Let’s be honest. We’ve all done it. You’re in a networking groove, clicking "Connect" on every second person who pops up in your "People You May Know" feed because, hey, more is better, right? Then a year passes. Suddenly, your feed is a cluttered mess of sales pitches, weirdly aggressive political takes, or updates from a guy you met once at a conference in 2019 whose name you can’t even pronounce. You want them gone. But the anxiety kicks in—will they know? Does LinkedIn send a giant red notification saying you’ve dumped them?
Relax. They won’t get a ping.
Learning how do you remove a connection from LinkedIn is basically a digital hygiene requirement in 2026. Your network isn't a trophy case; it's a tool. If that tool is dull because it's bogged down by 5,000 people you don't actually know, it’s time to prune the hedges.
The Quick Way to Cut Ties
If you’re on a desktop, the fastest way to handle this is by going straight to the person's profile. You don't need to navigate through the labyrinth of your "My Network" tab unless you're planning a mass purge. Just search their name. Once you’re on their page, look for the More button near their profile picture. Click that, and a dropdown appears. You'll see "Remove Connection" sitting right there.
Click it. Confirm it. Done.
It feels a bit cold, doesn't it? Just a couple of clicks and a multi-year professional "relationship" evaporates into the ether. But here is the kicker: LinkedIn is designed for this. According to LinkedIn's own help documentation, the person you remove is not notified. The only way they’d ever find out is if they specifically go to your profile and notice the "Connect" button has reappeared where the "Message" button used to be. Most people aren't checking your profile that closely. They're too busy worrying about their own engagement metrics.
Doing It from the "My Network" Tab
Sometimes you don't want to visit a profile. Maybe you’re worried about showing up in their "Who’s Viewed Your Profile" list right before you ax them. I get it. That's awkward.
In that case, go to your My Network icon at the top of your homepage. On the left-rail menu, click Connections. This opens up your entire list. It’s sorted by "Recently Added" by default, which is actually super helpful if you just realized you added a bunch of bots by mistake. You can search within this list or just scroll. Next to each name is a set of three dots (...). Hit those, select Remove Connection, and you’re golden. No profile visit required. No digital footprint left behind.
Why Quality Over Quantity is a Real Strategy
There was a time, maybe ten years ago, where "LIONs" (LinkedIn Open Networkers) were the kings of the platform. They bragged about having 30,000 connections. It was a status symbol.
That era is dead.
Today, the LinkedIn algorithm is incredibly sensitive to relevance. If you have 10,000 connections but only 50 of them actually care about your industry, your posts are going to die in obscurity. When you share an update, LinkedIn shows it to a small sample of your network first. If they don't engage, the platform assumes your content is boring and stops showing it. By keeping people who aren't relevant to your career, you are actively hurting your own reach.
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Think about it this way. If you’re a software engineer in Austin, does it really help you to stay connected to 400 real estate agents in Florida? Probably not. When you're wondering how do you remove a connection from LinkedIn, you should also be asking why you're doing it. The goal is a high-signal, low-noise environment.
The "Follow" Alternative
Sometimes you don't want to unfriend someone, you just want them to shut up. We all have that one connection who posts ten times a day. They’re "hustling." They’re "grinding." They’re annoying.
You don't have to remove them to fix your feed.
Instead of removing the connection, you can simply Unfollow them. This is the "middle ground" of LinkedIn etiquette. You stay connected—meaning you can still send them direct messages and you're still "1st degree" in search—but their posts disappear from your home feed.
- Go to their profile.
- Click the Following button (it’s usually near the top).
- Select Unfollow.
They will never know. You keep the connection for "networking" purposes, but your mental health stays intact because you no longer have to see their 4:00 AM gym selfies.
Dealing with the "Who Viewed Your Profile" Problem
This is a valid concern. If you go to someone's profile to remove them, and you don't have Premium (or even if you do, depending on your settings), they might see that you visited. If you remove them five minutes later, they might put two and two together.
If you're feeling particularly stealthy, change your profile viewing options to Private Mode before you do the deed.
Go to Settings & Privacy -> Visibility -> Profile viewing options. Set it to "Private mode." Now you’re a ghost. You can navigate to their profile, remove the connection, and leave. Just remember to turn it back to "Public" later, otherwise, you won't be able to see who's looking at your profile either. It’s a bit of a hassle, but for those high-stakes removals—like an ex-boss or a former colleague you had a falling out with—it’s worth the extra thirty seconds.
What Happens to Recommendations and Endorsements?
This is where things get permanent. If you’ve exchanged recommendations with someone, those will vanish the moment you break the connection. All those nice words about your "synergy" and "proactive mindset"? Poof.
If they endorsed you for "Microsoft Excel" three years ago, that endorsement is gone too. This is the main reason people hesitate. However, if the person is someone you no longer trust or want to be associated with, why would you want their recommendation on your profile anyway? It’s a clean slate.
Interestingly, if you ever decide to reconnect with that person later (we’ve all had those "oh no, I actually need them" moments), the recommendations do not magically reappear. You’d have to ask for them all over again. Awkward? Extremely. So, think twice before you hit delete on someone who wrote you a glowing 300-word review.
Managing Your Network in the Long Term
If you're reading about how do you remove a connection from LinkedIn, you're likely at a stage where you're refining your professional brand. That's a good thing. A bloated network is a liability.
It's smart to do a "connection audit" once every six months.
Look for:
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- Accounts with no profile picture (likely abandoned).
- People who have changed industries entirely and no longer align with your goals.
- Recruiters from three jobs ago who keep tagging you in irrelevant roles.
- The "randoms" who added you without a personalized note and haven't interacted with you since.
Is There a Limit?
LinkedIn doesn't really cap how many people you can remove in a day, but don't go too crazy. If you try to remove 500 people in an hour using some kind of automated script or just clicking like a maniac, LinkedIn’s security bot might think you’ve been hacked. They might temporarily restrict your account. Keep your pruning sessions natural. Do twenty or thirty at a time, then go get a coffee.
Actionable Next Steps for a Cleaner Profile
- Check your pending invites: Before you even start removing people, look at who you've sent invites to that haven't responded. Go to My Network -> Manage -> Sent. If an invite has been sitting there for more than a month, withdraw it. It keeps your account looking "clean" to the algorithm.
- Toggle Private Mode: If you have to remove someone sensitive, go into your visibility settings first. Better safe than sorry.
- Use the "Connections" list for speed: Don't visit 50 profiles individually. Use the master list in the My Network tab to save yourself twenty minutes of loading screens.
- Evaluate your "Follow" list: You might be following companies or "Influencers" that are just cluttering your mind. Go to your network settings and prune those too.
- Update your own privacy: While you're in there, check who can see your connections list. If you don't want your competitors or strangers browsing your network, set "Who can see your connections" to Only you.
Managing your professional circle isn't about being mean. It’s about being intentional. Your time is finite, and your attention is the most valuable thing you have on the internet. Don't give it away to people who don't add value to your career or your day.