Can you block people on LinkedIn? Yes: how to block and unblock someone, what the block changes, and what it quietly leaves visible.

Can you block people on LinkedIn? The short answer

Yes, you can block people on LinkedIn, from a computer or the app, and LinkedIn Help says the blocked member does not receive a notification in most cases. Once you block someone, you cannot see each other's profiles, cannot message each other, and are no longer connected.

No Premium plan is needed: the steps in LinkedIn Help apply to free and paid accounts alike.

Blocking is the strongest of several tools. Unfollowing, hiding posts, removing a connection and reporting each do less, or something different. This guide covers how to block and unblock someone on LinkedIn, what the block changes, what it leaves visible, and when a lighter option fits better.

How to block someone on LinkedIn on desktop

LinkedIn Help documents blocking from the member's profile. The option sits in the same menu as reporting, which is why it is labeled Report/Block rather than Block on its own.

1. Open their profile

   Go to the profile of the person you want to block.

2. Click More

   Click the More button below the member's profile picture.

3. Choose Report/Block

   Select Report/Block from the list that opens.

4. Select Block

   In the Report or block pop-up, select Block followed by the member's name.

5. Confirm

   Click Block to proceed, or Back to review the other options before deciding.

After you confirm, the member appears on your blocked list. If they were a connection, they are no longer one.

How to block someone in the LinkedIn app

In the app, the More icon moves to the top right of the profile screen. The steps LinkedIn Help lists for iOS are below; the confirmation screen works the same way as on a computer.

• Open their profile. Go to the profile of the person you want to block.
• Tap More. Tap the More icon in the top right of the screen.
• Tap Report or Block. Choose it from the dropdown menu, then tap Block with the member's name.
• Confirm. In the pop-up, tap Block, or the back arrow to review other options.

What happens when you block someone on LinkedIn

LinkedIn Help lists the effects in its blocking overview. Most of them work in both directions: the block hides you from them as much as it hides them from you.

The recommendation point is permanent in practice. LinkedIn Help says recommendations from a member you block no longer appear on your profile, and cannot currently be reinstated if you unblock them.

Does someone know when you block them on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn Help says the blocked member will not receive any notification of the block, and its overview adds the words in most cases. The documented exception is LinkedIn Recruiter: if you share or have shared a Recruiter account with the member, LinkedIn may notify them or the Recruiter admin to manage that account.

No notification is not the same as invisible. A person who tries to open your profile or continue a conversation will notice that they cannot. They may conclude they were blocked, or that you closed or hibernated your account.

Blocking a connection versus someone outside your network

Blocking a 1st-degree connection ends the connection as part of the block. It is also the only way to stop that person's messages: LinkedIn Help says you cannot turn off messages from 1st-degree connections, but you can block a member to prevent them from interacting with you.

For people outside your network, a block is often more than you need. An unwanted invitation can simply be ignored, and our guide to pending invitations on LinkedIn covers what that does. Message settings can filter many strangers before they reach your inbox, and the network suggestions stop once a block is in place.

What a blocked member can still see

A block works inside LinkedIn's network. LinkedIn Help says a blocked member may still see information you make public: your public profile, content you post in public group discussions, your own public shares, and comments on Top Voices posts.

If that matters, the fix is your public profile settings, not the block. LinkedIn Help points to reviewing how your public profile appears in search engines, which is also where you control what someone who is not signed in can see. Our guide to LinkedIn search without login shows what that looks like from outside.

What you may still see from the person you blocked

• Shares by mutual connections. A mutual connection may share the blocked member's content into your feed. You can hide those updates yourself.
• Cached data in the app. The mobile app may show cached profile data. LinkedIn Help suggests signing out and back in to refresh it.
• Third-party apps. Applications that use LinkedIn's APIs may hold cached data, and their developer has to remove it.
• Contacts on your device. Contact records saved locally on your phone or computer have to be deleted by hand.

Blocking without them seeing your visit: private mode and profile views

Blocking starts on the member's profile, so many people worry the visit will show in the other person's list of viewers. The block itself handles most of it: LinkedIn Help says that after a block, you do not see each other under Who's Viewed Your Profile.

