Security settings you need on LinkedIn if your work is sensitive

If you work in sensitive fields like non profits, healthcare, finance or law enforcement, or your clients are vulnerable or targeted, your LinkedIn shouldn't be publicly searchable. You wouldn't let just anyone off the street into your office to meet your employees. So why let one Google search reveal everything about your staff on LinkedIn?

We've seen bad actors use LinkedIn data for social engineering, targeted phishing, even physical security threats. The good news: LinkedIn provides privacy settings to suppress your profile from search engines. The bad news? Their privacy settings are a wall of confusing buttons. Here's the exact path through the maze.

Note: These instructions are current as of November 2025. LinkedIn frequently updates their interface and settings menus - if something looks different, the core settings should still exist but may have moved.

Turn Off Google Indexing in One Step: Disable Public Profile

Settings & Privacy > Visibility > Edit your public profile

Or go to this link: https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings

Find "Edit visibility" and switch it OFF completely. Not "limited", OFF.

This blocks non-LinkedIn members and search engines from seeing your profile. People logged into LinkedIn can still find you through internal search, you're only blocking Google searches and data scrapers.

Timeline for Google To Refresh Results

• Week 1-3: Google still shows cached results

• Week 3-12: Google rescans LinkedIn, your result disappears from Google

Speed it up by submit your LinkedIn URL to Google's content removal tool.

Verify It Worked

You can use Kanary to run a scan to make sure it worked. Or you can do it yourself:

• Google: "your name" site:linkedin.com

• Google: "your name" LinkedIn

• Google: "your name" + "your employer"

Still showing? The settings didn't stick. Double-check or reach out to our team for help.

Old Posts And Comments

Even with these settings OFF, old LinkedIn group posts and public comments can still appear in Google. Review your activity history and delete anything sensitive. If you've decided that policing each comment and post is too much, there's always the option to fully delete your account.

The Bottom Line

Kanary removes you from hundreds of data broker sites, but LinkedIn requires you to flip the switch on your account. These settings don't make you invisible on LinkedIn, colleagues and recruiters can still find you when logged in. They just stop random strangers from Googling your entire work history.

For organizations protecting sensitive personnel, this should be mandatory for all staff profiles.

Takes 5 minutes and protects your work from public searches. To continue locking down your LinkedIn, continue reading our guide for limiting data sharing with advertisers and 3rd parties.

Coming Soon: Automated LinkedIn Privacy

Tired of manually hunting through privacy settings? Kanary Copilot will soon add LinkedIn as a monitored source. Automatically detect and fix risky privacy settings with one tap. No more clicking through confusing menus.

Download Kanary Copilot for iOS or Android for FREE and be first to know when LinkedIn automation launches.

💛 Team Kanary

[email protected]