How do you export your LinkedIn connections?
Use a computer: LinkedIn's Download your data help page, updated four weeks before we checked on 4 November 2026, says the feature is currently not available on mobile. These are its steps:
Open Settings & Privacy
Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage, then select Settings & Privacy from the dropdown.
Find Download your data
Click Data privacy on the left, then, under How LinkedIn uses your data, click Download your data.
Pick the files
Select the data you want, such as Connections, or the larger download, then click Request archive.
Download from the email
LinkedIn emails a link to your primary email address. The page says the data will be available for download for 72 hours.
LinkedIn's older Export connections page, last updated a year ago, names the link Get a copy of your data and tells you to choose the larger archive, which it says includes connections. If your screen uses that wording, follow it; both routes end at Request archive. LinkedIn also advises downloading only on a personal computer, never a public one.
Two limits apply whichever route you take. The export covers 1st-degree connections only: LinkedIn says you currently can't export contacts who aren't 1st-degree connections. And it only works while your account is open, because LinkedIn says you lose access to your data once you close your account. If you are leaving, export first; our guide to deleting your LinkedIn account covers the rest.
How long does a LinkedIn data export take?
Anything from minutes to two days. The Download your data page gives two answers. Its text says a specific type of data is emailed within minutes and the larger download within 24 hours. Its own table, though, lists Connections (with Messages and Contacts) under Available within 48 hours, while files such as Invitations, Profile and Positions sit under Available within 10 minutes.
Two r/linkedin threads describe a missing Connections file. In a March 2026 post, someone who downloaded the archive found many CSV files but no Connections file. In a thread from the same month, one commenter said only the first part had arrived, with the second promised by email. Two threads are a small sample and neither gives a cause; the first archive even held messages, which the table also lists under 48 hours. If Connections is missing, look for a second email before you request again.
What's in the LinkedIn connections file?
Seven columns, one row per 1st-degree connection. LinkedIn describes the Connections file as holding first and last name, public profile URL, email address, company, position and connection date. The column names below come from an open-source parser for the file published in December 2024, so check them against your own download.
| Column | What LinkedIn says it holds | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| First Name, Last Name | The connection's name | LinkedIn says the CSV format doesn't support languages with extended character sets, such as Chinese, Japanese or Hebrew |
| URL | Public profile URL | Use it to match rows across files, since two people can share a name |
| Email Address | Included only when the connection allowed it in their privacy settings | Expect blanks |
| Company, Position | Company and position | One of each per person: there is no work history or location column |
| Connected On | The date you connected | Sort by it to find the oldest or newest connections |
Two things trip up imports. The same parser skips three lines at the top of the file, a Notes message about missing email addresses, before it reaches the header row, so delete those lines before you import the file anywhere. And expect gaps in the email column: LinkedIn's help says members choose whether others can download their email address. In the second of those threads, one commenter put the share of connections with an email at "Less than 1%." That is one person's figure, not a measured rate.
You control your own entry. LinkedIn's email visibility help gives the desktop path: Me, Settings & Privacy, Visibility, then Email visibility under Visibility of your profile & network. Choose who can see your address, then set the toggle to Yes or No to decide whether connections can download your primary email in their data exports.
Which LinkedIn export should you use?
Pick the file by the job. Every row below comes from LinkedIn's Download your data page, checked 4 November 2026, except the 2nd-degree row, which uses LinkedIn's export help.
| You want | Ask for | What you get | Deciding fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your network in a spreadsheet or CRM | Connections | Name, profile URL, company, position, connection date, some emails | Listed under up to 48 hours |
| Everything, for example before closing your account | The larger download | A larger archive, limited to the categories that apply to your account | Emailed within 24 hours, per the page's text |
| Who you invited, and what your notes said | Invitations | Invitations sent and received, with names, URLs, dates and messages | Listed under 10 minutes |
| Who you have already talked to | Messages | Messages sent, received and archived, with dates, content and profile URLs | Listed under up to 48 hours |
| Your imported address book | Contacts | Names, phone numbers and emails of contacts you imported | These are contacts you uploaded, not your connections' details |
| Your data through an API | Member Portability APIs | Programmatic access to your own data | Offered to members in the EU, EEA and Switzerland |
| 2nd-degree people or a search result | Nothing available | No file | LinkedIn's export help says contacts who aren't 1st-degree connections can't be exported |
| Your connections' phone numbers | Nothing available | No phone column in Connections | The Phone Numbers file holds the numbers you added to your own account |
The page also says LinkedIn provides only your own data, not other members', and doesn't include People You May Know or Who's Viewed Your Profile data.
