Downloading Your LinkedIn Data Before Deleting Your Account
One of the biggest mistakes people make when deleting their LinkedIn accounts is forgetting to download their data from the platform first.
If you delete your account without downloading your data, some of what you’ll lose includes your:
- Messages
- Contacts
- Courses
- Recommendations and endorsements
- Profile data (education, job history, certifications, and skills)
- Job application details
- Settings preferences
This data is nice to have, whether for future reference or to help you set up a new account later.
To download your data from LinkedIn, follow these steps:
- Visit your homepage and click the Me icon at the top of the screen.
- From the drop-down menu, select Settings & Privacy.
- Click Data Privacy on the left side of the screen.
- Navigate to the section called How LinkedIn uses your data, and click Get a copy of your data.
- Choose the data you want to download, and click Request Archive.
LinkedIn emails you a link within 24 hours that you use to download the information. Be sure to do this quickly, as the data is available to download for 72 hours only.
Also, because you’ll lose your meaningful connections when you delete your account, make sure to share your other social media accounts, email address, or other ways to contact you if you want them to stay in touch.
