LinkedIn Goes Transparent, Gives Users More Data Control

LinkedIn announced today that it is giving users more control over their data on the network. The most interesting new feature is the ability for users to export personal data, including the ads they have clicked and the targeting criteria LinkedIn uses to show people ads. This puts LinkedIn closer in line with Facebook, which […]

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LinkedIn announced today that it is giving users more control over their data on the network.

The most interesting new feature is the ability for users to export personal data, including the ads they have clicked and the targeting criteria LinkedIn uses to show people ads.

This puts LinkedIn closer in line with Facebook, which also gives users the ability to download personal data that includes advertising interactions. Twitter, on the other hand, only gives access to a user’s tweets and, more recently, analytics about how well those tweets have performed. Google+ doesn’t serve advertising, but users can download a variety of social data using Google Takeout.

Here’s the full list of what you’ll get within 72 hours of requesting your LinkedIn data:

  • Registration information
  • Login history including IP records
  • Email address history and statuses
  • Account history including account closures and reopens
  • Name information including the current name on your account and any previous name changes
  • A list of your 1st degree connections
  • Photos that have been uploaded to your account
  • Endorsements you’ve received
  • List of skills on your profile
  • Recommendations given and received
  • Group contribution
  • Your search history
  • Content you’ve posted, shared, liked, or commented on
  • Mobile apps you’ve installed
  • Ads you’ve clicked on
  • The targeting criteria LinkedIn uses to show you ads

LinkedIn’s other new wrinkles are aimed to reassure users about account security, and given the recent news about the Apple iCloud hack, are timed well.

LinkedIn users can now see all the places they are logged into the network and have the ability to sign off sessions:

Not sure if you remembered to log-out of your LinkedIn account on your friend’s computer? We have you covered. We’ve added a single place to see everywhere you’re signed in to LinkedIn and manage those sessions in your settings.

And if a user’s password is changed, LinkedIn will now send an email with detailed information about where, when and from what device the change was initiated.

linked-Password-Change

Read more about the changes on the LinkedIn blog.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Martin Beck
Contributor
Martin Beck was Third Door Media's Social Media Reporter from March 2014 through December 2015.

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