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It is amazing how often I not only get asked this question of how to disconnect from someone and remove LinkedIn connections from my own personal network but also how frequently it appears on LinkedIn Answers. If you think of connecting to someone as their joining your virtual world, if the relationship does not work out because you feel you are being spammed or for another reason, you do have the option of disconnecting from them and removing them as a connection. Connecting with someone is not a marriage by any means! Hopefully this gives those who want to build out a large virtual network or even those who want to start slowly connecting to people that you virtually meet on LinkedIn some sense of security in doing so.
Disconnecting and removing a connection is as easy as going to the “Contacts” screen, pressing “Remove Connections” at the top right-hand side, and then choosing and confirming who you want to disconnect from and remove from your LinkedIn connections.
The beauty of using this Remove Connections functionality to disconnect is that:
- Your contact will not be informed that you removed them from your connections.
- Should your disconnected connection wish to invite you to connect again, even after you remove them as a connection, they will get an error message saying something to the effect that “This user cannot be invited at this time”. If they contact you directly about this be prepared to explain (I have been in the same situation in the past so you will have to explain in your own words).
- You can re-invite the person you disconnected from, in which case the connection will be fully restored as if you never removed them.
The ability to remove connections and disconnect should give you the confidence that should, for whatever reason, you want to disconnect with one of your connections, the option is there.And it is easy to do as well.
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46 Comments
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Scott Allen
LinkedIn should realize from how often that question gets asked how utterly counter-intuitive this is. Where it SHOULD be is on the profile of the person your connected to. It should be an available action there — “Disconnect from this person.”
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LinkedIn should realize from how often that question gets asked how utterly counter-intuitive this is. Where it SHOULD be is on the profile of the person your connected to. It should be an available action there — “Disconnect from this person.”
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Neal Schaffer
Scott,
You are bang on. I think LinkedIn really needs to revamp the entire User Interface. There is too much bouncing around different screens in order to accomplish something on LinkedIn. This definitely contributes to the poor user performance that we feel everyday. Not to mention that you can’t delete your Inbox messages, leading to more data in the servers than LinkedIn needs. Definitely time for an overhaul.
On a separate note, it is an honor to receive a comment from you on my blog. “I Am Not a Number” is a classic article in Networking circles. I often blog about the “virtual network” which is an extension of your “virtual handshake”. Thank you and looking forward to further communications with you!
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“You can re-invite the person you disconnected from, in which case the connection will be fully restored.”
This is not so. YOU CANNOT re-invite the person after disconnecting.
-Steven
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“You can re-invite the person you disconnected from, in which case the connection will be fully restored.”
This is not so. YOU CANNOT re-invite the person after disconnecting.
-Steven
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Steven,
Unless things have changed recently, I was able to do this for one of my connections just a few months ago. Have you experienced this recently?
Cheers,
Neal -
recently – yes.
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recently – yes.
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I actually experimented with this with a friend of mine and I was able to disconnect and then invite, so it still works. I think that LinkedIn must have placed the restriction on you because of the artificial ceiling they put on your connections…
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shiyun chung
Hmm, this is interesting.
Both of you are very helpful for the new LinkedIn user.
Especially clear out all those cynical views on social networking.I like to connect to both of you. If I just send a simple invite, what will be the msg I will get?
Thanks,
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Hmm, this is interesting.
Both of you are very helpful for the new LinkedIn user.
Especially clear out all those cynical views on social networking.I like to connect to both of you. If I just send a simple invite, what will be the msg I will get?
Thanks,
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Shiyung,
I am an open networker and will accept your invite! Please feel free to send me an invite! And if I can help you out any way let me know!
Cheers,
Neal -
How to disconnect from someone in Linkedin http://bit.ly/7e2BhD #linkedin
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LSR
The “Connections” screen? You mean “Contacts” on the left hand side of the screen?
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Actually they both lead you to the same screen, so either one will do!
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[...] am gasit instructiunile ‘deconectare’ pentru reteaua sociala de care vorbesc. ma simt [...]
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OK so what if you want to disconnect from someone, but you want 'them' to have the option of reconnecting…?
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Under the current LinkedIn paradigm, that is not possible. And if you think about it, you normally are disconnecting from someone for a reason, no?
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Under the current LinkedIn paradigm, that is not possible. And if you think about it, you normally are disconnecting from someone for a reason, no?
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[...] We can do this easily by going to their profile and doing so. Why is it so difficult, then, to remove a LinkedIn connection? I realize that the intent of the professional networking platform was to only invite and connect [...]
