How do you send a voice message on LinkedIn?
From the LinkedIn app on your phone. LinkedIn's voice messages help page (shown as updated 1 year ago when we checked on 4 November 2026) says the feature is only available in the mobile app, and it gives one set of steps for the app, with no separate iOS and Android versions:
Open Messaging
Tap the Messaging icon in the upper right of the app.
Open the conversation
Pick a 1st-degree connection or a group chat. To start a new conversation, LinkedIn's messaging page says to tap the Compose icon and type the person's name in the To field.
Tap the microphone
Tap the Microphone icon. If the app asks, allow LinkedIn to use your device's microphone.
Hold to record, release to send
Tap and hold the large Microphone icon while you talk. Letting go sends the message, so know what you will say before you press. To throw a recording away before it sends, swipe away from the large icon.
Play it back
Tap the Play icon on the voice message in the conversation to listen to it.
If you change your mind after sending, LinkedIn's edit and delete page says you can delete a sent message within 60 minutes. It disappears for everyone and a note saying the message was deleted takes its place. In the app, the page's mobile steps are: open the conversation, tap and hold the message, then tap Delete and confirm Delete. Editing works on text only, so to fix a voice message, delete it within the hour and record a new one.
Can you send a LinkedIn voice message from a computer?
No. Recording is app-only, and LinkedIn's Messaging FAQ (shown as updated 2 years ago) also places voice messages in the mobile app. Receiving is different: LinkedIn's July 2018 launch post said voice messages can be received on mobile and on web. At a desk, you have two options:
- Send a short video. LinkedIn's attachments page lists MP4 and MOV videos among the file types for desktop, up to 20 MB. Its desktop list has no audio formats, so an MP3 recording isn't one of the supported types.
- Say it, then send it as text. If you think better out loud, the voice to text tool in Siela's desktop app (Windows and macOS) turns what you say into text.
Who can you send a LinkedIn voice message to?
Your 1st-degree connections and group chats you are in, according to the help page. The Messaging FAQ says the same about connections: you can record voice messages to your 1st-degree connections in the mobile app. Neither page mentions voice in InMail or in message requests (checked 4 November 2026), and LinkedIn's message requests page says attachments can't be sent in message requests.
For someone outside your network, connect first and send the voice message once they accept. Our comparison of InMail and connection requests helps you pick that first step. The other caps on messaging are in our guide to LinkedIn message limits.
LinkedIn launched the feature for connections. Its 2018 post said people speak about four times faster than they type, which makes voice handy for longer or more complex ideas, and that a voice message can suit the listener better than a call because they can play it when they have a free moment. The post gives no source for the four-times figure.
Why can't you send a LinkedIn voice message?
Check these four things in order. Each fix comes from LinkedIn's, Apple's or Google's own help pages:
| Check | Why it matters | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| You are on a computer or a mobile browser | LinkedIn's help page says sending is only available in the mobile app | Open the LinkedIn app on your iPhone or Android phone |
| The person isn't a 1st-degree connection | The help page covers connections and group chats only | Send a connection request, then record once they accept |
| Microphone access is off on iPhone | Apple says apps must ask your permission before using the microphone | Go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Microphone, and turn access on for LinkedIn |
| Microphone access is off on Android | Google says apps ask for permission and you can allow or deny it | Open Settings, tap Apps, tap LinkedIn (or See all apps first), tap Permissions, then Microphone, and choose Allow only while using the app |
Google's page notes that on Pixel phones some of these steps work only on Android 11 and up. If your menus look different, search Settings for Microphone. Google's page also lists a switch that turns off microphone access for the whole device: Settings, then Security & privacy, then Privacy, then Privacy controls, then Microphone access.
How long should a LinkedIn voice message be?
One minute is the hard limit, and a script of about 90 words fits inside it at a slow conversational pace. The arithmetic comes from a study of English telephone conversations by Jiahong Yuan, Mark Liberman and Christopher Cieri, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, presented at Interspeech 2006. Across 2,438 Switchboard conversations they measured an overall average of 196 words a minute, ranging from 111 to 291 by conversation. In a second set of calls, the Fisher corpus, average rates by topic ran from 152 to nearly 170 words a minute, and people spoke more slowly with strangers than with friends and family.
The Switchboard figures count both speakers' words over the whole call, pauses included, so treat all of these as a guide to pace. Here is how long a script takes at three of them (seconds = words divided by words a minute, times 60):
| Script length | At 111 words a minute | At 152 words a minute | At 196 words a minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 words | 32 seconds | 24 seconds | 18 seconds |
| 90 words | 49 seconds | 36 seconds | 28 seconds |
| 120 words | 65 seconds, over the limit | 47 seconds | 37 seconds |
So 90 words fits even at the slowest conversation in the study, while 120 can run over if you speak slowly, as people tend to with someone they don't know. Read your script aloud against a stopwatch before you record. A structure that fits: who you are and why you are sending a voice note, one point, one question.
When is a voice message better than a text message?
