Does LinkedIn show who viewed your profile?
Yes, within two limits: your plan and the viewer's privacy setting. LinkedIn's Basic and Premium comparison, updated three months before our check on 4 November 2026, sets out the plan side:
| Feature | Basic (free) | Premium Career or Premium Business |
|---|---|---|
| Viewer list | Three most recent viewers in the last 90 days | Full list of viewers for up to 365 days |
| Date range | Last 90 days | 90 days by default, extendable to 365 |
| Filters (company, industry, interesting viewers) | Not available | Available |
| Weekly viewer trend graph | Not available | Available |
| Most recent and Most relevant tabs | Not available | Available |
The viewer side is on LinkedIn's visibility settings page. Each viewer appears in one of three ways: with name, headline, location and industry; as private profile characteristics such as a job title and industry (LinkedIn's examples include Someone at Accenture); or simply as LinkedIn Member, for people in full private mode. The private mode help page is blunt about that last group: "You can't block private mode viewers or make them reveal their names when viewing your profile."
One inconsistency to know before you pay: the comparison table lists insights for free accounts, such as where viewers work and their job titles, while LinkedIn's access page says viewer insights are only available to Premium subscribers. On a free account, plan around the three names.
Where can I see LinkedIn profile views?
On your own profile, in the Analytics section. These steps are from LinkedIn's Access Who’s viewed your profile page, updated six months before our check:
Open your profile
Click the Me icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage, then View Profile. Scroll down to the Analytics section and click [Number] profile views.
Use the app
Tap your profile picture, then tap your profile photo again to open your profile. Scroll down to Analytics and tap [Number] profile views.
Switch to search data
Use the Search and Profile tabs at the top of the Analytics page to move between Search appearances and Who viewed your profile.
If your menu looks different, LinkedIn's navigation update page, updated a week before our check, says it is gradually testing a single profile menu that holds your profile, Analytics, saved posts and settings, and that what you see may vary by device, region and language. LinkedIn adds that Who's viewed your profile may also show up in your feed.
To see which posts send people to your profile, our guide to how long LinkedIn content takes to bring in clients covers the post analytics worth logging each week.
Why can't I see who viewed my profile?
On a free account, check your own browsing setting first. LinkedIn's missing history page says a free account can't see Who's viewed your profile if you browse other profiles in semi-private or private mode. Work down this list:
| Cause | What LinkedIn’s help says | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your browsing mode, on a free account | You must choose Your name and headline to see your own viewer history | Change the setting (steps below) |
| No recent views | You won't see visitor data if you've had no profile views in the past 90 days | Post or comment this week, then check again |
| Viewer in private mode | Shown as LinkedIn Member, even to Premium accounts | Nothing; no plan reveals them |
| Viewer blocked later | They stay in the count, but their details aren't shown (blocking help) | Nothing |
| Short timeframe | Viewing timeframes may vary, and when possible LinkedIn tries to display at least three views over any timeframe | Check again after a few more views |
| Thin analytics on Premium Business | Full analytics need three or more unique viewers in the past seven days (appearances and views help) | Wait for more activity |
To change your setting on desktop: click the Me icon, select Settings & Privacy, click Visibility on the left, then under Visibility of your profile & network click Visibility when viewing other profiles and choose Your name and headline. In the app: tap your profile photo, tap Settings & Privacy, tap Visibility, then Visibility when viewing other profiles. Both save automatically, per the visibility settings page.
Will LinkedIn show someone I viewed their profile?
Yes, if you browse with Your name and headline and their plan and settings show them viewers. They then see your name, headline, location and industry; a free account lists only its three most recent viewers. LinkedIn's browsing mode page, updated three months before our check, describes the other two modes. Pick the one that fits the job:
| Your mode | What they see | Can you still see your own viewers? | Use it when (our suggestion) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your name and headline | Name, headline, location, industry | Yes, on free and Premium | Researching a prospect you plan to contact anyway; the view is a light first touch |
| Private profile characteristics | Details such as job title, company, school and industry, without your name | Not on free; yes on Premium | Looking at a competitor's team |
| Private mode | LinkedIn Member | Not on free; on Premium, the last 90 days | Checking someone before a meeting you don't want to signal |
Three edge cases from the help pages:
- Search suggestions count. Selecting someone's name in the search suggestions, by clicking it or pressing Enter while it's highlighted, opens their mini profile. LinkedIn treats that as a profile view that may send them a notification, depending on your settings.
