Wondering how to hibernate your LinkedIn account? The process is ultra simple, and you can do it within minutes. There are many reasons why you would temporarily hibernate your accounts, and we cover some of them in this guide.
1. Go into “Settings & Privacy“
2. Select “Account preferences” on the left menu
3. Scroll to the bottom until you see “Hibernate account“
4. Once inside the option, explain the reason for hibernation if you want and press “Next“
5. When asked for a password, enter it and press the “Hibernate account” button
6. Congrats, now when you want to restore your account, just log into it.
Understanding LinkedIn Account Hibernate
We all need a break sometimes, and LinkedIn creators know that. That’s exactly why they created the “hibernation” feature. As you will see, it is super easy to use, and you can also reverse it.
What is the hibernate feature on LinkedIn?
If you need to take a break from LinkedIn but don’t want to delete your account, the hibernate feature is perfect for you. It temporarily pauses your experiences and interactions, making your account inaccessible to other users. While hibernated, your profile, connections, endorsements, recommendations, and other information are hidden from the platform and search engines.
The benefits of hibernating your account are clear. Your connections, data, and settings will remain safe because LinkedIn stores them for you. You can always un-hibernate your account if you are ready to return to the network.
Reasons for Hibernating Your LinkedIn Account
The most common reason people do it is to take a break. However, sometimes removing all of the distractions and focusing on real work is exactly what you need. There could be various reasons why you might want to hibernate your LinkedIn account. Some of these most common reasons are:
- Professional burnout: As a professional, constant networking and interaction on LinkedIn can become exhausting. Hibernating your account can provide you with a much-needed break from the platform.
- Privacy concerns: For a variety of reasons, including job changes, personal decisions, or security concerns, you might want to protect the confidentiality of your professional information for a certain amount of time.
- Priority change: If you have other, more important things going on, hibernating your account could help you focus.
Differences between Account Deletion, Deactivation, and Hibernation
Account deletion, deactivation, and hibernation serve different purposes on LinkedIn:
- Account Deletion: Deleting your LinkedIn account is a permanent action. Your endorsements, connections, and other information will all be lost forever. On the off chance that you wish to utilize LinkedIn again subsequent to erasing your record, you’ll have to make another record without any preparation.
- Account Deactivation: Instead of hibernation, you can temporarily disable your account. However, people will still see be able to find you through the search bar.
- Account Hibernation: As discussed earlier, hibernating your account temporarily pauses your entire LinkedIn presence, making it inaccessible to other users. It’s similar to account deactivation but with added privacy.
Limitations and Effects of Account Hibernation on Your Profile
Hibernation can be a good thing and it will give you some time off, but there are downsides to it:
- Unavailable: You won’t be able to access your LinkedIn profile, connections, or any other information. You’ll need to reactivate your account to access everything again.
- Missed opportunities: While your account is in hibernation, you might miss out on potential job opportunities, networking events, or industry updates. You won’t be able to respond to recruiters who have contacted you prior to going into hibernation.
- Loss of visibility: Hibernating your account makes your profile invisible to search engines and other LinkedIn users. Be prepared for a temporary loss of visibility and potential professional impact during the hibernation period.
- Impact on search rankings: It’s worth noting that hibernating your account may impact your search rankings on LinkedIn. Once you un-hibernate your account, it might take some time for your profile to regain its previous search ranking.
Exporting & Saving Important Data
Before hibernating your LinkedIn account, you should export and save any important data associated with your account. This includes contacts, endorsements, recommendations, and any other critical information you may need during your hiatus or after reactivating your account.
To export your LinkedIn data, follow these steps:
Log in to your LinkedIn account. Click on the “Me” icon located at the top of the homepage, and then select “Settings & Privacy“.
In the “Settings & Privacy” page, click on “Data Privacy” in the left-hand menu.
Look for the “Get a copy of your data” option and select it.
Choose the data you want to download and click “Request Archive“.
When your data is ready, you will receive an email containing a link to download it. Make sure to store this information in a secure and easily accessible location so that you can access it as needed.
How to Hibernate Your LinkedIn Account
Accessing LinkedIn Account Settings
You can briefly suspend your LinkedIn record and make it undetectable to different clients. If you need a break from the platform or want to concentrate on other aspects of your professional life, this feature can be very helpful. We’ll walk you through how to get to your account settings in this section.
The process to hibernate your account is quite straightforward. Just navigate to the “Settings & Privacy” option, which we showed you earlier. This will take you to the settings page for your LinkedIn account. Once there, select “Account preferences” in the left menu to access the account management settings.
Scroll the page down and find the section “Account management.” Here you can access different options related to managing your account, such as closing or hibernating it. Locate the “Hibernate account” option and select it.
Completing the Hibernation Process
Once you have selected the “Hibernate account” option, continue with the process. Firstly, select the reason if you want, and then select the “Next” button.
The last step before the hibernation process is to enter your password to finalize the process.
If your account is no longer visible, the hibernation process has been successful.
How to Reactivate Hibernated LinkedIn Account
There is no specific time frame for reactivating your hibernated LinkedIn account. However, you cannot reactivate before 24 hours have passed. Then when it’s done, the steps are actually super simple:
- Visit the LinkedIn homepage and sign in to your account.
- Click on the “Reactivate” button.
- All of your data is automatically restored back.
Frequently Asked Questions about LinkedIn Account Hibernation
1. How long can I Hibernate my LinkedIn Account?
You can hibernate it for as long as you want.
2. Is my Data Safe during the Hibernation Period?
User connections, messages, endorsements, and recommendations remain intact without loss of data.
However, certain features such as search appearances or profile view statistics may reset during the hibernation period. It’s important to be aware that some insights related to the account activity may be lost. Overall, LinkedIn assures users that their data remains safe and well-protected during the hibernation period.
3. Can I Hibernate my LinkedIn Account Multiple Times?
You can put your account into hibernation as many times as you want, there is no limit defined.
4. Will my Connections be Notified of My Account Hibernation?
No, LinkedIn doesn’t send any type of notification for that. It’s worth noticing that if you have any scheduled posts during the hibernation period, they will not be published, and you will need to schedule the posts again upon reactivating your account.
5. Can I reactivate my LinkedIn account after hibernation?
Yes, just log into LinkedIn. Follow the prompted steps to restore your account to its previous state.
6. How does hibernating my LinkedIn account differ from deleting it?
While hibernating your account temporarily suspends your LinkedIn presence, deleting your account permanently erases your profile, connections, and all associated data. Restoration is possible only upon hibernation, not deletion.
7. Is there a limit on how long I can hibernate my LinkedIn account?
Currently, LinkedIn has no specific time limit for account hibernation. However, if the platform identifies a possible security issue, it may contact you to confirm the ongoing hibernation.
8. Will my profile be searchable while my LinkedIn account is in hibernation?
No, your profile, including your connections, recommendations, and endorsements, will not be visible or searchable on LinkedIn during account hibernation.
9. Can I still receive LinkedIn messages and connection requests while my account is hibernated?
No, you cannot receive LinkedIn messages, and other members cannot send connection requests to you.
Yes, and the LinkedIn Premium will be automatically canceled when you hibernate.