Blocking someone without them knowing you looked

If you want an extra layer, switch to private mode first. Click the Me icon, choose Settings & Privacy, open Visibility, and click Visibility when viewing other profiles. In private mode you appear as LinkedIn Member, with no other information shared about you.

Two limits apply. On a Basic account, browsing in private mode also hides the list of people who viewed your own profile. And LinkedIn Help says you cannot block private mode viewers of your profile, because you never learn who they are. Our guide to who viewed your LinkedIn profile covers the rest.

When the Block option is missing

LinkedIn Help ties a missing Block option to a relationship that has to end first. The fix is usually to leave something, or to remove the member from something you run.

If you cannot find the member at all, LinkedIn Help lists four possibilities: they hibernated their profile, were removed for abusive behavior, blocked you, or closed their account.

Blocking inside groups, events and LinkedIn Pages

Group members cannot block group owners or managers, because admins need access to moderate the group. LinkedIn Help says blocking is not supported between a group member and a group manager, and that members can ask the group's owners or managers to block another member for them.

Events have their own rule: an attendee can only block an event's organizer after leaving the event. Our LinkedIn groups and LinkedIn Events guides cover both features.

On Pages, if you block a member who is or becomes an admin of the same Page, you can still see limited information about each other in the Page admin view.

Can you block a company or a LinkedIn Page?

LinkedIn Help documents blocking members, not blocking a company. For a Page, it documents reporting instead: go to the organization's Page, click the More button on the Home tab, click Report abuse, select an option and submit.

There is one place where Pages can be blocked. LinkedIn Help's article on posting says members can block members and LinkedIn Pages from commenting on their posts. If a company's Page keeps showing up in your comments with promotion, that is the setting to use, and unfollowing the Page removes its updates from your feed.

How to unblock someone on LinkedIn

Only you can unblock a member you blocked. On a computer, click the Me icon, select Settings & Privacy, and in the Visibility section select Blocking under Visibility of your profile & network. Find the person's name in your blocked list and click Unblock.

In the app, LinkedIn Help's path starts from your profile picture: Settings & Privacy, Visibility, then Blocking under Visibility of your profile & network. Unblocking does not restore the connection, and removed recommendations stay removed.

How to see the list of people you blocked

The same Blocking page is your list. On a computer, open Settings & Privacy, click Visibility on the left, and click the arrow next to Blocking under Visibility of your profile & network. You will see everyone you are blocking and can make changes there.

The blocking rules LinkedIn publishes

Some guides still quote a cap on how many members you can block. LinkedIn Help's current article says there is no limit, and the only large-number rule it states is the one about unblocking past 2,000.

Block or report: which one to use

Blocking protects you. Reporting asks LinkedIn to act. LinkedIn Help says reported content and accounts go through review against the User Agreement and the Professional Community Policies, and that action can include removing content or suspending the account.

The person you report is not notified, and LinkedIn does not tell them who reported them. You should no longer see the reported content or conversation in your feed or inbox, and in some cases LinkedIn emails you about the outcome.

If someone harasses you on LinkedIn, step by step

Harassment calls for more than a block, because a block alone leaves no record at LinkedIn. The sequence below keeps your options open. The order matters: once you block someone, you can no longer access their profile, which is where the report option sits.

• Keep a record. Take screenshots of the messages, comments or posts before anything changes.
• Report the conversation or profile. Use Report on the conversation, the post or the profile, so LinkedIn reviews it against its Professional Community Policies.
• Then block. Block the member once the report is in.
• Tighten your settings. Review Who can reach you, invitations and your public profile.
• Go outside LinkedIn for threats. A threat to your safety belongs with the authorities where you live, not only with a platform.

LinkedIn Help's harassment article adds that you can control the updates you receive about your reports from your settings. Our LinkedIn help and support guide covers the other ways to reach LinkedIn.

Alternatives to blocking someone on LinkedIn

Like most social media platforms, LinkedIn gives users softer tools than a block.

