Bottom Line Up Front: LinkedIn allows you to set limits on how much of your profile is visible to people both on and off the platform. But here’s the kicker—after some app updates, your visibility preferences may silently revert, exposing more of your Digital Exhaust than you intended.
What I Noticed
Back in late 2021, I began noticing that LinkedIn app updates would occasionally reset my public profile visibility settings. Even though I had toggled visibility off, the app would quietly flip it back on, making my information once again visible to search engines and third parties.
As of mid-2025, this behavior still occasionally resurfaces, particularly on Android. It’s not widespread—but if you’re serious about privacy, it’s worth rechecking your settings after major app updates.
How to Check and Lock Down Your LinkedIn Public Profile
From a Desktop:
- Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage, then select View Profile.
- On the right-hand sidebar, click Edit public profile & URL.
- On the right side of that page, under “Edit Visibility,” toggle Your profile’s public visibility to Off.
- You can also selectively turn Off fields like your photo, headline, or experience. Changes save automatically.
Direct link (if logged in):
https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings
From the LinkedIn Mobile App (2025):
- Tap your profile photo in the upper left.
- Go to Settings & Privacy → Visibility.
- Select Edit your public profile.
- Toggle Your profile’s public visibility to Off.
- Customize visibility of specific sections like photos or activity.
Pro Tip: Always recheck this after app updates. If you use multiple devices (like a tablet and a phone), confirm settings on each.
Why It Matters
Your LinkedIn profile is a metadata honeypot: job titles, locations, skills, career patterns, and connections—all indexable by search engines if public visibility is on. That’s valuable not just to recruiters, but to data brokers, social engineers, and foreign intelligence.
By default, LinkedIn wants you to be visible. But if you value privacy, your visibility should be intentional—not automatic.
Stay smoky. Stay smart— James W