How to Block Someone on LinkedIn Without Them Knowing
Yes, you can block someone on LinkedIn without them being notified. The key is to enable private mode before you visit their profile, so no profile view notification is triggered before the block goes through.
Here is how to do it properly.
How to block someone on LinkedIn without them seeing you viewed their profile
The reason most people hesitate to block someone is this: LinkedIn notifies users when you view their profile. If you visit someone’s profile and then block them, they may see the view notification before the block takes effect.
The fix is very simple. Switch to private mode first.
Step 1: Enable private mode
- Click the “Me” icon at the top right of your LinkedIn homepage
- Select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Visibility” in the left sidebar
- Click “Profile viewing options”
- Select “Private mode”
Once in private mode, your profile visit will show as “LinkedIn Member — This person is viewing profiles in private mode.” Your name will not appear.
Step 2: Find their profile and block them
- Search for the person using LinkedIn’s search bar
- Go to their profile
- Click the “More” button (three dots) near their profile picture
- Select “Report/Block”
- Choose “Block [their name]”
- Confirm
They will not receive a notification that they have been blocked.
After blocking, you can switch back to your normal viewing mode if you want.
The cleanest method: block from a message thread
If you have had any conversation with the person, this is the only way to block them with zero profile view risk. You never visit their profile at all.
- Open LinkedIn messaging
- Find the conversation thread with that person
- Click the three-dot menu icon inside the conversation
- Select the option to block the member
- Confirm
That is it. No profile visit, no notification, no trail.
Does LinkedIn notify the person you blocked them?
No. LinkedIn does not send any notification when you block someone, in most cases.
However, they may notice indirectly. There is no alert, but there are signs an observant person could piece together:
- Your profile becomes invisible. If they search for you, your profile will not appear. They may assume you deactivated your account.
- The message thread disappears from their inbox. If you were in an active conversation, the entire thread is gone from their end.
- You are no longer in their connections list. If you were connected, you simply vanish from it.
- Your posts and comments disappear from their feed.
Most people will not notice any of this unless they go looking. The system is designed to be quiet.
What happens after you block someone
Here is the full picture, per LinkedIn’s official documentation:
- You cannot access each other’s profiles
- You cannot message each other
- You cannot see each other’s posts or shared content
- If you were connected, you are no longer connected
- Endorsements and recommendations from that person are withdrawn
- You will not see each other in “Who Viewed Your Profile”
- If they were subscribed to your LinkedIn Newsletter, they are automatically unsubscribed
- LinkedIn stops suggesting you to each other in People You May Know
One thing most people do not realise: the block is not a complete invisibility shield. A blocked member can still see your public profile (the version visible to non-logged-in users), your posts in open LinkedIn groups, and your public comments. If your profile is set to fully public, they can still find you via Google or a direct URL.
If that matters to you, review your public profile settings separately.
Group membership: the complication nobody mentions
This is the part that catches people out, especially when blocking a boss or a colleague.
If you share LinkedIn groups with the person you want to block, the block will not work properly across those groups. According to LinkedIn’s official documentation, you need to leave any shared groups, or remove that person from groups you manage, before the block takes full effect.
If you are a group member and want to block the group admin or manager, you need to leave the group first. You cannot block an admin while you are still a member of their group.
If you and your boss share a dozen industry groups, the block alone will not fully remove their visibility into your activity within those spaces.
Block vs unfollow vs remove: which one you actually need
These are three different actions with very different consequences.
| Block | Unfollow | Remove connection | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Are you still connected? | No | Yes | No |
| Are they notified? | No | No | No |
| Can they see your profile? | No (public content only) | Yes | Depends on your settings |
| Can they message you? | No | Yes | No (unless in shared group) |
| Endorsements withdrawn? | Yes | No | Yes |
| Posts visible in your feed? | No | No | No |
Use block when you want no contact and no visibility between you, or when safety or harassment is a concern.
Use unfollow when you want to stop seeing someone’s posts but the professional relationship still matters and you do not want to cause friction. Your boss posting daily motivational quotes is a good unfollow situation, not a block situation.
Use remove connection when the relationship has simply run its course and you want to quietly clean up your network without the severity of a block. You can remove a connection on LinkedIn without them being notified, and the steps are slightly different from blocking. Keeping your network clean also helps you stay within LinkedIn connection limits as your connections grow.
How to unblock someone on LinkedIn
Blocking is reversible. Here is how to undo it:
- Click the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage
- Select “Settings & Privacy”
- Click “Visibility”
- Select “Blocking”
- Find the person’s name in your blocked list
- Click “Unblock”
One important detail: after unblocking someone, you cannot re-block them for 48 hours. LinkedIn builds in this waiting period deliberately. If you unblock someone by accident, you will need to wait two days before you can block them again. Keep that in mind before you undo it.
Unblocking does not restore your connection. If you were connected before the block, you would need to send a new connection request to reconnect.
Trying to hide your “Open to Work” status from your boss? Do this instead
If you are searching for this article specifically because you want to hide your job search from a current employer, blocking may not be the right move.
There is a cleaner solution: set your “Open to Work” status to “Recruiters only.” Before taking any action, use our post date extractor to check how recently they have been active on LinkedIn.
When you choose this setting, the green “Open to Work” banner is removed from your profile picture entirely. Your status becomes invisible to everyone except recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter, which your boss almost certainly is not.
To change it: go to your profile, click “Open to” near your profile photo, select “Finding a new job,” and under “Who can see you’re open,” choose “Recruiters only.”
This removes the visibility problem entirely without you having to block anyone, switch to private mode, or raise any suspicion. It is the better option in almost every case where a current employer is the concern.
FAQs
What happens to our conversation history after I block someone?
The message thread disappears from their LinkedIn inbox entirely. You will retain your copy, but they will no longer be able to see the conversation. If you want to confirm whether they read your last message before the block, check how message read receipts work.
What should I do about group memberships before blocking a colleague?
If you share LinkedIn groups with the person, the block will not fully take effect across those groups. You need to leave any shared groups you are a member of, or remove them from groups you manage, before the block works completely.
Will blocking someone remove my endorsements and recommendations from them?
Yes. Any endorsements and recommendations exchanged between you will be withdrawn when you block someone.