Blocking on LinkedIn is deliberately quiet: the platform does not alert the other person, and the change removes the connection, their profile visibility, and their ability to contact you without announcing what happened.
When does blocking someone on LinkedIn make sense?
Examples where blocking is the right tool:
- A member sends unwanted or harassing messages.
- Someone uses multiple or fake profiles to contact you.
- A current or former colleague makes you uncomfortable through the platform.
- A competitor or unknown member keeps circling your profile without any professional context.
- A contact repeatedly ignores a boundary you set.
For one-off unsolicited InMail, reporting is usually enough. For persistent problematic contact, blocking is the more decisive step. LinkedIn also lets you report a profile that appears to be fake, harassing, or soliciting in ways that violate the platform’s professional-community reporting rules. Reporting and blocking together can be stronger for repeat contact, because reporting also flags the account for review while blocking cuts off direct visibility.
Does blocking remove recommendations and network visibility?
Yes, on top of the direct visibility changes, blocking also prunes indirect appearance paths. After you block someone:
- That member’s name will not appear as a shared connection on other profiles you view.
- Their posts and comments will not surface in your feed or in search suggestions.
- You will not appear in their “People also viewed” or recommendation lists.
The pruning is one-directional and only cuts off paths through the block. You may still come across that member’s public posts through a reshared link or a LinkedIn Newsletter, so blocking is not a total visibility lock. If you need it, also consider adjusting your ad-blocking-bolstered browser privacy while conducting LinkedIn searches, so tracking pixels on the site see less of your cross-site profile.
How do you block someone from desktop?
- Log in to LinkedIn in your browser.
- Navigate to the profile of the member you want to block.
- Click the More button next to their photo or headline.
- Select Block or report.
- Click Block [name] and confirm the block.
After blocking, the connection is removed. The blocked member can no longer view your profile or send you messages. Past messages remain visible in your inbox, but they cannot reply.
For other email and platform workflows, the same platform-level blocking pattern appears in how to block emails on Gmail and how to block someone on Gmail.
How do you block someone from the LinkedIn mobile app (iOS and Android)?
- Open the LinkedIn app and sign in.
- Search for the profile or open it from your network.
- Tap the More button near the top of the profile.
- Select Report or block.
- Tap Block [name] and confirm.
How do you block someone from the mobile browser?
- Open LinkedIn in your mobile browser.
- Open the profile you want to block.
- Tap the More button.
- Select Block or report and confirm.
If you have chatted with the person and would rather not visit their profile, open the conversation from your Messages section, tap the three dots at the top, and choose Block from there. This path works both in the desktop messages view and the mobile app.
What happens after you block someone?
- The member can no longer view your profile, posts, recommendations, or network information.
- You can no longer view their profile while the block remains in place.
- Any existing between-you connection is removed.
- The blocked member cannot send you InMail or connection requests.
- Past messages stay visible but cannot be replied to.
- The member is not notified directly; they may notice only if they search for you and cannot find your profile.
How do you unblock a member on LinkedIn?
- Click your profile photo and select Settings & privacy.
- Go to the Visibility section.
- Scroll down to Blocked and open the list.
- Find the member and click Unblock next to their name.
After unblocking, they can view your profile and contact you again, but the connection does not re-form automatically — you would need to re-invite or accept as you would with someone new. Compare other platform workflows at how to block someone on Gmail.