Even on social networking sites such as LinkedIn, privacy is very important. Though your goal is to connect with more people, you still want to find a way to protect your data and sensitive information, including the things you search on Google.
Some people think that LinkedIn is using their search history to recommend people for the “People You May Know” feature. However, the algorithms used by LinkedIn are much broader than that. LinkedIn uses different sources for these recommendations such as Industry, Prior Jobs, Current Job, Title, Keywords used in your LinkedIn Profile, Groups you are part of, Companies you follow, Region, and your LinkedIn Network.
Sometimes, LinkedIn will ask you if you know a person because they want to make sure that user is not sending massive amounts of connection invitations to people they don’t know.
People You May Know
LinkedIn’s “People You May Know” feature, found on the “My Network” page, suggests other members to connect with based on your commonalities. Profiles listed there may have shared connections, or have similar profile information. There is nothing to suggest that LinkedIn uses search engine results to come up with these recommendations. Our clients that use Kennected, the world’s #1 Sales Enablement platform, show up on more people’s suggested results because of the number of connections they have. Want to show up more frequently? Schedule a demo and see how Kennected can help you grow your business.
Similarly, LinkedIn does not scan the content of your messages to suggest results for the “People You May Know” feature. The platform respects your privacy.
Other LinkedIn users want to find out if the other person is notified when they view their profile through Google. The easiest way to answer this is by talking about LinkedIn profile viewing options. No matter how you find someone on LinkedIn—through LinkedIn, Google, or any other search engine—whether or not the other person sees your name depends on your profile viewing settings.
By default, when you visit someone else’s profile, the person receives a notification. They can also see your name on their Who’s Viewed Your Profile page. However, you can change this setting directly from LinkedIn in order to view profiles anonymously. Just take note that when you browse profiles anonymously, you will also become unable to see who has viewed your own profile.
Profile Viewing Options on LinkedIn
There are three ways LinkedIn can display information on the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” page. You can set it according to your preferences. You may choose to display one of the following:
Your name, headline, location, and industry
Your profile characteristics such as job title, company, and school
You can set your profile to show as “LinkedIn Member” for anonymity
This lets you control what people see when you view their profile. You can update your profile viewing options from the “Settings & Privacy” page. Just click the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage and select “Settings & Privacy” from the dropdown
Click the Privacy tab at the top of the page and select “Change” under the “How others see your LinkedIn activity” section, next to Profile viewing options
Click “Change” next to Profile viewing options, and any changes will be saved automatically
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