How do you remove a connection on LinkedIn?
Open their profile, click More and select Remove Connection. Every route below comes from LinkedIn's Remove a connection on LinkedIn help page (shown as last updated two years ago when we checked on 4 November 2026) and its View your connections page. Each step says which device it is for.
From their profile
Go to the connection's profile, click More or the More button in the introduction section, and select Remove Connection. LinkedIn says the status then changes to Connection Removed.
From your Connections page
Click the My Network icon at the top of your homepage, then the link under your profile name that shows how many connections you have (LinkedIn's example reads 465 connections). Click the More icon next to the person, click Remove connection, then click Remove in the pop-up.
In the LinkedIn app
Go to the person's profile, tap the More button or the More icon, tap Remove connection, then tap Remove connection again in the pop-up to confirm. The help page gives one set of mobile steps and doesn't separate iOS from Android.
In a phone browser
Tap My Network, tap [number] Connections near the upper left, tap the More icon next to Message, select Remove connection and confirm.
If the link under your name isn't there: the View your connections page gives another desktop route, My Network and then Connections on the left under Manage my network. In the app it is My Network, Manage my network, Connections, then the More icon next to the person's name.
If you can't find the person: LinkedIn says the connections list shows at most 100 pages or 1,000 results. In a bigger network, type their name into the Search by name bar, or sort by Recently added, First name or Last name.
What happens when you remove a LinkedIn connection?
The other person gets no alert, but more changes than your connection count. Each row below comes from LinkedIn's help centre, checked 4 November 2026.
| What changes | What LinkedIn's help pages say |
|---|---|
| Notification | They won't be notified (from the removal help page). |
| Degree | They are no longer a 1st-degree connection and won't appear in your Contacts section. |
| Endorsements and recommendations | Any between you are withdrawn, and they aren't restored if you connect again. |
| Your profile | LinkedIn's invitations page says 1st-degree connections get access to any information you've displayed on your profile. Removal ends that status. To stop them opening your profile on LinkedIn, block them. |
| Messages | The messaging help says you can only message your connections. Someone you aren't connected to can send InMail, which requires Premium, or a message request if you share a workplace or group. If you have Premium with Open Profile turned on, LinkedIn says other members can message you for free without InMail. |
| Following you | Anyone can follow you, even outside your network, unless you limit followers to your connections under Settings & Privacy, Visibility, Followers. |
| Inviting you again | LinkedIn's removal page doesn't say removal stops them inviting you again. Who can invite you is set under Settings & Privacy, Data privacy, Invitations to connect: Everyone on LinkedIn, people who know your email address or appear in your Imported Contacts, or only your Imported Contacts. |
Remove, unfollow, block or withdraw: which do you need?
Removing is often more than you need. Pick the row that matches the problem.
| You want to | Do this | The deciding fact (LinkedIn help, 4 Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Stop seeing their posts but stay connected | Unfollow: the More icon on one of their posts, then Unfollow [name] (the same on desktop and in the app) | You stay connected and they aren't notified. They do get a notification if you follow them again. |
| End the connection quietly | Remove connection, as above | No notification, but endorsements and recommendations between you go for good. |
| Stop all contact | Block on desktop: More below their profile picture, Report/Block, Block [name], then Block to confirm. In the app: the More icon at the top right of their profile, Report or Block (Report/Block on Android), Block [name], then Block in the pop-up | The block overview says it also ends the connection, stops messages and removes their endorsements and recommendations. In most cases they aren't told. They may still see your public profile. |
| Cancel a request they never answered | Withdraw it on desktop: My Network, then Show all (or Manage) in the Invitations section, then the Sent tab under Manage invitations. In the app: My Network, Invitations, then the Sent tab | They aren't notified, but you can't invite them again for up to three weeks, and you can't bulk withdraw. |
Our guide to seeing and withdrawing pending invitations covers the last row in detail.
Can you remove LinkedIn connections in bulk?
Not with any LinkedIn feature we found. The help pages give steps for one connection at a time, and none we checked on 4 November 2026 describes a bulk option. Browser extensions that promise one fall under LinkedIn's Prohibited software and extensions page, which says LinkedIn doesn't permit third-party software or extensions that "scrape, modify the appearance of, or automate activity on LinkedIn's website". It adds that members using them risk having accounts restricted or shut down. Our guide to what LinkedIn allows and what gets accounts restricted goes further.
Practitioner threads match. We read seven r/linkedin threads about removing connections, posted between August 2025 and October 2026; these are individual reports, not proof:
- In the three asking for a faster way, including an October 2026 post from a member with around 30,000 connections, nobody pointed to a built-in bulk option. Replies ranged from doing it by hand to starting a new profile or automating it, and one commenter warned that AI bots and non-approved tools can get an account restricted.
- Two commenters said LinkedIn restricted them while they removed connections in large numbers. One said their account was banned for a day; another, in a February 2026 thread, had removed over 2,000 in a couple of weeks and reported temporary restrictions every few days.
