How do you message someone on LinkedIn?
If you're connected, open their profile, click Message, type in the Write a message box and click Send. In the app, tap Message, type and tap the Send icon. LinkedIn's Send messages to connections help page, shown as last updated four weeks ago when we checked on 4 November 2026, gives three starting points on each device and says the message may also be sent to their email, depending on their notification settings. It also sets the condition: this route is only for your connections.
From their profile
Go to your connection's profile page, click Message, type your message in the Write a message box and click Send.
From the Messaging page
Click the Messaging icon at the top of your homepage, or the conversation window in the lower-right corner. Click the Compose icon, type the person's name in the Type a name field, click their name, write and click Send. Add more names to start a group chat; LinkedIn's group chat page says you can start one with two or more of your 1st-degree connections and add up to 50 members.
From your connections list
Click My Network, then Connections under Manage my network, and click Message next to the person's name.
In the LinkedIn app
Tap the Messaging icon in the upper right, tap the Compose icon, type the name into the To field and tap it, write your message and tap the Send icon. From a profile, tap Message instead. The help page's Mobile tab doesn't separate iOS from Android.
Can you message anyone on LinkedIn?
No. Without paying, you can write to your connections, to Premium members who have switched on Open Profile, to a company's Page admins, and to coworkers or group members through a message request. For anyone else, add a note to a connection request, or use InMail, which needs a Premium plan and which members can turn off. Event organisers can also message their attendees one at a time. Each row comes from LinkedIn's help pages, checked 4 November 2026.
| Who you want to reach | How | Cost | What LinkedIn says about limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your 1st-degree connections | Message button or Compose | Free | No cap given for one-to-one messages; group chats up to 50 people |
| A Premium member with Open Profile on | Message button on their profile | Free | Basic accounts get a limited number each month; no figure given |
| A group member you aren't connected to | Message request from the group's member list | Free | They accept or privately decline; the group limits page gives a figure only for admins (50 a day) |
| A coworker you aren't connected to | Message request from Compose | Free | LinkedIn may limit messages to people you aren't connected to |
| An event attendee you aren't connected to | Only as the organiser, from Manage attendees | Free | One person at a time, never a group |
| A company | Message button on its Page | Free | Only if the Page has messaging turned on |
| Anyone else | InMail | One credit; needs Premium | 200-character subject, 2,000-character body; members can switch InMail off |
| Someone you want as a connection | Connection request with a note | Free | Three notes a month on a free account, 200 characters each (invitation help; an older page says five) |
A job for this week: open the profiles of the 20 people you most want to talk to and note which row each one falls into. Send the free routes first and keep InMail for the few with no other way in. Our guide to InMail credits and refund rules divides each listed plan price by its monthly credits to show what one InMail works out to.
How do you message someone you're not connected to?
Check their profile for a free route before you spend a credit. LinkedIn's people search help says that for someone who isn't your connection, the actions you see depend on their profile settings and may include View profile, Follow or Connect.
Open Profile (free). On desktop, go to the Premium member's profile, click the Message button in their introduction section, type and click Send. In the app, LinkedIn's Open Profile help says to tap the InMail button there instead. No credit is used.
InMail (paid). On desktop, open their profile, click the More button in the introduction section and select Message followed by their name. Add a subject if you want one, write and click Send. In the app, tap Message in their introduction section. LinkedIn's InMail help page says you can't buy credits beyond the monthly allotment.
Message request to a group member (free). On desktop, open the Groups homepage, select the group, click See all on the right of the page, then click Message next to the member's name. In the app, tap the member list below the group name, then the Message icon next to the person. LinkedIn's message request page says you won't be told if they decline, and attachments can't be sent in message requests. Members can switch off messages from fellow members in each group's settings, according to LinkedIn's group message settings page; owners and managers can't.
Connection request with a note (free). On desktop, click Connect in the introduction section of their profile, then Add a note, write it and click Send invitation. In the app, tap the More icon at the top of their profile, then Personalize Invite. LinkedIn's invitation help says the person can reply to your note without accepting, and that invitations sent from People You May Know in the app can't be personalised. Our guide on whether to add a note to a connection request covers when to skip the note and connect first.
Can you edit or delete a LinkedIn message after sending it?
Yes, for 60 minutes after you send it, and only the text. These are the steps on LinkedIn's edit or delete a sent message page, last updated a year before our check:
- Desktop: open the conversation, move your cursor over the message and click the More icon. Click Edit, change the text and click Save, or click Delete and confirm Delete in the pop-up.
- LinkedIn app: open the conversation and tap and hold the message. Tap Edit and then Save, or tap Delete and confirm.
An edited message carries an Edited label. A deleted one is removed for all participants, can't be retrieved, and leaves a note that says This message has been deleted. LinkedIn's pages don't say whether a copy already sent to their email is removed too (checked 4 November 2026).
