(NOTE: It seems LinkedIn does sometimes listen to it’s users. LinkedIn have now reinstated the connections export function. We’ve written a new article explaining exactly how to export your connections here)
LinkedIn have a habit of tinkering with the platform features without warning. On July 22nd, LinkedIn’s Connections data export function, (the only download option that LinkedIn offered), was withdrawn from all users’ accounts.
I only found out through the smallest of small-print notices where the ‘Connections Download’ option used to be.
All is not lost (for now at least!).
You can still access your Connections information, but you now need to put in a request to the LinkedIn Security Team for your personal LinkedIn Data.
Once requested you might have to wait up to 72 hours for the download link to arrive. Mine arrived promptly within 12 hours and contained a link to a folder containing my Connections data.
The link also contained a lot more information, not all of which was of interest to me. Data including login history, endorsements, recommendations, and content shared is now provided for those who need it. For a full list of what’s included check out: (https://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/50191/).
Why have LinkedIn made this change?
I’m sure that LinkedIn will justify this change as keeping up with the same profile download options available from apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Google. The cynical side of me however thinks that, perhaps over time, free of charge download requests will be capped and possibly only be available as part of a paid subscription option.
So, how do you now request access to your Connections data? It’s quite easy. First step is to go to Privacy and User Settings in the main menu of your profile.
From here choose the “Account” option in the bottom left menu, then click on “Request an archive of your data” from the right hand menu bar.
And that’s it. Now you wait!
You should receive an immediate email confirmation that the link will be delivered within 72 hours.
When your link arrives it will give you access to a folder containing 20+ different files.
Just click on the Connections csv file to access the data you’re looking for – the same fields that you’re used to seeing from the old download option.
If you’re stuck and need help please get in touch! One of our team will be happy to help you get the best out of LinkedIn.
