⚠️ WARNING: LinkedIn is permanently closing accounts for automation and shared logins.

Use this step-by-step guide to protect yours.

Every week, I hear from peers and sales professionals who received the same irreversible message: their LinkedIn account was shut down permanently. In almost every case, the root cause is one of two things: someone else was logging into their account, or an extension or tool was automating activity or scraping data.

If you value your network, your reputation, and your pipeline, treat this as a red alert.

Below is a direct and complete checklist. Follow it today. Repeat it monthly.

Step 1: Stop risky behavior now

1. Do not let anyone log into your account. Agencies, VAs, friends, and tools that require your credentials put you at immediate risk.

2. Do not use automation. If a tool connects, messages, views, follows, likes, comments, or scrapes on your behalf, it violates LinkedIn rules.

3. Do not share two-factor codes. Never hand over 2FA tokens or recovery codes. Treat them like your bank PIN.

4. Use a unique password. Change it now if you have ever shared it or reused it on other sites.
   

Step 2: Export your data monthly

If the worst happens, your archive may be the only record of your relationships and content.

1. Log in on a desktop browser.

2. Click your profile picture and select Me.

3. Choose Settings & Privacy.

4. In the left sidebar, click Data privacy.

5. Under How LinkedIn uses your data, click Get a copy of your data.

6. Select Download larger data archive to include posts, messages, and activity.

7. Click Request archive and enter your password.

8. Watch your email for the download link.

9. Download and extract the ZIP file and store it securely.
   

Pro tip: Calendar a monthly reminder to repeat this export.

Step 3: Inventory your browser extensions

Many permanent closures trace back to “helper” extensions that quietly scrape or automate.

1. Open your extension list.

   • Chrome: type chrome://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.

   • Edge: type edge://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.

2. Disable everything that mentions LinkedIn, lead extraction, automation, growth, or scraping.

3. Click Details on anything you are unsure about and review:

   • Permissions. If it can “read and change your data on all sites” or on linkedin.com, treat it as a serious risk.

   • Description and marketing language. If it promises auto-connects, auto-messages, scraping, or “AI engagement,” remove it.

Step 4: Evaluate against LinkedIn’s User Agreement

Section 8.2 prohibits the behaviors that most risky tools rely on. You are not allowed to:

• Develop, support, or use software, scripts, robots, browser plug-ins, or crawlers to scrape or copy profiles or other data.

• Use bots or other automated methods to access the services, add or download contacts, send or redirect messages, or drive engagement.

• Overlay or modify the interface or appearance of LinkedIn’s services.

• Override security features or bypass usage limits.

Violations can lead to permanent closure without appeal. Detection improves continuously and retroactively.

Step 5: Lock down your account security

1. Turn on two-step verification in Settings & Privacy under Sign in & security. Prefer an authenticator app over SMS.

2. Review “Where you’re signed in” and sign out of sessions you do not recognize.

3. Review “Permitted services” and revoke access for apps you do not need.

4. Change your password if you removed any risky tool or previously shared access.

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Step 6: If you used a violating tool, act immediately

1. Uninstall the extension or software. Do not simply disable it.

2. Change your LinkedIn password and your email password.

3. Remove all active sessions and re-authenticate only your own devices.

4. Monitor for warnings or temporary restrictions and follow instructions exactly.

5. If your account is restricted and you cannot access it, use LinkedIn’s official appeal path:
   👉 LinkedIn Account Restriction Appeal

Step 7: Replace automation with safe, compliant workflows

You do not need risky tools to be effective on LinkedIn.

• Use legitimate features. Sales Navigator saved leads, alerts, Smart Links, and CRM integrations are designed for scale without breaking rules.

• Template your process, not your clicks. Build message templates and research checklists. Execute them manually so every action is authentic.

• Schedule your consistency. Block 30 to 45 minutes daily for engagement with targeted lists. Quality and repetition outperform automation over time.

• Track real ROI. Measure connections that fit your ICP, conversations started, meetings booked, referrals earned, and closed revenue influenced by LinkedIn.

Step 8: Educate your team and vendors

1. Put this policy in writing. No shared logins. No automation. No scraping.

2. Train anyone who touches your brand on LinkedIn. Require a quarterly security and compliance review.

3. Update contracts with agencies and VAs. Prohibit account access and prohibited tools. Require compliance and indemnification.

Step 9: Make this routine

The goal is to prevent problems, not to react to them.

• Monthly: export your data, review extensions, and confirm 2FA is active.
  

• Quarterly: review permissions, connected apps, and active sessions.
  

• Ongoing: if it automates or scrapes, you do not use it.
  

Quick reference checklist

• Stop all shared logins and automation.

• Turn on two-step verification.

• Export your full data archive monthly.

• Remove extensions that read or change data on linkedin.com.

• Use Chrome’s Task Manager or Developer Tools to spot hidden background activity.

• Revoke unnecessary app permissions and sign out of unknown sessions.

• If restricted, remove tools and use the official appeal link above.

• Replace automation with compliant processes that you execute manually.

• Train your team and codify these rules.

This is a warning. Accounts are being shut down permanently. Detection is behavioral, and it is getting better. Shortcuts feel efficient until they erase your professional lifeline.

Protect your data, clean your environment, and commit to authentic, human activity on LinkedIn. By following these steps and making them a habit, you will significantly reduce your risk and keep the asset you worked so hard to build.