How to Delete a Connection on LinkedIn

LinkedIn connections accumulate over time — former colleagues, people you met once at a conference, contacts you added years ago who no longer make sense in your network. Removing a connection is straightforward, but the process varies slightly depending on where you are on the platform and which device you're using. Here's exactly how it works.

What Happens When You Remove a LinkedIn Connection

Before diving into the steps, it's worth understanding what deletion actually does. When you remove a connection on LinkedIn:

• The person is removed from your connections list, and you're removed from theirs
• They are not notified that you've removed them
• Any messages you've exchanged remain in both inboxes
• If they previously endorsed your skills or written a recommendation, those remain unless manually removed
• You lose the ability to message them for free (unless one of you has a Premium account or you share a group)

This is different from blocking, which prevents them from viewing your profile or contacting you entirely. Removing a connection is a quieter, less permanent action.

How to Delete a LinkedIn Connection on Desktop

The most straightforward method goes through the person's profile directly.

Step 1: Navigate to the profile of the person you want to remove. You can search their name in the LinkedIn search bar.

Step 2: Click the "More" button (three dots or the word "More") near their profile header — it sits alongside the "Message" button.

Step 3: From the dropdown menu, select "Remove connection."

Step 4: Confirm the removal when prompted.

Alternatively, you can manage connections in bulk through your connections list:

1. Go to My Network in the top navigation bar
2. Click "Connections" on the left sidebar
3. Find the connection you want to remove
4. Click the three-dot menu next to their name
5. Select "Remove connection"

The bulk approach is useful when you're doing a general cleanup rather than removing one specific person.

How to Delete a LinkedIn Connection on Mobile 📱

The LinkedIn mobile app (iOS and Android) follows a similar logic but the interface is slightly different.

From the person's profile:

1. Open the LinkedIn app and search for the person's name
2. Tap their profile to open it
3. Tap the "More" (⋯) button near the top of their profile
4. Select "Remove connection"
5. Confirm when asked

From your connections list on mobile:

1. Tap "My Network" at the bottom of the screen
2. Tap "Connections"
3. Find the person and tap the three-dot icon next to their name
4. Select "Remove connection"

One thing to note: LinkedIn's mobile app interface updates regularly, so the exact label or icon placement may shift between app versions. If you don't see the option immediately, look for a "Manage" or "More options" button — the function is always there, sometimes under a slightly different label.

Removing vs. Blocking: Understanding the Difference

Unfollowing is a third option worth knowing about — it keeps the connection intact so they can still message you, but removes their posts from your feed. This is useful when you want to maintain the professional relationship without the content noise.

Can You Re-Connect After Removing Someone?

Yes. Removing a connection doesn't permanently close the door. Either person can send a new connection request afterward. However, LinkedIn doesn't retain any record of the previous connection from the other person's perspective — to them, it simply looks like a new request.

One caveat: if someone notices they're no longer in your network and sends a request, accepting it starts the connection fresh. There's no "history" of the prior connection displayed to either party.

Factors That Affect How You Approach This 🤔

Deciding how to remove a connection is simple — the steps above cover it. But deciding who to remove and why involves more nuance, and that depends heavily on your own LinkedIn strategy.

Some users treat LinkedIn as a tight, curated network of people they've worked with directly. For them, removing outdated or irrelevant connections regularly keeps their network signal-to-noise ratio high — which can also affect how LinkedIn's algorithm surfaces their content and who appears in searches.

Others use LinkedIn as a broad professional directory, where having more connections (especially 2nd-degree ones) expands visibility. For these users, removing connections might feel counterproductive unless someone is actively disruptive.

Account type also matters. Free LinkedIn accounts have limited InMail access, so removing a connection means losing a free messaging channel. LinkedIn Premium users are less affected by this since they have InMail credits regardless of connection status.

Your industry and role play into this too. In tight-knit industries where everyone knows everyone, quietly removing a connection can sometimes be noticed indirectly — someone may realize you're no longer a 1st-degree contact when they try to message you or see your profile appear differently in search results.

The mechanics of deleting a LinkedIn connection are universal. What makes the right call genuinely different from person to person is how you're using LinkedIn, what your network means to your professional life, and what you're trying to protect or preserve by removing someone.