Two exceptions: you can't delete a sent InMail, and you can edit one only before it is accepted or within 60 minutes of sending. LinkedIn also says you can report an inappropriate message even after it has been edited or deleted.
What should you say in a first LinkedIn message?
One reason you're writing to this person now, one detail that shows the reason is real, and one question that's easy to answer. LinkedIn's own InMail best practices page, last updated five years before our check, says much the same: be brief, mention the profile content that prompted you to write, and give them a reason to reply by asking for advice, opinions or referrals.
We wrote these examples for this post; Priya at Acme, Lena, Tom and Northwind Ltd are sample names, and the counts include spaces. The note and the InMail fit LinkedIn's stated limits, and our table of LinkedIn character limits has the rest.
For the messages after someone accepts, with reply data by length and by number of follow-ups, see what to say after someone accepts your request. If you're spending a credit, start from our 15 InMail templates with subject lines. If finding the reason is the slow part, Siela's Lead Finder looks for one, such as a role change, hiring for the work you automate, or someone asking how to solve the problem you solve, and a second AI checks each LinkedIn message before it is sent from your own account.
Why can't you message someone on LinkedIn?
Check these in order: whether there's a free route to that person, whether they've closed it, your credits, and your browser. The InMail, credit and browser checks come from LinkedIn's message troubleshooting page:
- You aren't connected and they have no Open Profile. Send a connection request with a note, or use InMail.
- They've turned off InMail. LinkedIn says you can't message a member who has chosen not to receive InMail in their message preferences.
- You're out of credits. Check your InMail balance before writing a long message to a non-connection.
- You only share an event you didn't organise. Connect first; the event route is closed to attendees.
- Sending fails for everyone. Try another browser or a private window, turn off browser extensions, clear your cache and cookies, switch off any VPN, and try a different device if you're on a work laptop. If that doesn't fix it, LinkedIn asks for a HAR file, a screenshot of the error and the recipient's profile URL when you contact support.
To control what reaches your own inbox, click Me, then Settings & Privacy, Data privacy, and Messages under Who can reach you; in the app, tap your profile photo, then Settings & Privacy, Data privacy and Messages. LinkedIn's message settings page says you can't stop messages from 1st-degree connections, only block a member.
Frequently asked questions
How do you send an InMail on LinkedIn?
On a computer, open the person's profile, click More in their introduction section and choose the Message option with their name, then add an optional subject and send. In the app, tap Message on the profile. You need a Premium plan with credits left, and LinkedIn won't deliver InMail to members who have switched it off in their message preferences.
Should I add people I don't know on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn's invitation limit page recommends sending invitations only to people you know and trust, and says all members, free and Premium, are subject to invitation limits. Reaching the limit can block new invitations, typically for a week. If you invite someone you haven't met, give them a reason in a short note so they can place you.
Does someone know if you delete a LinkedIn message?
Yes. LinkedIn removes a deleted message for everyone in the conversation, but a line saying This message has been deleted stays in its place, so the other person can see something was removed. You have 60 minutes after sending to delete, and a sent InMail can't be deleted at all.
Will they get an email when I message them on LinkedIn?
They might. LinkedIn's help says your message appears in the recipient's inbox and may also be sent to their email, depending on their notification settings. Write the first line so it makes sense in an email preview on its own, and say who you are before you ask for anything.
Can I message several people at once on LinkedIn?
Yes, in a group chat: add two or more of your 1st-degree connections when you compose, and the chat can hold up to 50 members. Everyone in it is an admin, and people added later see the full history. LinkedIn says group chats are for conversations with your connections, not mass messaging.
Does LinkedIn tell you if a message request is declined?
No. LinkedIn says the sender isn't notified when a message request is declined. The person can also review requests they declined later and accept one, which moves the conversation into their main inbox, so a silent request isn't always a final answer. Give it a week before you try another route.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: Send messages to connections on LinkedIn Messaging (shown as updated 4 weeks ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Create a group chat on LinkedIn Messaging (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Manage your Open Profile settings as a Premium subscriber (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: General limits for LinkedIn groups (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Send a message to a LinkedIn Page (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Personalize invitations to connect (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Privately message Event attendees (shown as updated 9 months ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Search for people on LinkedIn (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Send an Open Profile message on LinkedIn (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Send an InMail Message (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Send, receive, and manage message requests (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Settings to allow or prevent messages from group members (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Edit or delete a sent message within a conversation (shown as updated 1 year ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Writing InMail Messages - Best Practices (shown as updated 5 years ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Troubleshoot message sending issues on LinkedIn (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Manage the types of messages you receive (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Invitation limit reached (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: View your total available InMail message credits (checked 4 Nov 2026)