A block is hard to undo cleanly, because recommendations and the connection do not come back. For many situations a lighter tool does the job without closing the door. Removing a connection has the same cost for recommendations, so it is not a softer version of blocking on that point.

LinkedIn Help's feed article now describes a Hide posts from option on a post's More menu rather than a separate mute button. Our guide on how to remove followers on LinkedIn covers removing followers and connections step by step.

Blocking, your messages, and messages from strangers

LinkedIn Help's overview is short on this point: once you block someone, you cannot message each other on LinkedIn. If the problem is a single conversation rather than the person, reporting the conversation is the documented route, and LinkedIn says you should no longer see a reported conversation in your inbox.

For what LinkedIn does with messages in general, including who can read them, see our guide on whether LinkedIn messages are private.

Much of the spam that makes people reach for the block button comes from outside their network. LinkedIn Help's messaging settings give you a quieter option first: click the Me icon, choose Settings & Privacy, click Data privacy, and select Messages under Who can reach you. Each message type has its own toggle.

Two limits apply. LinkedIn Help says you cannot stop receiving messages from your 1st-degree connections, but you can block a member to stop them interacting with you. And only Premium members can manage Open Profile messages. Our guide to InMail on LinkedIn explains where most messages from strangers come from.

Settings that limit who can reach you without blocking anyone

LinkedIn Help's blocking overview ends with a list of settings for limiting access to you. They work on everyone at once, which makes them the better tool when the problem is exposure rather than one person.

For a professional account that exists to be found, most of these cost more than they save. A seller who hides the public profile or the photo becomes harder for prospects to recognize, so change them only when the exposure is a real problem.

If you think someone blocked you on LinkedIn

LinkedIn does not tell you. What you notice is absence: their profile will not open, a conversation cannot continue, and they no longer show as a connection. LinkedIn Help's list of reasons you cannot find a member includes being blocked, but also a hibernated profile, a closed account, or removal for abusive behavior.

Do not look for a way around it. A second account, a message through a colleague, or an email to an address you found elsewhere turns a closed door into a complaint, and a complaint can bring a restriction. Our guide to LinkedIn account restrictions explains how those work.

Blocking when you sell on LinkedIn

Sellers sit on both sides of the block button. You may want to block a vendor who keeps pitching after a clear no, or someone whose messages cross a line. Block them, and report them if the behavior breaks the rules.

The other side matters more. Prospects block sellers whose LinkedIn outreach ignores a no, pitches straight after connecting, or keeps following up with nothing new. Every block is a lost account for good. Stop at the first clear no, and write the last message so it leaves the door open.

The template below is that last message. Our LinkedIn follow-up message guide covers the follow-ups that come before it.

Checklist before you block someone

• Right tool. Would unfollowing, hiding posts or removing the connection be enough?
• Report first if needed. Harassment and scams should be reported, not only blocked.
• Recommendations checked. A recommendation from them disappears for good.
• Groups and events cleared. Leave, or remove them, if the Block option is missing.
• Public profile reviewed. The block does not hide what you make public.

Common mistakes when blocking on LinkedIn

• Blocking a connection who wrote you a recommendation, then finding the recommendation gone after unblocking.
• Blocking instead of reporting when the behavior is harassment, so nobody at LinkedIn reviews it.
• Assuming the block hides your public profile and public posts.
• Unblocking in a moment of doubt and then waiting 48 hours to block again.
• Blocking a group manager, which is not supported, instead of leaving the group first.
• Trying to reach someone who blocked you through another account.

The last message to send after a clear no

The message below was written for this page. It closes a sales conversation cleanly after a prospect says no, so the next contact, if there ever is one, starts from goodwill instead of a block. Replace every placeholder and send it once.

Hi {{firstName}},

Understood, and thank you for saying so directly. I will not follow up on {{topic}}.

If {{specificChangeThatWouldMakeItRelevant}} ever happens on your side, my door is open.

All the best with {{somethingTheyMentioned}}.

{{yourName}}

Frequently asked questions