On leaving LinkedIn (and coming back)
I deactivated my LinkedIn account a while back. Not a permanent deletion but it was an indefinite hiatus. Today I reactivated it. Both decisions made sense at the time.
Why I left
LinkedIn has never felt like my place. There’s a particular flavour of performance that runs through it; the corporate vocabulary, the carefully curated “thought leadership”, the relentless optimism about everything. It’s a platform that rewards a certain kind of voice, and that voice isn’t mine.
I kept showing up anyway, on the basis that it’s where professionals are. But when I looked at where my actual conversations happen such as where people find me, read what I write, get in touch, it wasn’t LinkedIn. It was on the Fediverse, by email, or responsing to my blog. So I stopped.
The spam didn’t help. Connect with someone and within hours there’s spam in your inbox. Report it and nothing happens. It’s a small thing, but it’s a consistent drain. Following pages almost always comes with five invitations to newsletter that are totally unrelated.
How to hibernate your account
If you’re at the same point, it’s straightforward:
- Click the profile icon at the top of your homepage and select Settings & Privacy
- Select Settings & Privacy again (yes, twice — confusing by design, presumably)
- Under the Account preferences tab, find Account management and click Hibernate account
- Tell them why
- Enter your password and confirm
Your profile disappears. Your data doesn’t.
Why I came back
Because despite everything, it’s not entirely without value. Occasionally a post lands and the responses, even the sanitised, professionally-appropriate ones are useful signal. People don’t always say what they really think on LinkedIn, but sometimes the shape of the conversation tells you something anyway.
So I’m back, with lower expectations and a lighter touch. Most of what goes out is automated, repurposing content that already exists elsewhere. It runs in the background, takes very little from me, and occasionally gives something back.
It’s not a place I enjoy. But it doesn’t have to be.