LinkedIn will use your data to train AI—how to opt out before November 3

LinkedIn is preparing to use member data from millions of professionals to train its artificial intelligence systems, marking another significant shift in how social platforms monetize user information. Starting November 3, 2025, the Microsoft-owned professional networking platform will automatically include member profiles, posts, resumes, and public activity in its AI training datasets—unless users manually opt out beforehand.

This change affects LinkedIn members in the United Kingdom, European Union, European Economic Area, Switzerland, Canada, and Hong Kong. The timing reflects LinkedIn’s broader strategy to integrate AI capabilities into core features like job matching, content recommendations, and writing assistance tools that help users craft professional posts and messages.

Why this matters now

LinkedIn’s approach leverages what data protection lawyers call “legitimate interest”—a legal basis under regulations like Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that allows companies to process user data for specific business purposes without explicit consent, provided users can opt out. This legal framework enables LinkedIn to make AI training the default setting while still complying with privacy laws.

The professional networking giant joins a growing list of major platforms harvesting user content for AI development. Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, implemented similar policies for its platforms in 2024, while other tech companies have quietly updated their terms of service to include AI training rights.

However, LinkedIn’s move carries particular weight given the platform’s role as the dominant professional networking hub, where users share career histories, industry insights, and business connections that could prove especially valuable for training workplace-focused AI systems.

How to protect your data

Privacy-conscious users have a narrow window to prevent their information from entering LinkedIn’s AI training pipeline. The opt-out process requires manual action through LinkedIn’s privacy settings, and timing matters—data collected after November 3 can be excluded from future training, but information gathered before that date will remain in LinkedIn’s AI systems permanently.

To opt out, navigate to your LinkedIn account settings and locate “Data privacy” under the “How LinkedIn uses your data” section. Look for the setting labeled “Data for Generative AI Improvement” and disable it. LinkedIn has also created a direct link to access these controls quickly.

For users seeking stronger protections, LinkedIn offers an additional option through its Data Processing Objection form. This more comprehensive approach covers data used for both content-generating AI models and other machine learning applications across LinkedIn’s platform.

What LinkedIn plans to do with your data

The collected information will fuel LinkedIn’s expanding suite of AI-powered features designed to enhance the professional networking experience. These include improved job matching algorithms that better connect candidates with relevant opportunities, AI writing assistants that help users craft compelling posts and messages, and content recommendation systems that surface more relevant professional discussions.

LinkedIn’s AI ambitions extend beyond simple automation. The company envisions AI tools that can analyze industry trends from user posts, provide personalized career guidance based on professional trajectories, and even facilitate more meaningful professional connections by understanding user expertise and interests at a granular level.

This data utilization strategy aligns with LinkedIn’s position within Microsoft’s broader AI ecosystem, where professional networking data could complement other Microsoft AI services like Copilot and contribute to more sophisticated workplace productivity tools.

Broader implications

LinkedIn’s policy change reflects a fundamental shift in how social platforms view user-generated content—not just as the foundation for advertising-driven business models, but as raw material for developing next-generation AI capabilities. This evolution raises important questions about data ownership and user control in an increasingly AI-driven digital landscape.

The company has committed to excluding users under 18 from AI training, acknowledging heightened privacy concerns around minors’ data. However, the default opt-in approach for adult users highlights the ongoing tension between platform innovation and user privacy rights.

The deadline approaches

With the November 3 implementation date rapidly approaching, LinkedIn users face a crucial decision about their data privacy. Unlike many privacy policy updates that users can safely ignore, this change has immediate and potentially permanent consequences for how personal professional information gets used.

The window for preventing existing data from entering LinkedIn’s AI training systems closes on November 3. After that date, users can still opt out to protect future information, but any data already collected will remain part of LinkedIn’s AI development process indefinitely.

For professionals concerned about maintaining control over their career information, networking history, and professional insights, reviewing and adjusting these privacy settings before the deadline represents a critical opportunity to maintain data autonomy in an increasingly AI-integrated professional networking environment.