Say What? An Intruder in The House?

A useful tool has just landed in our laps. LinkedIn’s block tool is finally with us this week – great news for many who have requested it for quite some time, letting users avoid spammers, users of non-professional behavior, or even competitors* (take a trip to the bottom of the article, as I have a slight objection to this!).

So, the word is out that LinkedIn has tried its best to proactively protect us, making sure that all our personal and professional data can remain under our own control in terms of sharing.

Also Read: LinkedIn Revamps “Who’s Viewed Your Profile Section”

Why use it? From now on, you have the chance to add an extra layer of privacy in order to prevent direct interactions, accessibility to your profile and activity from LinkedIn users you do not wish to share your network with or connect in any way. Caution, the tool removes accessibility to both the “blocker” and the “blockee”, which means both parties get deprived of receiving or sharing information.

From now on, #LinkedIn offers an extra layer of privacy, the #block tool

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More specifically, you can’t have accessibility in each other’s profiles on LinkedIn, in messaging one another on LinkedIn and generally, it discontinues your connection. Additionally, it will remove any endorsements and recommendations you might have from the “blockee”, your opportunity to see one another if you viewed your profiles and it will stop suggesting one another through the “People You May Know” and “People also Viewed” feature.
How it’s done? The feature can be found in the future blockee’s profile, in the top section “info-box” one sees when entering a profile (I call it an e-card; it does seem like a business card, providing basic information in short), by selecting Block or Report from the drop-down right arrow of:

You can easily block a connection from the header of the #LinkedIn profile

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The Endorse/Send a message “button” of a 1st connection of your network
The Send an InMail “button” of a 2nd or 3rd connection of your network

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Then, after naming the “blockee”, he will appear on your blocked list.

Caution – it’s hot!

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The platform will not notify the “blockee” you’ve blocked (phew!) and you will still retain control of unblocking him
You can block up to 50 members on LinkedIn
You can’t block a Group’s Manager you belong to, unless you leave the Group first
You can’t block a Group’s member you manage, unless you delete this member first
You can’t block anonymous users
You will still see cached data of the “blockee’s” profile on your mobile, unless you log off and log in to your LinkedIn app
You’ll still appear to the “blockee” in public search engines as you have chosen to (i.e. customize your public profile)

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To unblock someone, go to your Privacy & Settings through your left top avatar drop-down section, select Manage who you’re blocking and click Unblock. Remember, you cannot block this member again, within the first 48 hours, nor previous connection with him will be restored.

#LinkedIn will not notify the “blockee” you’ve blocked.

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More details on this new feature:
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2839/ft/eng
http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/47081/ft/eng

*Let’s keep an open mind by letting our competitors come closer to us and vise-versa, us being closer to them. Remember, keep your friends close and your “enemies” closer. But that is a different topic, to be discussed on a future article.

Ethel Agelatou is a LinkedIn Trainer and an Executive Search & Career Consultant.