When the person already knows you and the message is easier to say than to write. The table is our advice, with the LinkedIn rule behind it where there is one:
| Situation | Send | Deciding fact |
|---|---|---|
| Thanks or a recap after a call | Voice | They already know your voice, and one minute fits a recap and one next step (see the timings above) |
| An idea that needs tone or nuance | Voice | LinkedIn's 2018 post pitched voice for longer or more complex ideas |
| Anything with a link, price, date or file | Text | A link said aloud can't be clicked, and only text can be edited within 60 minutes of sending |
| First message after someone accepts | Text | One short typed question; our guide covers what to send after an accepted request |
| Someone outside your network | Connection request or InMail | LinkedIn describes voice messages for connections and group chats only |
| You are at your desk | Text, or a short MP4 or MOV video | Recording is app-only |
Voice notes as cold outreach at volume are a different matter. Some outreach tools offer AI-generated voice messages: lemlist's help page on limits counts voice messages and AI voice messages against the same message limit, and one r/coldemail poster in August 2025 described using a tool that clones their voice to send hundreds. LinkedIn's automated activity page says it doesn't allow third-party software that automates activity on its website, and its community policies ban untargeted and obviously unwanted messages. Our guide to what LinkedIn allows and what gets accounts restricted covers the risk.
How do you spot a fake LinkedIn voice message?
A real one plays inside the conversation: the help page's only step for listening is tapping the Play icon. Two small r/linkedin threads describe so-called voice messages that sent people to sign-in pages:
- In an October 2022 thread, a poster says a voice message preview took them to an outside site that asked them to log in to an email or Office account. Two commenters called it phishing.
- In a February 2024 thread, a poster says pressing a voice message opened an Outlook login page that led to a blank page.
LinkedIn's phishing page says LinkedIn will never ask you for your password or ask you to download any programs. If a so-called voice message asks you to sign in anywhere, don't. To report it, the same page says to click the More icon, select Report/Block, then select It's spam or a scam and answer the questions that follow. The page gives these steps once, in desktop wording, with no separate app steps.
Frequently asked questions
Can you send a voice message on LinkedIn desktop?
No. LinkedIn's help page, checked on 4 November 2026, says voice messages can only be sent from the LinkedIn mobile app. You can still receive voice messages on the web, according to LinkedIn's 2018 launch post. From a computer, a short MP4 or MOV video attachment of up to 20 MB is the nearest option.
How long can a LinkedIn voice message be?
Up to one minute, according to LinkedIn's help page. At 111 words a minute, the pace of the slowest conversation among 2,438 telephone calls in a 2006 University of Pennsylvania study, 90 words takes about 49 seconds. Aim for 60 to 90 words and time yourself before recording.
Can you send a voice message to someone you're not connected to on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn's help pages describe voice messages for 1st-degree connections and group chats only, and they don't mention voice in InMail or message requests. To send one to someone new, connect first and record your message once they accept the request.
Can you delete a LinkedIn voice message after sending it?
Yes, within 60 minutes. LinkedIn's edit and delete page says a deleted message is removed for all participants and can't be retrieved, and a note that the message was deleted appears in the conversation. Editing only works for text, so a voice message can't be changed, only deleted and recorded again.
Can you send a voice message in a LinkedIn group chat?
Yes. LinkedIn's voice messages help page says you can send them to your 1st-degree connections or in group chats, using the same steps: open the conversation in the mobile app, tap the microphone, then hold the large microphone icon to record and release it to send.
Why does a LinkedIn voice message ask me to log in?
A real LinkedIn voice message plays in the conversation when you tap the Play icon. Posters in two r/linkedin threads describe so-called voice messages that opened email or Outlook sign-in pages (commenters on one called it phishing), and LinkedIn says it will never ask for your password. Don't sign in; report the conversation instead.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: Send voice messages in LinkedIn Messaging (shown as updated 1 year ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: LinkedIn Messaging FAQ (shown as updated 2 years ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Send messages to connections on LinkedIn Messaging (shown as updated 4 weeks ago) (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: Attach files to messages on LinkedIn Messaging (shown as updated 3 months ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Send, receive, and manage message requests (shown as updated 2 years ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Blog: Voice Messaging on LinkedIn: Giving You More Ways to Have Conversations (26 Jul 2018)
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Control access to hardware features on iPhone (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Google Android Help: Change app permissions on your Android phone (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- Yuan, Liberman and Cieri: Towards an Integrated Understanding of Speaking Rate in Conversation (Interspeech 2006) (2006)
- LinkedIn Help: Phishing content (shown as updated 10 months ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Professional Community Policies (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Automated activity on LinkedIn (shown as updated 1 month ago) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- lemlist Help: Set account limits (updated 29 Oct 2026) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- r/linkedin thread: linkedin voice message (October 2022) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- r/linkedin thread: LinkedIn voice message doesn't work (February 2024) (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- r/coldemail thread: voice notes linkedin (August 2025) (checked 4 Nov 2026)