How to Hide Your Email on LinkedIn & Secure Your Privacy?

Publicly displaying your email address on LinkedIn can make you a target for spam and unwanted solicitations such as irrelevant product promotions, marketing emails, or even phishing attempts.

That’s why controlling the visibility of your email address is crucial. 

In this guide, we will show you how you can hide your email on LinkedIn in a matter of time so that you can take control of your privacy.

How to Hide Your Email on LinkedIn in 2 Minutes (Desktop & Mobile)

1. Go to Settings & Privacy:

• Desktop: Click on your profile picture (“Me” icon) in the top right, then select “Settings & Privacy.”
• Mobile: Tap on your profile picture in the top left, then tap on “Settings” from the bottom.

2. Navigate to Visibility Settings:

• Now, from the settings menu, click on “Visibility” to access email visibility settings.

3. Find Email Settings:

• After that, look for “Who can see or download your email address” and click/tap on it.

4. Choose Your Preferred Email Visibility Option:

At this stage, you’ll see multiple options for who can view your email:

• Only visible to me (Best for privacy)
• 1st degree connections (Only your direct connections can see it)
• 1st and 2nd-degree connections (Expands visibility slightly)
• Anyone on LinkedIn (Least private option)

If you want to hide your email completely, select “Only visible to me.”

5. Decide If Your Email Can Be Exported by Connections:

• LinkedIn allows your connections to download your email in their data export.
• To prevent this, disable “Allow connections to export emails”  (see the image).

Okay, so, that was all about hiding your email address on LinkedIn.

Now that you’ve successfully hidden your email, let’s take your LinkedIn security a step further with additional privacy and security tips.

4 Privacy & Security Tips for a Better LinkedIn Experience

A. Enable Two‑Step Verification

Why: Two‑step verification (also known as two‑factor authentication or 2FA) makes it much harder for an attacker to log in even if your password is compromised.

Steps:

1. Go to LinkedIn Settings & Privacy as we discussed earlier in this discussion.
2. After that click on “Sign-in & Security”.
3. Under the Account access, find and click on “Two-step verification.”
4. Click on the “Set Up” button.
5. Follow the on-screen prompts to verify your mobile device or authenticator app. Once confirmed, your account will require both your password and a temporary code for future logins.

B. Monitor Active Sessions

Why: Reviewing your active sessions helps you detect any unauthorized access early.

Steps:

1. Open LinkedIn Settings & Privacy.
2. Go to Sign in and Security.
3. After that, click on “Where you’re signed in”.
4. Carefully review the list of devices and locations. Note any that you do not recognize.
5. Click the “End” option next to any suspicious sessions.
6. For added security, you can choose to “Sign out of all sessions” and then log in again.
7. Make sure you check your active sessions periodically.

C. Opt Out of Data Sharing for AI Training

Why: If you don’t want your posts or profile information used to train generative AI models, you should disable this feature.

Steps:

1. Go to Settings & Privacy and select the Data Privacy tab.
2. Look for a toggle labeled “Data for Generative AI Improvement”.
3. Toggle this setting off to prevent LinkedIn from using your future content for AI training.
4. Note that this does not remove data already used.

D. Stay Vigilant Against Phishing Attacks

Why: Phishing is one of the most common ways attackers steal credentials and sensitive information.

Steps:

1. Always check the sender’s profile and look for red flags such as grammatical errors, suspicious URLs, or mismatched email addresses.
2. Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments unless you are certain of the sender’s legitimacy.
3. If a message seems to be from a recruiter or company, visit their official website to confirm the communication.
4. Use LinkedIn’s built-in reporting tools to flag and report any suspicious messages or connection requests.
5. If you ever need to stop unwanted interactions, blocking or unblocking someone on LinkedIn is a quick and easy process.

Furthermore, regularly reviewing your LinkedIn settings ensures that your privacy preferences stay up to date with platform changes.

Take a few minutes every few months to check your Visibility, Account, Communications, and Data Privacy settings, remove outdated information, and confirm that features like AI data sharing are turned off if you prefer more control over your data.

If you’ve ever created multiple LinkedIn accounts by mistake, it’s a good idea to merge or close them to keep your professional presence streamlined and secure.

Additionally, securing your account with a strong, unique password is crucial. Use at least 12 characters with a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols, avoid personal details, and update it every few months. A password manager can help keep track of complex passwords safely.

With these simple habits in place, you can maintain a secure and professional LinkedIn presence.