- In the three asking whether to remove people at all, replies ranged from one commenter who had dropped 60 to 70% of their contacts across social networks to people keeping everyone. Four commenters in one thread suggested muting or unfollowing instead; one put it as "Just mute. No reason to remove as a connection."
LinkedIn's help pages we checked publish no limit on removals. If you are restricted anyway, our guide to recovering a restricted LinkedIn account has the appeal steps.
Do you need to remove connections at all?
Usually not, unless you are close to LinkedIn's limit of 30,000 1st-degree connections. Its network size limit page says that once you reach 30,000, Follow becomes the default option on your profile and you can't send or accept new invitations unless you remove connections. One commenter in an August 2025 thread made the same point: below that limit, they saw no downside in keeping connections.
Worked example (sample numbers): Priya at Acme has 29,400 connections and about 40 new ones accepted each week.
- Slots left: 30,000 − 29,400 = 600.
- Weeks until the cap: 600 ÷ 40 = 15.
- Removing 200 dormant connections adds 200 ÷ 40 = 5 weeks, so 20 in total.
If you are far from the cap, cleaning up is about your feed and who sees your profile, and unfollowing handles the feed. For how many invitations to plan for each week, see our guide to LinkedIn's connection request limits.
What to check before you remove anyone
Five checks for a small team, in this order.
Export your connections first
LinkedIn's export steps, given for desktop: Me, Settings & Privacy, Data privacy, Get a copy of your data, then Download larger data archive and Request archive. A download link arrives at your primary email. You only get email addresses for connections who allow it. Our guide to exporting your LinkedIn connections has the details.
Check what they wrote for you
Look through the recommendations and endorsements on your profile. Removal withdraws anything between you, and reconnecting won't bring it back.
Unfollow if it's only the feed
If the problem is what you see, unfollow and stay connected. They aren't notified.
Note it in your CRM
Add one line, such as "Removed 4 Nov 2026: left the industry", so nobody on your team invites them again by accident.
Keep a note ready for mistakes
If you remove the wrong person, send a new invitation from their profile with a note. You can personalise up to three requests a month, at up to 200 characters each (Premium members get unlimited personalised invitations), per LinkedIn's invitation help.
For other situations, our 30 connection request templates include notes for people you have met before.
Frequently asked questions
Does LinkedIn notify someone when you remove them as a connection?
No. LinkedIn's help page says the person won't be notified. The change isn't invisible, though: you are no longer 1st-degree connections, and any recommendation or endorsement between you is withdrawn, which someone who checks may notice. If you want them to know, send a short message before you remove them, since you can't message them as a connection afterwards.
Can a removed connection still see my LinkedIn profile?
Yes, unless you block them. LinkedIn's removal page doesn't say removal hides your profile, though LinkedIn says 1st-degree connections see more of each other's profiles, so they may see less. To stop them opening your profile on LinkedIn, block them instead. Even then, LinkedIn says a blocked member may still see information you make public, such as your public profile and your public posts, so review your public profile settings too.
How do I reconnect with someone I removed by mistake?
Open their profile and send a new connection invitation, ideally with a short note explaining the slip. They have to accept it, as with any invitation. LinkedIn says endorsements and recommendations withdrawn when you removed them are not restored when you reconnect, so you would need to ask for a recommendation again.
Why can't I find the Remove connection option?
First check that you are actually connected. If they never accepted your invitation, there is nothing to remove: withdraw the invitation from the Sent tab under My Network instead. If you are connected, try the other route: the More menu on their profile or the More icon on your Connections page. In a large network the list stops at 1,000 results, so search by name.
Is there a limit on how many LinkedIn connections you can remove?
LinkedIn's help pages that we checked on 4 November 2026 don't give a number. Two commenters in r/linkedin threads said their accounts were restricted for a while after removing connections in large numbers, and LinkedIn bans extensions that automate activity on the site. If you clean up, do it by hand and spread it over several days; no pace is guaranteed to avoid a restriction.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: Remove a connection on LinkedIn (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: View your connections (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Accept, ignore, or report invitations as spam (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Send messages to connections on LinkedIn Messaging (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Manage who can follow you settings (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Select who can send you invitations and notification types you receive (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Follow or unfollow people (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Block or unblock a member (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Block a member, overview (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Withdraw an invitation (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Prohibited software and extensions (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Various ways to connect with people on LinkedIn (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Export connections from LinkedIn (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Personalize invitations to connect (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- r/linkedin: How can I identify and remove inactive connections in bulk? (20 October 2026)
- r/linkedin: Why it's so painful to remove members from your LinkedIn connections? (26 February 2026)
- r/linkedin: Should I remove connections I don't really know? (26 August 2025)
- r/linkedin: Removing connections that are no longer in your industry (10 August 2025)
- r/linkedin: Safe way to bulk-remove dormant connections? (29 April 2026)
- r/linkedin: Do you remove connections that don't respond to your messages? (24 April 2026)
- r/linkedin: If I remove a connection who messaged me, can they message me again? (6 March 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Network size limit (checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Manage your Open Profile settings as a Premium subscriber (checked 4 Nov 2026)