You can remove a connection from LinkedIn in two clicks, and they won't get a notification

To delete a connection on LinkedIn, go to your profile, open your connections list, find the person you want to remove, click the three dots next to their name, and select "Remove connection." The person will not receive a message telling them you removed them, though they may notice you're no longer in their network if they check.

LinkedIn doesn't send removal notifications because the platform treats connection removal as a private action. The person can still see your public profile if your settings allow it, and they can send you a new connection request whenever they want. Removing someone is different from blocking them — removal just ends the connection, while blocking prevents someone from seeing your profile or contacting you at all.

Key Takeaways

  • Open your connections list from your profile, search for the person's name, and click the three dots next to their profile to find the remove option.
  • The person you remove will not receive a notification, but they may notice the connection is gone if they look at their own connections list.
  • Removing a connection does not delete messages you've already exchanged — those remain in your message history unless you delete them separately.
  • If you want to prevent someone from contacting you or seeing your profile, use the block feature instead of just removing the connection.

Step-by-step process for removing a single connection

Start by going to your LinkedIn profile page. Click on "Connections" in the top navigation menu, or if you're on mobile, tap the menu icon and select "Connections." This opens your full connections list, which shows everyone you're currently connected to.

Search for the person's name using the search box at the top of your connections list. Once you find them, hover over their profile card (or tap it on mobile) and look for the three dots icon in the corner. Click or tap those dots to open a menu with options. Select "Remove connection" from that menu. LinkedIn will ask you to confirm — click "Remove" again to finish.

Removing multiple connections at once

LinkedIn does not have a built-in feature to remove many connections in a single action. If you need to remove dozens or hundreds of connections, you'll have to do it one at a time using the method above. This is intentional — LinkedIn makes bulk removal difficult to prevent accidental mass deletions.

If you're trying to clean up your network significantly, the fastest approach is to spend time on it over several days rather than trying to do it all at once. Open your connections list, sort by "Recently added" or search by company name or location to group similar connections together, then remove them in batches. This also gives you time to reconsider each removal rather than acting on impulse.

What happens to messages after you remove a connection

Removing someone from your connections does not delete your message history with them. Your past conversations stay in your LinkedIn messaging inbox, and you can still read what you discussed. However, you will no longer be able to send them new messages through LinkedIn unless you connect again.

If you want to delete a specific conversation entirely, open the message thread, click the three dots at the top, and select "Delete conversation." This removes the entire thread from your inbox, though the other person will still have their copy of the messages. Deleting a conversation is separate from removing the connection — you can do one without doing the other.

The difference between removing, blocking, and archiving

LinkedIn offers three different ways to manage connections you don't want to interact with, and they work differently. Removing a connection ends the relationship but leaves your public profile visible to them and allows them to send a new request. Blocking someone prevents them from seeing your profile, sending you messages, or finding you in search results — it's the strongest option. Archiving a conversation hides a message thread from your inbox without affecting the connection itself.

Use removal when you simply want to clean up your network or distance yourself from someone. Use blocking when someone is harassing you, contacting you repeatedly after you've declined to connect, or when you want to completely prevent them from accessing your profile. Archiving is just for organizing your messages and doesn't change your relationship with the person at all.

Why someone might not appear in your connections list

If you're looking for someone to remove but can't find them in your connections list, they may have already removed you, or the connection may have been deleted by LinkedIn. LinkedIn occasionally removes connections if it detects suspicious activity or if someone violates the platform's terms of service. You can also search for the person's name in the main search bar to see if they still have an active profile.

Another reason you might not find someone is if you're filtering your connections by location, company, or other criteria. Check that your filters are set to "All" before searching. If you still can't locate them and you're certain you were connected, try logging out and back in, as the connections list sometimes takes a moment to refresh.

Removing connections from LinkedIn on mobile

The process on the LinkedIn mobile app is nearly identical to the desktop version. Open the app, tap your profile picture at the top, select "Connections," and search for the person you want to remove. Tap their profile card, then tap the three dots icon and choose "Remove connection." Confirm the removal when prompted.

On both iPhone and Android, the mobile app sometimes loads your connections list more slowly than the desktop site, especially if you have hundreds of connections. If the search isn't working, try closing the app completely and reopening it. You can also use the mobile web version of LinkedIn (linkedin.com in your phone's browser) if the app is giving you trouble.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the person know I removed them?

No, LinkedIn does not send a notification when you remove someone. However, if they check their own connections list and notice you're gone, they'll know the connection was removed. They won't receive an alert about it, though.

Can I undo a removal and reconnect with someone?

Yes. Once you remove a connection, you can send them a new connection request at any time, just as if you'd never been connected. They can accept or decline the new request like any other. There's no waiting period or penalty for reconnecting.

What's the difference between removing someone and blocking them?

Removing just ends the connection — they can still see your public profile and send you a new request. Blocking prevents them from seeing your profile, messaging you, or finding you in search. Use blocking if someone is harassing you or you want complete separation.

Do removed connections still see my posts and updates?

That depends on your privacy settings. If your posts are set to "Public," anyone including removed connections can see them. If they're set to "Connections only," removed people cannot see them. Check your post privacy settings before removing someone if you want to control what they can access.

Can I remove someone without them seeing it in their activity feed?

Yes. Removing a connection is a private action that doesn't appear in anyone's activity feed. The only way they'd know is if they manually check their connections list and notice you're missing.