How to Block Someone On LinkedIn—and Why It’s OK to Do It

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve sent one of my friends a screenshot of or link to a social media post or comment with the message, “This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen on the internet.” I’ve even done it more than once in the same day. 

Whether you favor (or find yourself inexplicably drawn to) Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, or whatever alternative platform people are threatening to leave for this week, I don’t have to tell you that social media can be a cesspool. While it can help create communities, spread valuable information, and give platforms to people who wouldn’t otherwise have them, it can also be a hunting ground for scam artists, spam artists, MLMers, hustle culture bros, Elon Musk fanboys, bullies, and full-blown harassers and predators.

You might think (or hope) that LinkedIn—as the “professional” social platform—might be immune to the behaviors that plague other sites. But unfortunately you’d be wrong.

And that’s why we have the block function. But blocking someone may come with more questions on LinkedIn than it does other social media platforms: Is it unprofessional? Will they know? And perhaps most importantly, how do you do it?

To block someone on LinkedIn:

1. Go to their profile.
2. Under their name, next to the “Message” button, click on “More.” (If you’re on the LinkedIn App, you’ll see a button with three dots instead of one that says “More.” The rest of the directions are the same.)
3. Select “Report or block” from the menu that appears.
4. Choose “Block [First Name]” on the pop-up that appears.
5. Click “Block” one more time to confirm that you want to block this person.

It’s as easy as that! Just ask my manager, who I accidentally blocked while testing the instructions for this article.

Yes.

Fine, I’ll elaborate more. If someone is bothering you or making you feel uncomfortable on any social media platform, you can block them to keep them from engaging with you. LinkedIn’s status as a “professional” platform doesn’t change that. Just because they may be a potential network connection or even a coworker doesn’t make it unprofessional to put up this boundary (though if it is a coworker, please also go to HR, your manager, or a trusted mentor if you’re able to!).

You can block (and, if applicable, report) someone on LinkedIn if, for example:

• Their messages, posts, or other content contains hate speech, insults, sexually suggestive comments, or literally anything else that makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Their messages, posts, or other contents promote a toxic mindset around work—or anything else—that you’d rather not see.
• Their “requests” for career or job search help feel pushy or wildly out of proportion with your relationship. (No, I do not review people’s resumes for free.)
• Their likes and replies introduce unwanted content onto your feed. (In this case and others you might consider unfollowing or removing them as a connection instead—which still allows you to view each other’s profiles—but it’s still your prerogative to block them.)
• They’re rude, unprofessional, or overly familiar with you.
• They post too much for your liking.
• They spread misinformation.
• They use their status as your network connection without permission. (For example, saying you referred them for a job when you didn’t.)
• They’re sending you repeated messages and you’re not interested.
• They’re trying to use LinkedIn as a dating site. (Unfortunately, it does happen.)
• They might be promoting a scam.
• They or someone they’re connected with has made you feel uncomfortable or unsafe on another platform or in real life.
• They make you feel creeped out or uncomfortable—even if you’re not sure why.
• You want to.

Blocking somebody on LinkedIn means:

• You won’t be able to access each other’s profiles, see the content the other posts on your newsfeed (unless set to “Public” and shared by someone else), or message each other.
• You’ll be removed from each other’s “Who’s viewed your profile.”
• You won’t be connected anymore (if you were before).
• Any recommendations or endorsements you gave each other will be removed.
• You won’t receive notifications about them or their events.
• They won’t be suggested to you on other site features (like “People you may know”).
• You won’t be able to join any audio events where they’re the host or a designated speaker.

But blocking someone on LinkedIn does NOT:

• Keep you from seeing each other’s content if a mutual connection shares it.
• Prohibit the other person from seeing any information, posts, or comments you’ve set as “public.”

You can adjust your privacy settings under your account settings or for individual posts if you want to make sure only your connections can see them.

In general, LinkedIn will not notify someone if you block them. However, if you share a LinkedIn Recruiter account with the user you blocked or have shared one in the past, LinkedIn states that they “reserve the right to notify this member of your block.”

Keep in mind that just because LinkedIn won’t notify the person, that doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t notice that they can no longer access your profile, send you messages, or view endorsements and recommendations you’ve given each other.

Yes. If you block someone by accident (my aforementioned manager, for example) or for whatever reason you’d like to undo the block, it’s super easy:

1. Click on “Me” in the top right corner of any LinkedIn page.
2. Select “Settings & Privacy.”
3. Choose “Visibility” on the right rail.
4. Select “Blocking” under “Visibility of your profile & network.”
5. Click “Unblock” next to the person’s name.

Note that after unblocking someone on LinkedIn you can’t reblock them for 48 hours.

Unfortunately, you can’t currently block someone on LinkedIn without going to their profile first. After you’ve made the block, you will be removed from their “Who’s viewed your profile” list. But if you still don’t feel comfortable navigating to their page, you can set yourself to “Private Mode” before viewing their profile.

Here’s how:

1. Click on “Me” in the top right corner of any page.
2. Choose “Settings & Privacy.”
3. Select “Visibility” on the left-hand menu.
4. Under “Visibility of your profile & network,” click “Profile viewing options.”
5. Click on “Private mode.”
6. From there, follow the instructions for blocking a user above.