- Appearing in your results is different. LinkedIn's help counts showing up in someone's search results as a profile appearance, which it keeps separate from profile views. Its Search Appearances page shows members how many people found them through search, with insights such as the searchers' top companies and job titles.
- Blocking afterwards. If you block someone after viewing them, you stay in their viewer count, but your details aren't shown.
We read three October 2026 threads on r/linkedin; in each, at least one reply contradicted the help pages or could only guess. In an October 2026 thread about viewing a profile and then blocking it (33 comments when we checked), one reply said the other person would need Premium to see the view; LinkedIn's comparison page says free accounts see their three most recent viewers. In another October thread, a reply said LinkedIn only sends emails about things such as connection requests, messages and job alerts, yet the visibility settings page tells members how to unsubscribe from emails about Who's Viewed Your Profile. And in a late October thread (38 comments) about a stranger viewing someone's profile every week, the top replies suggested browser autocomplete, an open tab, an automation tool or interest in working at the company. Those are commenters' views and prove nothing; still, they are a reason not to read much into one repeat viewer.
For the full steps to look without being seen, see our guide to viewing LinkedIn profiles anonymously.
Is LinkedIn Premium worth it to see who viewed your profile?
Only if you will act on the names. Both paid plans in the comparison table give up to 365 days of viewers, so the cheaper one covers it if viewers are all you want. Starting prices are from LinkedIn's Premium Career and Premium Business pages, which say pricing was last updated on 20 April 2026 (checked 4 Nov 2026; US dollars, estimates that may exclude tax):
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | Per month on annual (our arithmetic) | Viewer data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (free) | US$0 | US$0 | US$0 | Three most recent viewers, last 90 days |
| Premium Career | US$39.99 | US$239.88 | US$19.99 | Viewers, trends and insights for the past 365 days, plus private browsing that still shows your last 90 days of viewers |
| Premium Business | US$69.99 | US$539.88 | US$44.99 | Up to 365 days of viewer data; LinkedIn lists behaviour insights such as time spent on your profile for Premium Business only |
The arithmetic: US$239.88 ÷ 12 = US$19.99 and US$539.88 ÷ 12 = US$44.99. Paying monthly for a year costs 12 × US$39.99 = US$479.88 for Career and 12 × US$69.99 = US$839.88 for Business. One FAQ answer on the Premium Business page still says viewers over the past 90 days; its feature list and the help pages say up to 365.
A worked example, with numbers that are only an example: a founder's profile gets 60 views a quarter, and 12 come from people who fit the customer profile. Premium Career billed monthly for that quarter costs 3 × US$39.99 = US$119.97, or about US$10.00 per fitting viewer (US$119.97 ÷ 12). On annual billing, with 48 fitting viewers a year, it is US$239.88 ÷ 48, about US$5.00 each. If only two of the 60 fit, the same quarter costs about US$60 per fitting viewer, and the free list may be enough.
Because the free list is always the three most recent viewers, checking it twice a week shows more names than checking once a month. That is our reading of the help page, not a LinkedIn promise.
The Premium Business page also says subscribers have 13x more profile views on average (LinkedIn data, March 2026). It doesn't say compared with whom, so treat it as LinkedIn's sales claim. LinkedIn's help pages advertise a free trial for eligible members; if you get one, count your fitting viewers during the trial before you pay. Our guide to LinkedIn Premium for small business weighs the other paid features, such as InMail credits.
What should a founder do with profile viewers?
