There are many ways to communicate with people on LinkedIn. You could do it through regular LinkedIn posts to deliver value to your connections and followers. You could perform LinkedIn outreach to connect with your leads. Or you could connect with people through Linkedin groups. Another common way to communicate with people is via direct message. But how secure are they? Are LinkedIn messages private?

Are LinkedIn Messages Private? Here’s Who Can See Them

Direct messages can be sent between two users who have already connected. This can be done with a basic, free profile. The messages are private, and only the sender and recipient can see them.

There are other types of messaging to consider, too. What about privacy when it comes to LinkedIn InMail vs message? Similar to your standard direct messages, InMail messages are also private.

Then, there are people using the Open Profile Premium feature. If a Premium LinkedIn member has enabled Open Profile, anyone can see their page and message them.

If you manage a LinkedIn group, you can message any of your members. These messages will be private.

Lastly, we have sponsored messages, which essentially means you pay to send ads to specific types of users on LinkedIn. These — you guessed it — are private.

In a nutshell, if you’re sending any sort of message to another user, odds are it’s private and nobody else can see it but you and them.

This should serve as a little hint: Because these are one-on-one conversations, pretend that you’re communicating with this person face-to-face. If you wouldn’t say it to them in person, don’t say it to them in a LinkedIn message. (Read: Hard-selling and blatant self-promotion don’t work!)