I don’t know about you, but this “Big Brother” world kind of creeps me out sometimes. I’m old school. I’m more used to privacy.
Most weeks I’ll get an email from LinkedIn that says ‘Hey, check out the people who’ve viewed your profile’, and they show me THOSE PEOPLE’s profiles…plus, they try to get me to upgrade to LinkedIn Premium to get even more information. It took me a little while to realize this (not sure why…I just wasn’t thinking), but it suddenly dawned on me that if I can see that THEY viewed MY profile, then someone else can see that I viewed THEIR profile…and I may not want them to know that.
One time, I even had someone call me after I looked at their profile saying, “I saw that you looked up my profile on LinkedIn, can we chat…”. That really creeped me out. I didn’t know the guy at all…I was checking out his profile because someone ELSE had asked me an opinion on his credentials.
If I’m checking out a potential client, brushing up on who’s who before an important meeting (which you should ALWAYS do), checking out a potential employee’s profile, I don’t necessarily want them to know that I’ve been checking them out…so, I started thinking twice before checking out someone’s LinkedIn profile. Unfortunately, then I feel less prepared than I would have otherwise.
I was delighted when I found out about a Privacy Setting in LinkedIn that lets you adjust whether or not people get the details when you’ve checked out their profiles. YEAH!!!
It’s an easy (if hidden) setting…check it out…it only takes a second to adjust…honestly.
First, sign into LinkedIn.
Second, click on your photo (it’s on the top-right side of the screen).
You’ll see this set of selections:
Third, select the choice labeled ‘Select what others see when they’ve viewed your profile’
Once in this screen, pick your choice of ‘stealthness’
Don’t forget to SAVE!!
That’s it. You’re done. You can view LinkedIn profiles without people knowing that you’ve done it (or at least without them getting too much information about you).
4 Comments
Oh, this is perfect! Thank you, Sandy!
Hey, Kathy – Yes, this would be VERY IMPORTANT in HR, wouldn’t it?
Wow Sandie! I didn’t know that. It is creepy. No more privacy. I’m also wondering how linkedin knows who I might know. Thanks for this and I’ll see if I can change the preference.
Hey, Becky – LinkedIn “guesses” who you know based upon other people you know. So, for example, you’ll be shown ‘suggestions’ based upon who I know (if we’re linked and I think we are) and/or who Ellen Fisher knows, etc. The more people you know who know someone (e.g. someone that both Ellen and I know), the more that LinkedIn will ‘push’ that person in front of you because the likelihood that you know them increases. That’s not really as creepy because it’s just an algorithm.