this feature can be considered quite intrusive regarding privacy.
Finally, it is important to note that private mode is not a foolproof solution for masking your identity on LinkedIn. Indeed, if you are logged into your LinkedIn account with your email address or phone number, it is possible that your contact details may be revealed to other users.