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Thanks a bunch! That really helped me. It’s simple, but not always easy to find that important, little button…
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I hear ‘ya!
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SouthOfBoston69
I understand a connection can “disconnect” from your connections list. Can that same person delete a letter of recommendation they previously sent to you and was posted on your profile? It appears a letter has disappeared from a “disconnection” of mine. My feeling is once someone gives you a letter, it belongs to you, not only the writer. Please let me know how I can retreive this letter. Thanks.
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I believe that through Manage Recommendations you cannot delete past recommendations, but you can hide them from display. That is probably what happened…
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Chris Belke1
I am not a linked in member but foolishly i agreed to be linked in to just two other people, now I keep getting requests and wate of time emails from these two people of who they are linked in with. I want out. How do I get of this roundabout????????
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Go to your LinkedIn account settings and cancel your account – or disconnect from those connections of yours!
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Chris,
I don’t know your exact situation, but probably what you should do is one of the following:
- Cancel your account (in your Settings screen)
- Disconnect from your connections
- Adjust your settings so that you don’t accept introduction requestsDoes this help?
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Chris,
I don’t know your exact situation, but probably what you should do is one of the following:
- Cancel your account (in your Settings screen)
- Disconnect from your connections
- Adjust your settings so that you don’t accept introduction requestsDoes this help?
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Thank you for your informative article. I looked up this information month’s ago and even the FAQ’s on Linkedin said it wasn’t possible. the information you provided was very useful. I appreciate it.
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You’re very welcome Lori! If you have a burning LinkedIn question that hasn’t been answered elsewhere, please let me know so that I can write a blog post on it! Thanks!
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Yeah, they could take a look at any other social networking site. Having to go to the other page, and then choose to remove and then find the name again without a search function,…. well, you really have to want to get rid of the person badly …
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I hear ‘ya…
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Karen Diefenbach
When you remove the contact from your list are you likewise deleted from their list?
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Yes – without them knowing it!
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Thank for this – you were #1 on google with the search terms “how do i disconnect from someone on linkedin”
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Coolness! New post on this subject coming soon…
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G777
Useless advice, since there is no “Remove Connections” link. Better luck next time.
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Actually there IS a “Remove Connections” link on this URL:
http://www.linkedin.com/connections?trk=hb_tab_connections
If you don’t see it you should contact LinkedIn Customer Service.
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EmailTray
The problem with that “Remove Connections” link is that it could possibly mean “Remove All of My Connections”. I do this sort of thing for a living (find navigation errors where users will be afraid or not understand where to go and why). LinkedIn product managers should change that to something like “Remove a Connection” or otherwise make it clear that clicking on that link won’t delete all your connections at once and irrevocably. This may seem funny but, if LinkedIn was a smaller company or an eCommerce company, this kind of awkward phrasing could mean everything.
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Excellent advice – we can only hope that the powers that be are listening!
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Thanks for this blogpost. Google easily suggests “linkedin how to unconnect” and it leads to this post – obviously, people are asking for it. And as many other says – it should be on the screen where I see someone’s profile. That other way – “go and find the function, then select what you want to do that function with” – reminds me older Nokia mobile phones that had functions split to those that were available contextually and to those that you had real trouble to use (although you needed them quite often). Very silly indeed.
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You’re very welcome – I’m only sorry that LinkedIn doesn’t make it easier for everyone!
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Scott,
You are bang on. I think LinkedIn really needs to revamp the entire User Interface. There is too much bouncing around different screens in order to accomplish something on LinkedIn. This definitely contributes to the poor user performance that we feel everyday. Not to mention that you can’t delete your Inbox messages, leading to more data in the servers than LinkedIn needs. Definitely time for an overhaul.
On a separate note, it is an honor to receive a comment from you on my blog. “I Am Not a Number” is a classic article in Networking circles. I often blog about the “virtual network” which is an extension of your “virtual handshake”. Thank you and looking forward to further communications with you!
-
Steven,
Unless things have changed recently, I was able to do this for one of my connections just a few months ago. Have you experienced this recently?
Cheers,
Neal -
I actually experimented with this with a friend of mine and I was able to disconnect and then invite, so it still works. I think that LinkedIn must have placed the restriction on you because of the artificial ceiling they put on your connections…
-
Shiyung,
I am an open networker and will accept your invite! Please feel free to send me an invite! And if I can help you out any way let me know!
Cheers,
Neal