Is LinkedIn scraping allowed?
Not under LinkedIn's terms. Section 8.2 of LinkedIn's User Agreement, effective 3 November 2025, lists things members agree not to do. They include using software, scripts, crawlers or browser plugins and add-ons to scrape or copy profiles and other data, and a separate clause: "Use bots or other unauthorized automated methods to access the Services, add or download contacts". LinkedIn's own export is the way to get your file; extensions that pull extra fields or 2nd-degree lists from profiles are the kind of software those clauses describe.
Whether scraping breaks a law is a separate question that depends on how and where it is done. This isn't legal advice; our post on whether LinkedIn scraping is legal covers the court cases and five questions to ask any data vendor.
What should you do with the file this week?
Turn it into a short reconnect list. You can build it in Excel or Google Sheets:
Keep the first message about them: a specific detail and one question, with no pitch. Our guide to what to say after someone accepts your LinkedIn request has message lengths and follow-up counts from one vendor's 2026 data. If the list comes out short, read how to get more LinkedIn connections before you reach for cold outreach. Once the warm list runs out, Siela's Lead Finder looks beyond your network for people with a reason to talk now, such as someone hiring for the work you automate or comparing tools, and saves each lead to its CRM with the reason it was picked.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a way to export all of your LinkedIn connections?
Yes, all of your 1st-degree connections. LinkedIn's data download includes a Connections file covering every 1st-degree connection, with name, profile URL, company, position and connection date. People you aren't directly connected to can't be exported, and LinkedIn doesn't provide People You May Know or Who's Viewed Your Profile data in the download.
Why are email addresses missing from my LinkedIn export?
Because each member decides whether their connections can download their primary email address. LinkedIn only puts an address in your file when that person has allowed it in their email visibility settings, so blank cells are expected. You can check the same toggle on your own account under Settings & Privacy, then Visibility, then Email visibility.
Is there a free way to extract phone numbers from LinkedIn?
Not through LinkedIn's export. The Connections file has no phone column, and the Phone Numbers file only holds numbers you added to your own account. The Contacts file includes phone numbers for contacts you imported yourself. Tools that pull phone numbers from profiles run into the scraping and automation rules in LinkedIn's User Agreement.
How do I export LinkedIn contacts to a CSV file?
Request the Connections file from Download your data on a computer; LinkedIn's export help notes that the CSV and vCard formats don't support every character. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets, delete the notes lines above the header, then save it as CSV again before importing it into a CRM or email tool. For your imported address book, request the Contacts file instead.
Can I export my LinkedIn connections on my phone?
No. LinkedIn's Download your data help says the feature is currently not available on mobile. Use a computer you own, since LinkedIn advises against downloading your data on a public computer. You can still change your own email visibility setting from the mobile app.
Can I get my LinkedIn data after closing my account?
No. LinkedIn says that if you close your account, you will no longer have access to your account data. Request the larger download first, wait for every part to arrive, since some files can take up to 48 hours, and save the files somewhere safe before you close the account.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: Download your data (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Export connections from LinkedIn (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Manage who can see your email address on LinkedIn (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn User Agreement, section 8.2 (effective 3 November 2025; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- linkedin-csv 0.1.3 source (open-source parser for LinkedIn export files) (published 20 December 2024)
- r/linkedin: LinkedIn “Download my data” missing connections.csv, did they remove it? (23 March 2026)
- r/linkedin: Does LinkedIn still let you export your 1st-degree connections with their email addresses? (6 March 2026)