Treat a viewer who fits your customer profile as a warm lead and let the rest go. Here is a 10-minute routine, twice a week (our suggestion):
Sort the list
Mark each viewer as buyer, peer, recruiter or unknown. On Premium, LinkedIn's viewer insights page says you can see how viewers found you, such as search or the feed, and which sections of your profile matched their search keywords.
Check the context
Open each buyer's profile and recent posts with Your name and headline switched on, so your visit shows too. The same page notes that messages or InMail may be available, depending on the viewer's profile settings.
Send one note
Connect with a note about their work and leave the view out of it. LinkedIn's invitation help says you can add a note to up to three connection requests a month, each up to 200 characters, and that Premium members can personalise all their invitations.
For more openers, see our 30 LinkedIn connection request templates.
Profile viewers are only one signal, and you can't choose who shows up. Siela's Lead Finder looks for other reasons to reach out now, such as people asking how to solve the problem you solve, hiring for the work you automate or engaging with a competitor, and scores each lead hot, warm or cold with a one-line reason. You can see how Lead Finder picks leads on its page.
Frequently asked questions
Can you see who viewed your LinkedIn profile without Premium?
Yes, a few of them. A free account lists the three most recent people who viewed you in the last 90 days, as long as you browse other profiles with your name and headline showing. Switch to private or semi-private browsing on a free account and LinkedIn hides your own list as well. Paying for Premium Career or Business stretches the history to up to a year.
Does LinkedIn count views if I don't have a LinkedIn account?
The LinkedIn help pages we checked on 4 November 2026 don't say whether signed-out visits to a public profile are counted. All three ways a viewer can appear, by name, by private characteristics or as LinkedIn Member, describe members. LinkedIn also says people who aren't members may be asked to sign up or sign in before they can see parts of a public profile.
What happens if I search for someone on LinkedIn but don't click on their profile?
You show up in their search appearance numbers, which LinkedIn counts apart from profile views, and they can see insights such as the top companies and job titles of people who searched for them. Take care with the dropdown of suggestions as you type: picking a name there opens a mini profile, which counts as a view and may notify them.
Who is LinkedIn Member in my list of profile viewers?
Someone who looked at your profile in full private mode. No plan reveals who they are, and LinkedIn says you can't block private mode viewers. If instead you see a description with no name or photo, such as a job title at a company, that person browsed in semi-private mode, which shows profile characteristics but not a name.
Does LinkedIn send an email when someone views my profile?
LinkedIn does send emails about Who's Viewed Your Profile: its visibility help page says to click Unsubscribe in the email footer to stop them. The pages we read don't say how often they arrive. A view can also trigger a notification, depending on the viewer's settings, and opening a mini profile from search suggestions counts as a view.
Sources
- LinkedIn Help: Who’s viewed your profile differences between basic accounts and Premium accounts (updated 3 months before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Access Who's viewed your profile (updated 6 months before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Missing Who's viewed your profile history (updated 6 months before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Private mode viewers of profiles (updated 3 years before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Browse profiles in private and semi-private mode (updated 3 months before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Premium subscriber insights for Who’s viewed your profile (updated 3 months before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Who's viewed your profile visibility settings (updated 1 month before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Differences between profile appearances and profile views (updated 5 days before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Updates to LinkedIn navigation (updated 1 week before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: View your profile Search Appearances (updated 7 months before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Control your public LinkedIn profile (updated 1 month before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Block a member - overview (updated 2 years before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Help: Personalize invitations to connect (updated 6 months before check; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Premium Business: features, pricing and FAQ (pricing last updated 20 April 2026; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- LinkedIn Premium Career: features, pricing and FAQ (pricing last updated 20 April 2026; checked 4 Nov 2026)
- r/linkedin: Viewed linkedin profile then blocked (12 October 2026)
- r/linkedin: Does LinkedIn automatically send out emails every time someone looks at your profile? (5 October 2026)
- r/linkedin: Someone I've never met keeps viewing my linkedin profile every week (29 October 2026)